Turkey Injection Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What do you inject turkeys with? ›

Inject the turkey with melted butter seasoned with salt, ground black pepper, and ground rosemary to achieve the moistest meat. Cranberry BBQ Glazed Whole Turkey: This glazed turkey is heavenly, but you can make it even better by injecting it with your cranberry BBQ glaze before cooking.

Once you've made the injection fluid, be sure to keep it warm so the butter doesn't solidify. After injecting the turkey, rub it with your favorite dry rub to add even more flavor. Then stick that bird back in the fridge and let it sit until you're ready to cook it—you can inject it up to 36 hours ahead.

Advantages of injecting turkey:

Injecting works faster than brining. You can inject the bird immediately before cooking. What is this? Fats like melted butter, duck fat, or olive oil can be delivered deep into the breast meat, increasing its succulence.

Injected and Baked Whole Turkey, Water, Salt, Dextrose, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, and Natural Flavors.

If you are using a needle injector you may have to use a coffee or spice grinder to make sure all dry herbs are small enough to fit through the needle and insert it into the breasts and thighs of the turkey. Inject each thigh and each side of the breast with 1/2 an ounce of marinade for every 5 lbs. of turkey.

Brining and injecting both have the desired effect of adding moisture and flavor to whatever you are cooking. Turkey and chicken benefit greatly from this practice, but pork, beef, lamb and even fish can benefit from one of these two treatments.

The most effective firearm shot for a turkey is to the head and neck. The preferred shot angle for bowhunters is broadside, aiming for the heart or lungs.

Bring the marinade to room temperature before injecting it into your turkey. 4. Rest the bird. After injecting the bird, allow it to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours—or overnight—to give the liquid enough time to settle into the meat before smoking it.

Take half the mixture into your meat injector or syringe and inject it evenly into both thighs and sides of the turkey breast. Use the remaining half of the mixture to baste the turkey every 30 minutes throughout the cooking process.

"And a brine is a really great way, even if you go a few degrees over your desired cooking temperature, if you forget the turkey in the oven for some reason [to help avoid over-cooking]. You have a much greater range where you're still going to have moist, delicious meat because that salt is in there."

Are Butterball turkeys brined? ›

Butterball Fresh Whole Turkey is all natural*, never frozen, gluten free, and raised without hormones on American farms. Every fresh turkey is pre-brined before packaging for meat that's always tender and juicy. *All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients.

At 225 degrees F, you can plan on it taking approximately 30 minutes per pound to smoke your turkey. Alternatively, if you are running your smoker at 250 degrees F, it will typically take 25 minutes per pound. For example, my 15-pound turkey took around 7 and 1/2 hours at 225 degrees F to fully cook.

Fresh and Frozen Butterball turkeys are deep basted for juiciness and flavor. All natural means minimally processed and no artificial ingredients. All turkeys are raised hormone- and steroid-free in accordance with USDA requirements.

Our Favorite. The Grassland Pasture-raised Turkey was one of our favorite turkeys among all the birds we tested. In fact, we found it to be one of the best turkeys we've ever roasted, with ample breast, thigh, and drumstick meat. It is a sure bet for your holiday table that's bound to impress even the pickiest in-laws.

Butterball turkeys are considerably more expensive than most other frozen turkeys in the supermarket. Name brands are generally more expensive than generic, but Butterball hopes that you'll be willing to fork over a few more dollars for a product that is ready and easy to cook once thawed.

They often are injected with a basting solution of water, salt and spices—more of it than with fresh turkeys—to amp up the flavor and make the meat extra juicy. Honeysuckle White turkeys are treated to a brine of turkey broth, salt, sugar, celery and rosemary extract.

Take half the mixture into your meat injector or syringe and inject it evenly into both thighs and sides of the turkey breast. Use the remaining half of the mixture to baste the turkey every 30 minutes throughout the cooking process.

Stick with salt and pepper, put herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage to work, or take spicy Cajun seasoning for a spin for some kick. Whatever blend you choose, spread it all over the turkey—on top, underneath, between the body and wings and legs, under the skin, and even in the cavity of the bird.

Some options for aromatics include onion, garlic, apples or citrus fruits, celery, seasonings, herbs, beer and Coca-Cola. There are many alternatives and combinations to pull off the flavor best suited for you. Smoking your turkey is another great way to infuse it with flavor.