How to Season a Turkey

Guide Note

If you want to have the most favorable turkey on your table this year, then you need to learn how to season it. Several methods of seasoning are available including flavor brining, marinating, injecting, rubs and stuffing. This page will walk you through the basic steps for each of these techniques to make your holiday turkey moist and delicious. Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Flavor Brining a Turkey
• Marinating a Turkey
• Injecting a Turkey
• Turkey Rubs and Flavor Stuffing
• Conclusion
• References

Turkey Seasoning Tips

1. In order to change the flavor of your turkey, you need salt or an acid.
2. Brining uses salt to break down the protein and add moisture and flavor.
3. Marinating uses acids to break down the protein and add flavor.
4. Injecting a turkey is a type of marinating.
5. Rubs and stuffing may affect the outside, but will not change the flavor of the meat.

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Introduction

• Seasoning a turkey might seem easy: shake salt and pepper over the top and you're done, right? Well, that is one option but it won't affect the flavor of the meat. However, if you want to add flavor, then you really only have two options: brining or marinating.¹

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by scott feldstein)
  Brining and marinating are very similar because they both break down the protein in the turkey to add flavor. However, brining uses salt while marinating uses acid.¹

1. Brining: is done by soaking the turkey in a solution of water and salt. It is done primarily to add water to the turkey. However, it can also be used to add flavor.
2. Marinating: is also done by soaking the turkey, except that it requires an acidic solution (lemon juice, vinegar, wine) to work.² The acid helps break down the protein in the turkey and allows flavor to seep in.
3. Injecting: is technically marinating from the inside out (except that not all injection recipes include an acid in their sauces).³ Instead of soaking the turkey in the marinating solution, you inject it inside.

• There are two other methods that can be used to "season" your turkey. However, unless they contain an acid or a salt, they will not affect the flavor of your meat.¹ The other methods include:

1. Rubs: Turkey rubs do not so much add flavor to the meat, but coat the outside of the meat with its flavor. The one exception to this would be if you are coating the meat with a marinade, which could then affect the meat.
2. Flavor Stuffing: Flavor stuffing is when you add herbs, vegetables, fruits or similar items to the inside of the turkey. It is debatable as to whether or not this adds flavor to the turkey or not.

• If you are wondering why basting is not on this list, basting is done to make the skin crispy and golden brown. It does not improve the moisture or flavor of the interior of your turkey.⁴

Before You Begin: Cleaning Your Turkey

• Before you begin, you will need a thawed turkey. If you need help with these methods, check out Mahalo's How to Pick a Thanksgiving Turkey and How to Thaw a Turkey. You will then need to clean your turkey.

• Cleaning a turkey involves only a few steps:

1. Remove the packaging from your thawed turkey.⁵
2. Free legs from tucked position and/or release the legs from the metal clamp.⁶
3. Remove the neck and giblets from body cavity.⁶

• You may opt to rinse your turkey with cool water and dry with paper towels.⁶ However, this can cause cross-contamination to other foods. If you decide to do this, make sure you wash your sink with hot, soapy water and a bleach solution afterwards.⁷

Flavor Brining a Turkey

• Flavor brining is when you add extras herbs, spices or other ingredients to your brining solution. Unlike regular brining which involves using only salt and water, flavor brining may require you to bring the ingredients to a boil in order to dissolve the sugars before cooling the solution.⁸

1. Before brining, completely thaw your turkey.⁹
   • - To learn how to thaw quickly and safely, check out Mahalo's guide on How to Thaw a Turkey.
2. Determine how much brine you need by placing your turkey into a container and filling it with enough water to cover the turkey entirely.⁹ Then, remove the turkey and measure the water.
3. Brining requires salt. How much salt you need depends on the type of salt you use. The more dense the salt is, the less that is needed.⁹ Use 1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher, 3 tablespoons Morton kosher or 2 tablespoons table salt for each quart of water.¹⁰
4. Rinse your turkey after you have finished brining.¹⁰
5. Brining is often combined with stuffing (flavor stuffing, not the bread kind). For more information, see the section on this page regarding Flavor Stuffing.

• • For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Brine a Turkey and Turkey Brining Videos.

