This is the best turkey injection recipe when you want to use your grill or smoker to make a whole turkey. By injecting a poultry marinade into your holiday turkey (or any meal!), you will end up with a tender and moist turkey that is full of flavor! This recipe has a hint of sweetness from the honey while the lemon and butter provide great flavor that compliments the wood flavors from the smoker.
When you use injection marinades, you can say goodbye to dry turkeys! This process literally infuses flavor through the whole turkey breast and helps to tenderize. You can also use this technique with other turkey brines. When I make my smoked turkey recipe, I like to keep the seasoning mixture simple and this recipe is a breeze.
Injecting a turkey before smoking is a game-changer for maximizing moisture and taste When done properly, it can take your holiday bird from dry and bland to succulent, smoky perfection Below, learn all about injecting smoked turkey, from techniques to delicious recipes.
What is Smoke Turkey Injection?
Turkey injection is a seasoned liquid mixture that gets injected throughout the raw bird using a large syringe tool called a meat injector. It acts as an instant marinade, infusing flavor and moisture deep into the meat.
Popular ingredients include:
- Broth or stock: Chicken, turkey, beef add flavor
- Melted butter or oil: Keeps meat juicy
- Fruit juices: Apple, orange, pineapple
- Vinegars: Wine, cider, balsamic
- Sauces: Soy, Worcestershire, hot sauce
- Herbs and spices: Garlic, onion, pepper, rosemary
As the injection needle punctures the turkey, it leaves behind the flavorful liquid within the muscles. This keeps even lean cuts like the breast juicy while adding tons of taste.
Benefits of Injecting Smoked Turkey
Injecting before smoking provides several advantages
- Prevents meat from drying out during long smoke times
- Infuses moisture and flavor directly into deep muscles
- Allows use of chunky ingredients not suitable for brining
- Improves browning and crisping of the skin
- Tenderizes meat for better texture
- Gives cook more control over final flavor
- Provides insurance against overcooking
- Less hassle than brining, dry brining or marinating
When Should You Inject a Smoked Turkey?
For best infusion results, inject the turkey about 24 hours before smoking. This gives time for the marinade to fully penetrate and tenderize.
- Injecting right before won’t allow proper flavor/moisture distribution.
- Waiting too long can degrade texture as acids break down meat.
- 12-24 hours before hitting the smoker is ideal.
Make sure the turkey is completely thawed before injecting Trying to inject into frozen or partially frozen meat will cause damage
Tips for Injecting Turkey
Follow these tips when injecting turkey for smoking:
- Choose a quality stainless steel injector with a 2 oz capacity and unclogging needles.
- Calculate about 2 oz of injection per lb of turkey weight.
- Insert needle deep into thighs, breasts, legs from different angles.
- Avoid leakage by not over-filling any one area.
- Refrigerate injected turkey in a sealed container.
- Discard any leftover injection mixture after use.
- Pat turkey dry before applying rub and smoking.
Delicious Smoked Turkey Injection Recipes
Cajun Style
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup melted butter
- 3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Apple Butter
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup apple butter
- 1⁄4 cup apple juice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sage
Teriyaki
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup soy sauce
- 1⁄4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 2 cloves minced garlic
Alternatives to Injected Smoked Turkey
While injecting is great, you can still smoke a moist turkey without it:
- Brining in saltwater solution
- Dry brining by rubbing with salt
- Lower temperature smoking around 275°F
- Frequent basting/spritzing
- Using a flavorful spice rub
Combining these techniques with mild wood smoke and avoiding overcooking should result in a juicy bird. But injecting before smoking is the best guarantee for outrageously tasty, foolproof results.
How to Make The Turkey Injection Recipe for Smoking
PREP: Melt the butter directly in the measuring cup. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Remove the giblets from the turkey, then rinse and pat the bird dry with paper towels. Place turkey on a tray or on a roasting rack in a large pan.
INJECT: After mixing up the injectable marinade, fill the meat injector with the liquid mixture. Pierce the skin of the turkey and press it down into the breast. Slowly inject and repeat in several other places until all the marinade is gone. You can also insert the injection needle at various angles working through the same hole.
Injecting the turkey can be quite a bit of fun, actually. If your needle runs parallel to the breast, you might see the whole breast swell up with the liquid mixture. It’s fun evening out the two sides. Do be aware that the liquid expands the muscle fibers of the turkey so the cooked meat looks a little different in texture than a slice of turkey that has not been injected.
COOK: Once you have finished injecting, you can continue to prepare your turkey any way you would like! Placing the turkey in the refrigerator and allowing it to set for at least several hours will allow the marinade to have the greatest effect. This particular smoked turkey injection recipe lends itself well to a smoked turkey because of the lemon and honey flavors.
- Before injecting your turkey, make sure it has thawed completely. Do not attempt to inject a frozen turkey.
- Patting it completely dry removes the moisture so that you can get an extra crispy skin.
- You can experiment with other fresh herbs and spices. However, just make sure they do not clog the holes of the meat injector.
- When injecting meat using this tool, make sure you inject deep enough so that it doesn’t leak back out. I found that the angle of the injector needle makes a difference with the liquid seeping back out, too, so play around with it a bit for the best results.
By adding wood chips or wood chunks and a pan of water directly on your grill, you can smoke just about anything without having to own an actual smoker!
Absolutely! The turkey injection marinade just adds more flavor and you never have to worry about dry turkey again! Plus it tenderizes the meat too. You will still get all the yummy flavor of a smoke turkey.
You can inject up to 36 hours before you are ready to smoke your bird. 12 hours is the minimum time, so the marinade has a chance to do its job. We say not to go past 36 hours simply because we do not want the turkey to spoil before cooking.
Store the marinade in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Once it has made contact with the raw poultry though, please discard any unused marinade.
You sure can! Turkey rubs are going to flavor the outside of the turkey and the drippings that get turned into gravy will get some of that flavor, too. The injection marinade will flavor the actual meat. I would recommend using similar flavor profiles between your marinade and your rub.
You can inject the entire turkey if you wish, including the legs. I find it more difficult to fit the injection needle into the legs and they typically come out moister than the white meat, but there is no reason you shouldn’t inject the legs, too, if you’d like.
No, injecting your turkey and then allowing it to rest in the refrigerator for several hours will do the same thing as a brine will – but more effectively. With a brine, you are soaking the turkey in the marinade. The injection skips straight to getting that marinade deep into the turkey.
What Ingredients do I Need for The Smoked Turkey Injection Recipe?
- unsalted butter
- chicken broth
- salt
- finely ground black pepper
- honey
- lemon juice
Before You Start: Make sure you are using at least a 2 cup capacity measuring cup.
Smoked Turkey with Injection
FAQ
Is it better to brine or inject a turkey?
Does injecting a turkey make it juicier?
How do you inject smoked meat?
Can you inject a turkey too early?