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.
Smoking a turkey results in finger-licking delicious moist and flavorful meat when done right. However, achieving juicy smoked turkey can be quite challenging without properly preparing the bird. One of the best ways to ensure your smoked turkey stays tender and takes on maximum flavor is to inject it with a homemade marinade before smoking.
Why Inject Turkey Before Smoking?
Injecting a marinade into the turkey serves multiple purposes:
-
Infuses flavor deep into the meat: Injecting forces spice mixes, herbs, broths and other liquids with flavors directly into the muscle fibers. This allows the flavors to penetrate and spread throughout the meat during smoking. Just rubbing a dry rub on the outside can only flavor the surface.
-
Keeps turkey moist: Injections add extra moisture into the turkey breast and other lean areas that tend to dry out. The added liquids keep the meat juicy and tender.
-
Tenderizes the meat The salt and acidic ingredients in injection marinades like lemon juice or vinegar help break down tough muscle fibers This leads to more tender smoked turkey.
-
Accelerates absorbing smoke: Poking holes with the injection needle allows greater smoke absorption during cooking for more depth of flavor.
-
Quick and easy: Injecting a marinade takes only 10-15 minutes and requires minimal effort compared to brining or sous vide cooking.
So injecting a turkey before smoking gives you juicier meat with more flavor and tenderness. It’s a must for flawless smoked turkey.
Best Ingredients for Smoked Turkey Injections
You can create an endless variety of marinades to inject into turkeys before smoking. Here are some of the most important ingredients to use:
-
Broths and juices: Chicken, turkey or vegetable broth provide moisture and base flavors. Fruit juices like orange or apple juice also work.
-
Fats: Melted butter or olive oil ensure juicy and tender meat.
-
Acids Lemon juice vinegar wine or yogurt help tenderize the turkey.
-
Sweeteners: Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar.
-
Spices and herbs: Salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic, onion, rosemary, sage, thyme.
-
Umami flavors: Soy sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce.
-
Heat: Hot sauce, chili flakes, cayenne pepper.
5 Best Smoked Turkey Injection Marinade Recipes
Here are 5 delicious homemade injection marinades perfect for getting the most out of your smoked turkey:
1. Apple Juice Brine Injection
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
This sweet and savory marinade adds tons of flavor and moisture into the turkey. The salt also helps brine the bird.
2. Cajun Butter Injection
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Injecting spicy Cajun flavors along with butter keeps the turkey extra moist and gives it a kick.
3. Classic Herb Injection
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
For a traditional flavor, inject classic herbs, garlic, broth and olive oil.
4. Southwest Smoked Turkey Injection
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
This turkey injection marinade adds sweet and spicy Southwestern barbecue flavors.
5. Lemon-Herb Turkey Injection
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Bright lemon and fresh herbs give fantastic flavor to smoked turkey.
Tips for Injecting Turkey Before Smoking
Follow these tips when injecting liquid marinades into your turkey:
-
Use an injection syringe needle to penetrate deep into the thick meat. Look for one designed for marinades.
-
Inject marinade all over the turkey – legs, thighs, breast, wings. This distributes moisture and flavors everywhere.
-
Focus extra injections into the breast to prevent dryness. Inject into the thickest part.
-
Don’t over-inject one area or liquid will pool and leak out. Spread it around.
-
Inject just 1-2 tablespoons per injection site. Too much will leak out.
-
Let turkey rest 15-30 minutes after injecting before smoking so marinade can spread evenly.
-
Discard any leftover marinade after injecting due to contamination risk.
-
Pat turkey dry before smoking to help form bark and crisp the skin.
Smoking a Turkey After Injecting
Once you’ve injected your turkey with a flavorful homemade marinade, follow these tips for smoking:
-
Let turkey rest in the fridge for several hours or overnight after injecting so the flavors can spread deeply into the meat.
-
Smoke turkey at 225-250°F using indirect heat on your smoker or grill with wood chips, chunks or pellets for flavor.
-
Aim to smoke for around 15 minutes per pound. A 15 lb turkey will take 3-4 hours.
-
Use a probe meat thermometer and smoke until breast reaches 160°F and thighs 175°F.
-
Spritz turkey with apple juice or broth every 45-60 minutes if skin is drying out.
-
Wrap in foil if browning too fast but remove for the last 30-60 minutes to crisp the skin.
-
Let rest at least 30 minutes before carving so juices redistribute.
Get Perfectly Smoked Turkey by Injecting Flavor
Injecting a turkey with a homemade marinade before smoking is crucial for juicy, tender and flavorful meat from the inside out. Use an injection syringe to penetrate deep into the breast, thighs and other areas. Focus on salt, acids, savory flavors and liquids that will brine and add moisture to the lean turkey meat.
After injecting, let the turkey rest overnight in the fridge so the marinade can spread. Then smoke low and slow at 225-250°F until perfectly cooked. Follow these tips and your injected turkey will come out of the smoker ridiculously delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Turkey Injection Marinade Recipe
- Makes the turkey tender, moist, juicy, and adds more flavor.
- Very simple to whip up. Even beginner cooks can do this!
- The ingredient list is short and sweet!
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.
Smoked Turkey with Injection
FAQ
Should you inject turkey before smoking?
What do you inject in a turkey?
What do you inject into meat before smoking?
When to inject turkey before frying?