Crockpot Turkey Breast
Here’s a little thing about me…I don’t like touching raw poultry. Weird, I know. But I can’t stand it. Therefore, dealing with a full turkey? Uh…never. (Well, I did it once, and that was enough. *shudder*) So anyway, if I cook a turkey, I do a breast only. That makes it a little easier. And a few years ago, I wanted to make it even easier, so I Googled how to cook turkey breasts in the crockpot. I found this recipe online, but I honestly don’t remember where. I don’t think I’ve tweaked this one at all because it’s so delicious. I hope you like it!
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb turkey, skin on, boneless or bone in (thawed)
- 1 head garlic, cut in half horizontally
- 1 onion (yellow or white), unpeeled, cut in half
- 5 sprigs of thyme (or 2t dried thyme)
Rub
- 1½ t garlic powder
- 1½ t onion powder
- 1t paprika
- 2t salt
- 5 grinds black pepper
- 1½-2T olive oil
Gravy
- Chicken stock/broth (or water), for topping up liquid
- 4T butter
- ¼ c flour
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Place Rub ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine, it should be a wet paste.
Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels. Slather with the Rub, using most for the side and top.
Place the garlic, onion and thyme face down in the slow cooker. Place the turkey breast on top so it is elevated.
Slow cook on LOW for 6 hours (do not use high) or until internal temperature reads 165F when thermometer is inserted into the middle. Check internal temperature at 5 hours.
Remove turkey from the slow cooker and let it rest for 20 minutes before crisping the skin.
CRISP THE SKIN
Preheat oven on the broil setting.
Place oven shelf 1 foot from the heat source.
Remove turkey breast from the slow cooker into a heatproof serving dish.
Place on the oven shelf and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the skin is crispy. Keep an eye on it – it browns very quickly!
Serve immediately with gravy on the side.
GRAVY
Strain the liquid into a measuring jug, squishing the garlic etc to extract all the flavor. If you are short of 2 cups, top up with chicken broth
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and mix to combine. Pour about ½ cup of liquid into the flour mixture and mix until it forms a paste. Slowly add remaining liquid, stirring as your go. Use a whisk if required to make the gravy smooth. Simmer until thickened – take it off before it is as thick as you want because it will continue to thicken.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey.
NOTE: If you’re like me and not much of a gravy person, I still strain the broth as noted and then I store it in a jar in the freezer. This broth is so yummy, so keep it and use it for soups/stews/etc later.
