Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Roast Turkey Breast

Name: Slow Cooker Roast Turkey Breast
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 380 min
Ingredients: 1 onion (sliced); 3 cloves garlic (smashed); 1 lemon (sliced); 1 bunch fresh sage; 1 (5- to 7-pound) turkey breast (bone in, skin on); 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; ½ teaspoon ground sage; ½ teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons butter (room temperature); olive oil

If you have the time, cooking a turkey breast in a slow cooker is amazingly easy. You could do this as a meal for a crowd, but why not slow cook a large turkey breast and then have turkey as an ingredient for any number of meals in the following days. There are lots of interesting and creative ways to use it and you'll find lots of recipes here.

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How to Slow Cook a Turkey Breast

The most important step in preparing a slow cooker roast turkey breast is to make sure your turkey breast fits into your slow cooker. An oval slow cooker tends to work better than a round slow cooker for large pieces of meat, which tend to be more oval in shape than round. Start by putting your raw turkey breast into the cooker and make sure the lid can fit on without touching the top of the turkey. If it is a little too big, don’t fret – just trim some of the rib bones on the underside of the turkey breast until it fits perfectly.

This recipe uses onions, sage and lemons in the bottom of the cooker to add some flavor aroma to the turkey and also to the juices that will drip out of the meat. They create a nice bed for the turkey to rest on. You could use lots of different spices in the spice rub on the turkey skin, but try to include something that has a reddish or brown color to it. As you can imagine, slow cooking a turkey doesn’t necessarily assure browned skin, so giving it a hand with a brown spice rub really helps.

Raw turkey breast with a spice rub in a slow cooker.

#1 Rule of Slow Cooking

Then, you just need to wait and follow the most important rule of slow cooking – do not (under any circumstances) lift the lid. Lifting the lid causes far too big a drop in temperature and will slow down the cooking process much more than you’d expect. I love the fact that my slow cooker has clamps on the side of the lid, not only to keep it on securely when traveling, but to remind me never to unclamp them and open it up until it is time. It also comes with a temperature probe, which conveniently lets me know how the turkey is coming along with having to open the lid to check.

Cooked roast turkey breast in a slow cooker.

How to Tell the Turkey is Cooked

Which brings me to the next important point – to be sure to check the internal temperature of the turkey before removing it from the cooker (yes, you are permitted to lift the lid off for this). Insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast meat. The thermometer should register 165ºF when the turkey is fully cooked. Remove it from the slow cooker and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing it. That’s just enough time to make a nice gravy from the drippings or to finish the side dishes.

Slices of roast turkey breast on a plate with mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Slow Cooker Turkey Leftovers

Don’t let a great roast turkey dinner only be for the holidays. It’s a super satisfying meal and if you have leftovers… try these leftover turkey recipes: Turkey Tex Mex Salad, California Turkey Club, Turkey Waldorf Salad Pita, Turkey Couscous Salad.

Featured Recipe Techniques

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Slow Cooker Cooking Charts

This complete Slow Cooker Cooking Chart has suggested times for low and high slow cooking for all categories of food....View Technique

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