7 Top Turkey Injection Marinade

Image Credit: Kurman Communications, Inc.

You no longer have to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy a scrumptious dish of smoked marinated turkey. After all, making marinade for your poultry dishes and cuisines is now much easier than ever.

And to get the best taste, you just need to inject your turkey with the marinade rather than rub it with your ingredients the conventional way.

Injecting turkey tenderizes and adds more flavor deep into the bird, thus giving the meat that authentic taste you’ve been missing. Besides, you can inject the bird with traditional turkey marinades, rubs or brines to attain your desired taste and flavor.

All you have to do is to make sure that you grind your ingredients, including herbs, at high speed until they are fine enough to fit through the needle of the injector.

So how do we go about it?

Well, today, we present to you SEVEN of the best turkey injection marinade recipes you should try out when preparing your next poultry dish. These are:

1. Italian Herb Injection

We head straight to Italy for our first turkey injection marinade. In any case, many turkey marinades, including the commercial ones, revolve around Italian herbs and flavors.

This marinade recipe consists of a fine blend of red wine, dry Italian herbs and seasonings such as rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme.

Given that the ingredients are dry, you have to run them through a spice grinder or crush them in a mortar and pestle to create a fine mixture that can pass through the injector easily.

You also have to stir the mixture regularly in between injections to prevent it from settling at the bottom.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried sage
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons savory
• 3/4 cup red wine or liquor
• 3/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

1.  Gather all the dry ingredients together and crush them in a grinder or pound them in a mortar and pestle.
2.  Transfer the finely ground ingredients in a mixing bowl and add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red wine.
3.  For drier flavors, use a different type of wine with higher alcohol content, or replace the red wine with liquor.

4. Stir the mixture gently and consistently between injections to prevent the ingredients from settling at the bottom when reloading the syringe.

2. Butter and Garlic Turkey Injection

The butter and garlic turkey injection marinade is an excellent choice for those who love butter-flavored delicacies. You can use this tasty, injection marinade for all types of smoked, grilled or baked poultry.

Moreover, it is very easy to prepare since it requires simple ingredients that are readily available at your local grocery store. Besides, the total prep time is only 10 minutes.

With that said, make sure you inject your turkey with this marinade several hours prior to cooking. This will enhance the taste and texture of the meat and produce a rich, flavorful outcome.

If you decide to brine your turkey before injecting, make sure you do not add more salt to the marinade since the brine already has enough, and make sure to use the best fat separator when making your broth.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup turkey broth
• Lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1.  Place the butter and turkey broth in a bowl and warm in a microwave for about one minute until the butter melts.
2.  Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the lemon juice to the combination.
3.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir gently.

4. Let the marinade stand for 10 minutes then stir once again.

5. Prepare your turkey by patting it dry.

6. Load the injector with the marinade and then inject slowly into multiple spots, starting with the breast meat since it tends to dry during cooking.

7. Use any leftover marinade as baste or simply discard it if you don’t intend to use it.

3. Apple Juice Turkey Injection

Apple juice is another popular marinade ingredient for your turkey and poultry cuisines. Injecting your bird with this marinade will add a sweet and crisp taste, leaving your taste buds yearning for more.

The recipe takes only 20 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook. Moreover, it requires ingredients that are readily available.

Interestingly, you do not have to buy the most expensive apple juice to make the perfect marinade, since the quality of the apples does not really matter in the final product.

Nevertheless, you should ensure that you do not add any more salt in case you intend to apply rub to your turkey. The reason for this is that the injected turkey already has plenty of salt.

Ingredients

• 1 cup table salt
• 1 sliced cinnamon
• 10 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 quarts apple juice
• 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons orange zest

Instructions

1.  Gather all your ingredients.
2.  Pour 1 quart of water into a large pot and add the salt and sugar. Simmer the mixture while stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve.
3. Remove from heat and add cloves, pepper, orange zest and cinnamon sticks.

4. Allow it to cool for about 30-40 minutes.

5. Add the 2 quarts of apple juice and the remaining quart of water and stir.

6. Refrigerate until the marinade is chilled.

7. Thereafter, inject the bird in multiple spots several hours before cooking.

4. Beer and Butter Turkey Injection

If you thought beer, butter and turkey don’t get along well, you’d better think again. This beer and butter injection marinade will give your turkey cuisine an unbelievably lip smacking taste and flavor.

It doesn’t really matter whether you are smoking, grilling or baking your poultry. The injection marinade works well with all types of cooking styles and techniques. Moreover, it works wonders to keep your turkey tender and moist during the entire cooking process.

