Turkey Injection Recipe

Flavorful blend of melted butter, chicken broth and spices bring the juiciness of roast turkey to another level.

One of the secrets to the perfect Thanksgiving turkey is injection. Follow this best turkey injection recipe to make a quick and easy marinade. Then inject your turkey multiple times with this flavorful mixture of butter, chicken broth and spices. This injection liquid gives your turkey immense flavor and guarantees the juiciest most tender meat. Using this simple but rewarding injection technique, you can turn your next Thanksgiving turkey into an incredible meal that all your guests will love.

Table of Contents

What is a Turkey Injection Marinade?

Turkey injection marinade is usually a butter based mixture that can also contain chicken broth, garlic powder, pepper or other seasonings. Using a meat injector (large syringe), the injection mix is directly injected into the meat to add flavor and keep the meat juicy and moist during cooking. It is especially helpful to keep breast meat of whole turkeys and chickens from drying out while roasting.

Why You’ll Love This

Notable: turkey meat turns out moist and tender with a hint of garlic
Main Ingredients: low sodium chicken broth, unsalted butter, garlic powder, black pepper and salt
Cooking Method: no bake
Cooking Time: 5 minutes prep time, and 10 minutes resting time
Pairs well with: whole roast turkey
Diets: keto friendly, gluten free
Special Equipment Needed: mixing bowl, whisk, meat injector syringe

roast turkey on a serving platter on a table

Ingredients

You may have all of these turkey injection recipe ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts and print the recipe.

Pantry Ingredients: low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock
Refrigerated/Frozen Ingredients: unsalted butter, you can substitute olive oil
Spices: garlic powder, black pepper and salt

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: Combine this turkey injection technique with one of our other turkey recipes – like our amazing Convection Oven Turkey recipe. It makes the most flavorful and juicy turkey with crispy skin.

Recommended Tools

Links to our favorite tools are affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link we may get a tiny portion of the sale.

Meat Injector Syringe – This recipe requires a meat injector. We used a stainless steel injector as it is easy to use and comes apart for quick and thorough clean up. Our injector has a variety of tips with different size holes so that you can select the right one that will allow the dry ingredients in your injection solution to pass through.

Instructions

This section shows how to make turkey injection marinade, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full step-by-step instructions, photos and nutritional information see the recipe in the recipe card below. You can print the recipe with or without photos.

PREPARE THE MARINADE: Firstly, melt butter in a small saucepan. Then whisk together melted butter and chicken broth in a small bowl. Next, add garlic powder, salt and a teaspoon of black pepper and stir. Let rest for 10 minutes. Before using, whisk thoroughly once more.

filling a meat injector syringe with the butter blend

INJECT THE TURKEY: Prepare the turkey by rinsing it and patting it dry with a paper towel. Then load marinade into the meat injector, and slowly inject into multiple spots in the turkey. You can lift the turkey skin so you don’t pierce it. We just selected a central spot in the turkey breast and then pierced through the skin, but went in at different angles to infuse every side of the breast. You can feel and see the breast swell in the areas where the injection sauce is going in. Discard any leftover marinade.

cooked turkey on a serving platter with herbs and cranberries on the side

CHILL: Cover outside of the turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Marinate the injected turkey in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: One of our favorite side dishes with roast turkey is Creamy Mashed Potatoes. They are rich, creamy and seasoned to perfection.

Make Ahead

You can make the marinade and inject it into your turkey up to 6 hours ahead of time. Make sure you cover the whole turkey tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. After the turkey has set, you can pop him into your roasting pan and proceed with your favorite cooking method.

Andrea says….

This simple injection technique makes a huge difference in how juicy the meat of a roast turkey turns out. Not only does it add moisture, it also adds just the right hint of garlic and pepper to the turkey. It really turns a plain turkey into a spectacular meal!

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips to make the best turkey injection recipe.

Tip: Make sure the marinade is smooth. If the butter is not completely melted or there are any larger bits of spices in the marinade the injector needle might clog.
Tip: Inject the marinade into the breast meat multiple times. Breast meat has a tendency of drying out during cooking, injecting marinade helps prevent that.
Tip: Allow more resting time. The turkey absorbs more of the marinade when it rests a bit longer. (up to 6 hours)

More Roast Turkey and Chicken Recipes

Pair this Thanksgiving Stovetop Stuffing with your chicken or turkey recipe.

How To Store

We recommend preparing this turkey injection recipe fresh, right before using. Do not save leftover turkey injection marinade.

cooked whole turkey on a serving platter

Common Questions

Can I save any leftover marinade for a later use?

Unfortunately that is not possible. While injecting the turkey with marinade the injector needle touches raw poultry and therefore comes in direct contact with unsafe bacteria, like salmonella for example. The bacteria is then transfered from the poultry to the marinade when you reload your meat injector. It is therefore very important to discard any leftovers.

What other spices can I add to the marinade?

You can also try adding lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, paprika, smoked paprika, or onion powder. For a spicy bird, add a little fire with some chili powder, cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning or hot sauce. Additionally you can try Worcestershire sauce or finely ground dried herbs (don’t use fresh herbs here) such as thyme, rosemary, basil, sage or oregano. Make sure there are no large bits though, as they might clog the injection needle. The options for a flavorful marinade are limitless – making your own turkey brines is one of the easiest things you can do to make a juice bird this holiday season.

How long does an injected turkey need to rest before roasting in the oven?

We recommend letting the turkey chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours. Let the turkey marinate a bit longer than 30 minutes for more flavorful meat.

5 from 6 votes