Injecting marinades into a Turkey

Unknown · December 2002

I'm looking for recommendations on an injecting marinade for smoking a Turkey. Also, does it change the smoking time?[p]Thanks,
Jonathan

Rich · December 2002

Jonathan Kane,
I have tried injecting turkeys several times without much sucess. No matter what I do, the marinade collects in one place; it doesn't distribute through the meat. I finally gave up and have gone to brining.
Rich

Rumrunner · December 2002

Jonathan Kane,
A couple of simple marinades for injecting. 1) 1 can of chicken broth, 1/2 stick butter, a tsp, or 2, of your favorite Cajun spices, a few dashs +or- of Tabasco. Heat all together in a small sauce pan. 2) 1 part butter and 1 part honey, heat till melted and blended.[p]As long as you inject the marinade while warm it will not affect the smoking time. BTW, inject into a room temp bird. Make mental, visual grids on the turkey and make sure to inject all of them. 1/2 to 1 ounce of marinade per 1 pound of bird. Inject slow, don't rush it. I inject lengthwise on the breast, other than straight down in, and pull the needle out a little as I'm injecting.[p]However, I really DO prefer brining over injecting. If you check the archives for around Thanksgiving you should find plenty of material on brining.

rose · December 2002

Jonathan Kane,
Here is a recipe that I use for deep frying and also smoking a turkey it is the best that I have found and you will love it. Just use recipe for the injection part and then smoke it. [p]
Title: Deep Fried Turkey
Categories: Poultry
Yield: 8 Servings

12 lb Turkey
6 T Salt
2 T Creole Seasoning
2 T Frenches Mustard
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
2 T Cayenne Pepper
1 T Garlic Powder
1 T Celery Salt
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Lemon Pepper
4 ga Peanut Oil[p]Put all ingredients in a quart jar and fill it to 3/4 full of boiling
water. Let stand for 1 hour. Filter through cheesecloth. If you don't
have cheesecloth use panty hose. Reserving the solids.Then inject the
liquid into the turkey. Rub the solids on the turkey inside and out.
Refrigerate from 24 to 48 hours. When ready to cook heat peanut oil to
350 degrees and cook 3 minutes per pound plus an extra 10 minutes. Note:
For turkey breast you must cook 9 min. Per pound plus 10 min.[p][p]

[p][p]

Marvin · December 2002

Jonathan Kane,
Brining is much easier and will be much more uniform than any injecting technique, IMHO.

Shelby · December 2002

Jonathan Kane,
I've always injected my turkey's and like the flavoring. The injecting won't change the time/temp for smoking the bird. I do suggest however, injecting the bird at least the night before you cook, then refrigerate. A friend does his 2 days in advance to give the marinade more time to sit.[p]Rumrunner makes one very similiar to mine.[p]Melt 2 sticks of real butter into a can of chicken brooth; mix in some Cajun seasoning, garlic and onion powder and I usually add in a few drops of liquid crab boil. Clean/dry the bird then lightly oil down the skin, season the outside with a rub then inject a room temp marinade into the bird. Inject in many locations of the breast/legs/thighs.[p]When you take it out of the pan to smoke, you'll notice some of the liquid has run out. Don't panic, just remember how much you put in there in the first place.

Injecting marinades into a Turkey

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