Thursday, 14 November 2019 13:33 Written by John Reardon

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Thanksgiving and the holiday season is here. It is time to start the preparations of items needed to create your fabulous feasts. At Compliments to the Chef, we have some gadgets which can make your Thanksgiving and holiday prep and serve a little easier. Good tools are essential to good cooking just like good tools are helpful to a carpenter building a house. One recommendation for a must have is a Flavor injector and there are many types. Adding some flavor can really set your Turkey apart from Mom’s recipe. 

Injecting a turkey with a flavored liquid is a good technique for producing moist, flavorful meat. Flavoring the surface of the turkey with marinades, rubs, sauces, and seasonings is also a good method for adding flavor, but flavoring the surface does not penetrate the meat. Using a meat injector allows you to inject the flavoring deep into the meat of the turkey.

The flavor injector is a syringe that has a heavy gauge needle attached to a plunger type tube. There are several holes in the last few inches of the tip of the needle. The holes allow the flavoring agent to be released into the meat of the turkey in all directions.

There are many ingredients that can be injected into the turkey to add flavor and moistness. Many variations of spiced or herbed liquids can be used, but other ingredients, such as sherry, wine, beer, flavored vinegar, and seasoned oil can be used as well. When mixing the flavoring liquid, be sure it does not include ingredients that may get may trapped in the needle of the syringe, such as herbs that are not finely crushed. If garlic or onion is to be added, it should be used in a liquid form. A little orange juice can be added to the flavoring liquid to act as a tenderizer. Do not make the flavoring too strong because it may overpower the turkey’s flavor.

How to inject a Turkey: Place the turkey in a roasting pan or any other pan large enough to position the turkey so that it is breast side up. Draw the flavoring liquid into the injector by first making sure the plunger is pushed to the bottom of the syringe. Insert the needle into the flavoring liquid and pull up on the plunger to draw the liquid into the injecting syringe. Now you may begin injecting the flavoring liquid into the turkey. The flavoring should be spread throughout the turkey with the fewest possible punctures. Begin by inserting the needle deep into one side of the breast of the turkey and inject some of the contents of the syringe. After injecting, begin to pull the needle from the breast meat, but do not pull it completely out of the puncture hole. Using the same hole, move the syringe to a different angle and again push the needle into the turkey breast to inject some flavoring in a different portion of the breast meat. Continue to inject the meat at a two or three more angles to spread the flavoring throughout one half of the turkey breast. Repeat the same process on the opposite side of the breast bone.

After injecting both sides of the turkey breast, inject flavoring into the legs and thighs in the same manner. Each thigh and each side of the breast should be injected with 1 to 2 ounces of liquid, depending on the size of the turkey. 1 1/2 ounces is sufficient for a 12 lb. turkey. Each leg should be injected with 3/4 to 1 ounce of liquid. Any remaining flavoring can be injected into the drumsticks of the wings and into the back of the turkey.

Cover the turkey and refrigerate overnight to allow the injected liquid to impart its flavor throughout the layers of meat. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature for about 2 hours before cooking. The turkey can then be cooked using a variety of methods, such as roasting, deep-frying, grilling, or smoking.

At the Reardon household everyone has a job to do including doing the dishes. Even the family dog is great for cleaning anything dropped on the floor.  My son John has taken over the job of head carver and my daughter Aubrey is our great pastry chef. Paula and I look forward to the holidays every year now that our children are older. Cherish your moments together. Stop by and fulfill your holiday culinary needs at Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located of 33 Railroad Place, Saratoga Springs. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

 Take Care,
John & Paula 

 

InjectedTurkey

 

Read 830 times Last modified on Thursday, 14 November 2019 13:35

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