How To Make.... Meat Recipes (2024)

Injected and Smoked Turkey Smoked Turkey Injection - How to Inject Your Turkey with Soluble Seasoning What Is Injected Turkey?

An Injected Turkey is simply a fresh, uncured, and unseasoned Turkey that you will marinate with a soluble seasoning by injecting it directly into the meat and muscle of the turkey. Marinating will give you a more flavorful turkey, and since you are injecting the seasoning directly into it, you do not have to let it wait as long, and it will be a juicier bird as well.

Meat Block

15 lb Fresh Turkey

Additives

Soluble Turkey Seasoning
Rosemary Basil and Thyme Rub

Process

We are going to inject it with Soluble Turkey Pump, and then we are going to rub the outside with Excalibur Seasoning’s Rosemary Basil and Thyme Rub. We recommend using one of the soluble seasonings from Excalibur Seasoning because the particle size of the seasoning is small enough to dissolve in water and more uniformly dispersed when injected into meats. For the Soluble Turkey Seasoning, the recommended usage is to dissolve 3 lb of the seasoning in 5 gallons of water for a 20% pump. A 20% pump means we are adding 20% of the weight of the meat in the injection. So because this turkey weighs 15 lbs, we will need to inject 3 lbs (or 48oz) of the marinade. It is always better to have more rather than not enough, so we are going to use 0.6 lb of seasoning to a gallon of water, which will give us 8.6 lb of injection, and inject 3 lb of that into the turkey. Just like with the cured turkey, we are going to inject it and then cover it in a 50% strength solution to let it marinate overnight so it picks up all of the flavor it can. To create our cover marinade, we are going to use 0.3 lb of seasoning and 1 gallon of water. Also, since this seasoning already contains cold phosphate for moisture retention, we do not need to add any more.

To do this properly, we will need an injector, a scale (to measure how much of our mixture we have injected), a meat tray or lug, and a large container to store the turkey in. We also like to use the Stark liners as they make everything, especially cleanup, a lot easier. All of these items and more can be found at waltonsinc.com.

Before we start, there are a few important things to consider when preparing your injection. The water needs to be potable, so very low microbial levels, and it shouldn’t be “hard” water. The best way to do this is to buy distilled water from the grocery store, or you can let your water sit out overnight in a cooler to allow any chlorine to gas out or evaporate.

Injecting

We recommend doing an 8-point injection, with 4 injection points on each half of the turkey. Start with the turkey lying flat on a counter or cutting board and on its back with the bottom facing you. Your first injection will be in the middle of the breast and angled down towards the top of the turkey (repeat this injection on the other breast). Injection number 2 will be parallel to the counter, through the middle of the breast, towards the top of the turkey (repeat on both sides of the turkey breast). The third and fourth injection points will be into the drumstick and leg and then inject into the thigh muscle (again, repeat to inject both halves of the turkey). That gives us 4 injection points on each side of the turkey, for 8 total injection points. Since this Turkey was 15 lbs, we want it to weigh at least 18 lbs after injecting, thus hitting our 20% pump goal.

Now we are going to let this sit in a fridge overnight to let the injection disperse as evenly as possible and to get the most flavorful turkey possible; however, if you don’t have the time to hold it overnight, you can go right to the oven or smoker at this point.

Rubbing Turkey

Now that our Turkey has been injected and marinated, we are going to add some extra flavor by rubbing it with Rosemary Basil and Thyme Rub all over the outside. This should give it a nice fresh herb taste to go along with the injected seasoning.

Note

Most Turkeys still come with a pop-up timer; our best advice is to ignore this thing completely. It has ruined more Thanksgiving dinners than drunken relatives. You want to use an actual digital thermometer to check the temperature of the turkey.

