Every host wants to impress their holiday guests with a great-tasting, juicy turkey as the centerpiece for their holiday meal.  We have many ways to help you get your bird cooked (frying, grilling, smoking, roasting), but a few basic techniques can be used to add flavor no matter how you choose to make it happen.

Injectable marinades are a great, easy way to add flavor to your turkey.  Most commonly thought of for fried turkeys, injecting also works well on roasted, smoked and grilled birds.  Injecting gets the flavor deep into the meat of the turkey and you can customize the flavor to suit your individual taste.  There are many prepared marinades available or you can make your own using ingredients like Crab Boil.  We have a variety of injectors and prepared marinades to choose from.

Whether you’re roasting, grilling or smoking your turkey, brining is a great way to make it juicy and flavorful.  Brining basically involves soaking your turkey in a salt solution that infiltrates the turkey and helps it retain moisture during cooking.  Many people advise only using fresh turkeys for brining, but we have also brined thawed, frozen turkeys with great results.  Also, don’t let a lack of refrigerator space deter you from brining your turkey- a cooler works as well.

Many sites have recipes for brines, the following are a few we like:

Brined and Barbecued Turkey with Pan Gravy

Big Green Egg Brined Turkey

Butt Rub Bird Brine

Finally, don’t underestimate the flavor you can add to the both the inside and outside of the turkey with a rub.  Sprinkle the rub on the inside cavity of the bird as well as under the skin.  A little rub on the outside of the skin can also add nice color.  Use your favorite combination of herbs and spices or an already prepared rub.  One of our favorites is Butt Rub- it can even be used as an ingredient in a brine solution (see link above).

Whatever method you choose to make your meal special, we wish you a safe and happy holiday!