The Best Homemade Turkey Injection Recipe (2024)

Does anyone else buy an extra turkey around the holidays (when they are on sale) to make at a later date? It’s something I do nearly every year.

It makes for a very affordable meat that lasts our family for a few meals. Plus, this homemade turkey injection recipe makes an incredibly moist turkey that’s yummy no matter what time of year it is!

We didn’t have turkey at Christmas so by about halfway into January I was eager to have some again.

Whether you’re making turkey for a regular family meal or roasting turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this is the turkey injection recipe you are going to want to use.

Seriously, I was amazed at just how moist our turkey is when we use this recipe!

In the past, my turkey was so dry and needed lots of gravy to add moisture back into it. I’d tried other store-bought injection marinade in the past but those injection marinades never seemed to improve the flavor or moisture of our turkey. The turkey breast especially would be very dry.

When you use this turkey injection recipe though, you’ll have super moist and very flavorful turkey right out of the oven!

You’ll never again make turkey without this homemade turkey injection recipe once you try it!

Homemade Turkey Injection Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of salted butter
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of hot sauce
• The juice from one lemon

Directions

1. Rinse turkey and then pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey on a tray to help prevent any mess while you inject it.
2. Start by melting the butter. I used one of my large glass measuring bowls to melt mine in the microwave.
3. Add the chicken broth to the butter and warm it up a little bit more (but not boiling or overly hot, you just want to make sure the butter stays fully liquid to it doesn’t get stuck in the injection needle. I warmed it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the freshly squeezed juice from one lemon.
5. Mix in the garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce.
6. Mix well.
7. Inject the butter mixture into your whole turkey, paying extra attention to the breast area. You’ll see it plump up as you inject it.
8. Bake your injected turkey (20-25 minutes per pound) at 325 degrees.

Helpful Tips for a Delicious and Moist Turkey

I have a few other tips to help ensure you have a juicy bird that’s moist and delicious.

You can use any hot sauce you’d like, but our favorite is Tabasco Sriracha.

If you’re having trouble getting your meat injector to suck up the liquid, try putting it in a tall glass.

Adding Herbs and Spices

First, after squeezing the lemon juice from the lemon, put the two halves inside your turkey. It adds a lot of flavor to your roast turkey!

I do not rub olive oil or butter on the outside of my turkey. I just pour my seasoning all over the outside and pat it down.

Season the outside of your turkey well. I like to use freshly ground salt, freshly ground black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder all over the surface of the turkey.

If you don’t have a spice grinder for your salt and pepper, it’s okay to use the other kind, however, consider getting those for future recipes. I learned a few years ago that freshly ground salt and pepper do make a difference!

Feel free to experiment with flavors. Sometimes I like to add fresh herbs inside of the bird with the lemon, like fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, or parsley. Other times I add creole seasoning or cajun seasoning for a different flavor (especially when I’m making it through the year and not at Thanksgiving).

Roasting Your Turkey

This probably goes without saying but make sure your turkey is fully thawed before you start to roast it.

You might want to consider brining your turkey. I’ve heard that adds extra moisture however I haven’t found that necessary when using the injection recipe and cooking it in the oven bag.

I have also found that the best way to prevent a dry turkey is by roasting it in a baking bag, like Reynolds Oven Bags. They really help to keep the moisture in. The directions say to vent the bag but I don’t do that until the very end.

The cooking time for your turkey is based on how many pounds it is and how your oven cooks. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend cooking your turkey at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes per pound.

If your injection liquid is not coming out of your meat injector, make sure it’s warm enough. If the butter gets too cold it will start to thicken up and have trouble coming out of the injector.

When injecting your turkey, try different angles to ensure that the injectable marinade is spread throughout the whole turkey.

Make sure you have a digital read thermometer to ensure it’s cooked hot enough (165 degrees). I always measure the temperature in several places to make sure it’s truly cooked through. No one wants to eat undercooked turkey meat!

If you do not already own a roasting pan, let me offer you this bit of advice before you buy one. Do NOT buy a pan coated in non-stick material. I did that and it was flaking off already after only using it twice.

This year I got a Viking roasting pan with rack (mine even came with a digital meat thermometer too!) and I am SO much happier with it!

Related Posts

Are you looking for side dishes to go with your turkey recipe? We love these skillet green beans and these homemade butter biscuits or homemade challah bread. This slow cooker turkey soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey. This frosted cranberry orange cake is a great, festive dessert!

You don’t have to wait for the holiday season! Try this turkey injection recipe now!