With Christmas and New Year’s right around the corner and many folks planning on throwing Mr. Turkey into an oven, barbecue or deep fryer (you haven’t lived until you’ve had a deep-fried turkey) we thought we’d share some techniques for improving the flavor by injecting marinades into the bird itself.
Some folks swear by this, saying that injecting liquid adds fantastic flavor (butter, garlic, Cajun, teriyaki, etc.) to the otherwise fairly bland turkey meat. Others think that perhaps brining your bird does just as much and doesn’t require needlework. Your choice.
By using a meat injector you can combine your favorite flavors and inject them straight into the thickest parts of the bird. Once I’ve injected a turkey, chicken or roast I then gently massage the area where I’ve injected the liquid, I think it helps distribute the marinade beyond just the injection site, dispersing it throughout the muscle.
Injector needles can be purchased at many grocery stores or kitchen supply stores (Sur La Table, Kitchen Kaboodle, etc.) and are easy to use. But to make this work, and to get the most from your injection sauce, you need to start with a liquid that doesn’t contain anything that might clog up the needle. Avoid chopped herbs, crushed garlic, diced fruit or anything else that might have a tough time getting through the needle. Good things to look for include seasoned oils, fruit juices, soft drinks, vinegars, finely crushed spices, wines or beers.
Place the uncooked turkey in a pan and load your favorite marinade into a hypodermic meat injector. Inject the marinade in multiple places on the turkey, especially through the breast, thighs, thick part of the wings, and legs. Do this by carefully lifting up the skin, rather than poking the needle through it.
It’s important to widely distribute the liquid, injecting it into the middle of the various muscle groups: the breast, thighs and thicker parts of the bird. Remember it’s hollow now so don’t just jam the needle into the turkey, you may just squirt the liquid into the body cavity. Also if you don’t get the liquid into the center of the muscles it can leak out. I’d rather see three dozen sites instead of 3 or 4; you’ll have much better results.
While your playing Dr. Stick-Em, remember that turkey is a meat with little flavor and you can easily overpower what taste there is with too strong a marinade. A tiny bit of cayenne, Cajun seasoning or strongly flavored liquid goes a long way here. You want to enhance the natural flavor of the white and dark meat, not overpower it.
Cover and marinate the bird for 12-36 hours in refrigerator, then stuff and bake as usual.
Here are a few recipes to try. But remember these are guidelines; use your own judgment and tastes to modify these as you wish. Put ingredients for each of the following marinades into a saucepan, stir and heat until well mixed, cool and inject into turkeys, chicken, game hens, or goose.
Alligator Marinade
4 oz. liquid garlic
4 oz. liquid onion
4 oz. liquid celery
1 Tbs. ground red pepper
2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. Tabasco
1 oz. Liquid crab boil
Lemon BBQ Marinade
½ C lemon juice
¼ C vegetable oil
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. powdered thyme
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mama Mia’s Marinade
2/3 C Italian dressing
1/3 C sherry,
not cooking sherry
2 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. Lemon pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Tahiti Marinade
1/3 C vinegar
¼ C soy sauce
1/3 cup water
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Pineapple Marinade
¼ C soy sauce
½ C pineapple juice
¼ C rice wine vinegar
¼ C brown sugar
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
Minute Marinade
1 bottle Italian vinaigrette
1 C white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ C melted butter
