Simple Smoked Turkey Injection Recipe

A smoked turkey injection is a flavorful marinade consisting of butter, broth, lemon juice, and seasonings. This marinade gets injected into a bird with a special syringe to keep the meat moist during smoking—a low-and-slow, wood-based cooking method. A turkey injection also adds flavor to the bird, much like marinating or brining.

Once you’ve mastered the basics of making a smoked turkey injection, you’ll look forward to injecting your Thanksgiving turkey with it every year. Follow these simple tips for smoked turkey injection success:

1. 1. Experiment with additions. Play around with your favorite flavors to achieve a turkey injection that suits your unique palate. Incorporate condiments like Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, red wine, soy sauce, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce. Add dried herbs like oregano, chives, sage, and thyme. Elevate the heat and flavor of the recipe with seasonings like lemon pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, and Cajun seasoning. The flavors of your injection should complement those in your dry rub, marinade, or brine.
2. 2. Use finely ground spices. Only use finely ground spices and dried herbs when making a turkey injection marinade: Large dried herbs or spice flakes can clog your injection syringe. Use a spice grinder to break whole spices or dried herbs down into a fine powder before adding them to your injection.
3. 3. Make the marinade in advance. Craft your turkey injection and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week before using it. Bring the marinade to room temperature before injecting it into your turkey.
4. 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.