Thermal Processing & Smoking

Stage 1 - 120° F for 30 minutes
Stage 2 - 135° F for 2.5 hours
Stage 3 - 160° F for 30 minutes
Stage 3 - 190° F until internal meat temp of 165°

Wrap up

Injecting and then smoking your Turkey at home is a simple and easy way to make sure you have a great-tasting and looking turkey! The only thing you really need to do this is an injector, though the marinating buckets, Stark Marinating Liners, and a smoker to make it easier and give you a better-finished product.

Additional TipsIf you want to rub the seasoning both above and below the skin, that can give you a better taste. To do so, you carefully separate the skin from the muscle by slowly working your hands (starting from the cavity side) between the skin and the breast meat.Allowing the turkey to marinate in a 50% strength solution overnight will make sure your seasoning evenly distributes inside the muscleWatch WaltonsTV: How to Inject Your Turkey with Soluble SeasoningShop waltonsinc.com for Injectable SeasoningsShop waltonsinc.com for Injectors

How To Make.... Meat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook meat very well? ›

It's important that the meat is exposed to steam while cooking. Cover the pan and allow to cook for an hour under higher temperature then turn down the heat for the next 6 to 8 hours. Inspect that it's properly done afterward. The meat should have an internal temperature of at least 65℃ (145℉).

How are meat meals made? ›

Unlike fresh alternatives, meat meal is made from parts of animals that aren't allowed to be sold for human consumption; things like residual meat, offal, connective tissues and, in some cases, bones. These ingredients are cooked at extremely high temperatures and essentially dehydrated down to a dry, brown powder.

What are 3 meat preparation techniques? ›

Primary meat cooking techniques include braising, stewing, pot roasting, barbecuing/smoking, pan searing, grilling/broiling, pan frying, roasting, and stir frying.

What is the easiest way to cook meat? ›

Baking. Baking may be the easiest way to cook a piece of meat or fish. All you do is set the oven to a temperature — usually under 375 — let it preheat, and then set your protein in for a set amount of time, which is typically under an hour.

What is the fastest method of preparing meat? ›

The fastest method of cooking raw meat is usually through grilling or pan-searing. Both methods involve direct heat, which cooks the meat quickly on the outside while retaining moisture on the inside.

What makes meat yummy? ›

Fat in meat has a particular texture, an appealing creaminess and juiciness. When you cook a piece of pork or beef, it's not just the Maillard reaction that occurs; fats also start to oxidize, creating delicious scents that rush toward your nose.

What makes meat tasty? ›

In general, cooked meat flavour develops as a result of interactions of amino acids, peptides, reducing sugars, vitamins and nucleotides from the lean component, or their breakdown products, during cooking.

How to make juicy meat? ›

To prevent meat from shrinking up into little wads when it cooks, cut it against the grain. Look for the longest fibers in the meat (they will run the length of the meat) and cut perpendicular to them. This will also produce a cut that's tender. Brining makes meat juicier.

What is the best cooking method for meat and why? ›

From a health standpoint, the best ways to cook meat are slow cooking, pressure cooking and sous vide. However, all methods of cooking meat have advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most popular types, including grilling and deep-frying, are concerning due to the high levels of toxic by-products they create.

How do you cook meat for beginners? ›

Grill the meat until it's completely cooked.

Chicken breasts take about 8 minutes per side when over direct heat, but 10 to 12 minutes if they're not over a flame. Grill steaks that are thinner than 1.5 in (3.8 cm) for 5 minutes on each side, but use a meat thermometer to check the temperature for thicker steaks.

How to can meat for beginners? ›

Pack hot meat loosely into hot jars leaving 1-inch headspace. Fill jars with boiling broth, meat drippings, water, or tomato juice (especially for wild game) to 1 inch from top of jar. Remove bubbles, wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process in pressure canner.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Roderick King

Last Updated:

Views: 6083

Rating: 4 / 5 (71 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Roderick King

Birthday: 1997-10-09

Address: 3782 Madge Knoll, East Dudley, MA 63913

Phone: +2521695290067

Job: Customer Sales Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping

Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.