• YouTube: Turkey Brining Secrets - Food Network

Additional Brining Recipes

• The following are useful recipes for brining solutions which were not referenced above.
  1. Food & Wine: Deep-Fried Turkey Brined in Cayenne and Brown Sugar
  2. Epicurious.com: Brined and Barbecued Turkey Recipe  
  3. WMAR-TV: Honey-Brine Turkey
  4. The Virtual Weber Bullet: Whole Turkey - Honey Brine

Marinating a Turkey

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by Sarah Katzenell)
  A good marinade requires at least three ingredients: an oil, an acid, and a spice. Of course, you are not limited to only three ingredients. The most important ingredient is the acid, which includes vinegar, lemon juice and wine. In the right amount, the acid works as a tenderizer. If you over do it however, your turkey will come out tough and stringy.⁴ Still, the measuring does not have to be exact.²⁰ Here are some possible suggestions for the ingredients:
  1. Acid: Citrus juice, apple cider vinegar or sauterne wine^{21 3 22}
  2. Oil: Olive, canola, truffle or peanut oil^{20 22}
  3. Flavoring: Garlic, basil, marjoram, thyme, sage and other herbs and spices^{20 3 21}

• Once you have your marinade prepared, here are some tips on how to properly marinate your turkey:

1. Use a fork to make random holes over the turkey before marinating.³
2. Place your turkey in a plastic cooking bag or foodservice grade plastic bag.³ Use a container that allows you to turn the turkey occasionally if it is not possible to cover the entire turkey with the marinade.²¹
3. Marinate your turkey in the refrigerator.⁴
4. Marinate between two to eight hours. Do not marinate longer than eight hours.²⁰
5. Discard; do not reuse marinade.²⁰

Marinade Recipes

• These recipes clearly state that they are to be used to soak the turkey in and not injected.
  1. Cooks.com: Sam's Marinade For Turkey, Chicken Or Beef | Marinated Turkey Breast
  2. Allrecipes: Chicken and Turkey Marinade
  3. Eatturkey.com: Herb Marinade

Injecting a Turkey

• Injecting your turkey allows you to season portions of the bird which are otherwise very difficult to reach.²³ It is done using a meat injector (think syringe with a large needle). Although technically injecting could be considered a form of marination, many recipes do not combine the acid, oil and flavorings that are required for marination. However, remember that Without an acid or salt, you will not start the process that tenderizes the turkey.¹

• Because you will be sending the liquid through a needle, your sauce must be liquefied. For example, you will want to avoid using table salt and black pepper because they can clog your injector.²⁴ You may need to puree and strain your sauce before injecting.²⁵

• Inject your turkey the night before you cook it to allow the liquid to soak in.²⁶ Your goal when injecting is to get the flavor throughout the turkey while making the fewest possible punctures.²³ Here is one method of injecting a turkey:

1. Start at the breast. Inject 60 percent of your sauce here.²⁵
   1. Insert the needle deep into the breast on one side of the turkey and inject some flavor.²⁶
   2. Don't go too deep, or else sauce to will leak out the other side.²³
   3. Pull out your needle part way and inject at a different angle. Repeat at several different angles.²⁶
   4. When you are finished on one side, repeat this process on the other side.²⁶
2. Then inject the legs and thighs. Inject 30 percent of your sauce.²⁵ This should be done similarly to how the breast was injected.²⁶
3. Finish with the wings. Inject the remaining 10 percent of your sauce.²⁵ This should be done similarly to how the breast was injected.²⁶

• YouTube: Chef's Corner: Marinate a Turkey (Time: 6:49)

Injection Recipes

• These recipes are designed specifically for use on turkeys with a meat injector:
  1. Epicurious.com: Butter-Injected Turkey Recipe
  2. RecipeTips.com: Turkey Injection Flavoring Recipe
  3. Recipezaar: Turkey Injection Sauce With Honey, Herbs and Spice Recipe | Deep Fried Turkey Injection - Butter Creole Recipe
  4. Cooks.com: Turkey Injection | Drunken Turkey
  5. BigOven.com: Smoking Turkey Rubs, Mop, Etc recipe | Worth-the-wait Turkey Recipe
  6. WCHS: GMA Recipe: Emeril's Deep-Fried "Cajun" Turkey
     

     (Creative Commons photo by ben brainard)

Turkey Rubs and Flavor Stuffing

• Two other ways you can add seasoning to your turkey are turkey rubs and flavor stuffing.