And guess what?

It takes 8-10 minutes only to make this simple but tasty marinade!

However, you have to make sure that the marinade stays warm during the injection phase to allow it to spread deep to all parts of your turkey dish.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of beer or 1 can of lager
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons granulated onions
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 cup melted butter

Instructions

1. Pour one cup of beer in a bowl and allow to stand until it becomes flat.
2.  Mix all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and stir the content until the ingredients dissolve.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. Draw the marinade using a meat injector syringe and inject it into your turkey.

5. You should inject as many spots as possible. Start by injecting the breast, legs, thighs and other meaty spots to spread the flavor deep into the meat.

6. Discard the remaining marinade after use.

5. Cajun Turkey Injection

Cajun cuisine is a renowned style of cooking that entails spicing up your food with onion, celery and bell or cayenne pepper. The essence of this cooking technique is to ensure that your spicy flavors get inside the meat to produce a mouthwatering delicacy.

Interestingly, you can use Cajun cooking methods for all types of foods, ranging from beef and pork to poultry and seafood.

The Cajun turkey marinade is ideal for all types of poultry, but we highly recommend that you use it with your turkey cuisines to enjoy the savory taste this sauce has to offer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup liquid crab boil
• 2 tablespoons granulated onion
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter melts.
2.  Stir and simmer the ingredients until the sauce has liquefied.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the marinade to cool for about 5 minutes.

4. Use the marinade while still warm and in liquid form.

5. Inject directly into your turkey starting with the breast, legs and thighs.

6. Identify at least 40 meaty spots and inject the marinade to all these areas, allowing it to spread to all parts of the meat. This helps to ensure a uniform taste.

7. Wipe off any leakages and deep fry your turkey as per instructions.

6. Savory Turkey Injection

As the name implies, the savory turkey injection is a marinade recipe loaded with flavors that are sure to stimulate your taste buds. This marinade sauce consists of a mix of herbs and spices that will give your holiday turkey a flavorful taste at the end of the cooking process.

Nonetheless, you have to ensure that all the herbs and spices are finely ground and incorporated well into the mixture to fit through the injector needle when injecting your turkey.

Making this savory marinade takes quite a bit of time (about 20 minutes), but the final product is always worth the wait. Sounds good, right?

Ingredients

•  1 teaspoon dried thyme
•  1 teaspoon dried bay leaf
•  1 teaspoon dried sage
•  1 teaspoon black pepper
•  1 tablespoon salt
•  2 teaspoons granulated onion
•  2 teaspoons granulated garlic
•  3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
•  1/4 cup light oil
•  1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Gather all ingredients as listed above.
2. Run the dried bay leaf, thyme, and sage in a spice grinder until crushed into fine powder.
3. Combine the ground spice with the other remaining ingredients in a large pot or saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture until the salt is dissolved.

5. Simmer over low-medium heat and continue to stir for five minutes.

6. Remove pot from heat and allow the marinade mixture to cool for about 15 minutes.

7. Load the injector syringe with the marinade and inject into turkey starting with the breast, legs and thigh.

8. Spread out the seasoning by injecting other spots.

9. Wipe away any leakages.

10. Apply the marinade on the outside as well and smoke, grill or bake the turkey as desired.

7. Hot and Spicy Turkey Injection

If you love your white meat hot and spicy, then today is your lucky day. The hot and spicy turkey injection marinade is exactly what you need to turn your poultry dish into a phenomenal cuisine!

With this marinade at your disposal, you do not need to rub the outside of the turkey. A few injections of the hot and spicy sauce will make your turkey juicy, moist and flavorful.

You just need to inject a few spots under the skin of the bird to add that “little fire” you’ve probably been missing in all your poultry cuisines.

Nevertheless, be careful not to add too much spice to avoid ruining an otherwise delicious meal.

Ingredients

• 1 cup turkey broth
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce

Instructions

1. Gather all ingredients and mix them in a pot over low heat for 5 minutes.
2. Stir the mixture until the salt dissolves.
3. Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.

4. Strain cooled sauce.

5. Load the injector needle with the marinade.

6. Inject the hot and spicy marinade into the turkey.

7. Unlike other injection marinades, only inject small amounts of the marinade in each place to avoid large pockets of hot sauce.

8. Three injections on the breast and two injections on each thigh should be ideal. (You may, however, alter the number of injections, depending on your preference).

9. Carefully wipe away any marinade that oozes out.

10. Grill, smoke, bake or roast your turkey as you wish.