1. Turkey rubs involve coating the skin or directly under the skin with a seasoning or sauce. Rubs can be done on both the outside and inside of the turkey.²⁷
2. Flavor stuffing involves placing items inside the turkey. This should not be confused with the breaded stuffing that is eaten--these items are usually discarded after the turkey is cooked. Although some claim this adds flavor, other recipes simply list these items as "aromatics."¹⁷

• There is no scientific evidence that rubs and flavor stuffing work as well as marinating and brining.¹ They simply coat the surface of the turkey. Since they can be used in conjunction with the other methods, it appears that the flavor they add is minimal.¹³ However, we have included some recipes that you might consider trying.

Turkey Rub Recipes

• Food Network: Brined, Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe | Deep Fried Cajun Turkey Recipe
• Reynolds Kitchens: Herb Roasted Holiday Turkey
• Allrecipes: Deep Fried Turkey Rub | Herb Turkey Rub
• Recipezaar: Dry Rub for Turkey Deep Frying Recipe  
• Epicurious.com: Jive Turkey Deep-fried Turkey Recipe
• MarthaStewart.com: Deep-Fried Turkey
• About.com: Turkey Rub Recipes  
• Cooks.com: Roast Turkey Rub
• BigOven.com: Smoking Turkey Rubs, Mop, Etc recipe | Worth-the-wait Turkey Recipe
• CHOW: Fried Turkey with Southern Rub

Flavor Stuffing Recipes

• Food Network: Brined, Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe
• Farm Home Life: Turkey Preparation Tips
• Eatturkey.com: Brined Roasted Turkey
• Shady Brook Farms: Preparing a Whole Turkey - Seasoning
• Honeysuckle White: Preparing a Whole Turkey - Seasoning
• Recipezaar: Never- Fail Basic Brining Recipe Recipe | Brining a Young Turkey Recipe

Conclusion

• Now that you have a seasoned turkey, you will want to check out Mahalo's guides on: How to Cook a Turkey, How to Deep Fry a Turkey or How to Smoke a Turkey. You should also find How to Carve a Turkey, How to Prepare Thanksgiving Leftovers, How to Pick a Thanksgiving Turkey and How to Survive Thanksgiving Dinner with Your Family.

• If you are looking for other dishes to serve with your turkey, check out How to Plan Thanksgiving Dinner, How to Make Stuffing, How to Make Green Bean Casserole, How to Make Cranberry Sauce, How to Make Mashed Potatoes, How to Decorate Thanksgiving Cupcakes or How to Make Gravy.

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References for How to Season a Turkey

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Science of Meat: What Gives Meat its Flavor?
2. ↑ Mmm...that's good!: To Marinate or To Brine.... (August 1, 2008)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Eatturkey.com: Marinate First
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} University of Illinois Extension: Turkey Frequently Asked Questions (Turkey for the Holidays)
5. ↑ Grannys: Turkey Preparation - Cleaning the Turkey
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Shady Brook Farms: Preparing a Whole Turkey - Cleaning
7. ↑ turkeyfordinner.ca: Preparation - How to thaw and prepare
8. ↑ The Virtual Weber Bullet: All About Brining - Introducing Flavor Brining
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5} Dallas Morning News: Brine the Turkey for Better Flavor
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Cooks Illustrated: The Basics of Brining  
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5} Butterball: How To Brine
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4} Slashfood: Some Turkey Brining Dos and Don'ts
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3} Food Network: Brined, Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe
14. ↑ Food Network: Deep-fried Turkey Recipe
15. ↑ Recipezaar: Never- Fail Basic Brining Recipe Recipe
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4} The Virtual Weber Bullet: Whole Turkey - Apple Brine
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3} Recipezaar: Brining a Young Turkey Recipe
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} Allrecipes: Out of this World Turkey Brine
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} Food Network: Maple Brined Turkey Recipe
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4} Butterball: How To Marinate
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1 21.2} RecipeTips.com: Marinating Turkey
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} Cooks.com: Marinated Turkey Breast
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2} About.com: Turkey Injection  
24. ↑ Recipezaar: Deep Fried Turkey Injection - Butter Creole Recipe
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3} Eatturkey.com: A Deep Fried Delicacy: The How-To on Deep Frying Turkey
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5} RecipeTips.com: Turkey Injection Flavoring Recipe
27. ↑ Food Network: Deep Fried Cajun Turkey Recipe