Slow Cooker Turkey Crown

This slow cooker turkey crown is the perfect way to cook turkey breast, keeping it moist, juicy, and most of all, hassle free.

It's a really simple process to prepare and cook, with the added bonus that the cooking liquid becomes a delicious gravy, with very little effort.

This recipe will happily feed 6 as the main event for a festive roast, leaving the oven free for the side dishes and saving you time and money.

Simple, easy and delicious hot or cold.

Enjoy.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Slow Cooking Time
• 🥗 Serve with
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• Christmas
• 💬 Comments

I've had my crock pot slow cooker for over 30 years and it's still going strong. I still use it at least twice a week and it's probably my favourite gadget because it's just so easy to use. There are just 2 switches for high and low.

Of course, at the time of writing this, global energy costs have soared and I am really conscious of how much energy I use for cooking.

On average, it costs £1 an hour to run an oven, and only 5p for a slow cooker, so it makes perfect sense to use it often, especially for an expensive time of the year like Christmas.

Turkey breast has a tendency to be dry, so the slow cooker is the perfect place to ensure that it keep moist as it cooks, and the mirepoix stock is the basis for a delicious gravy at the end.

This is a great idea for smaller gatherings of up to 6 people, and is stress free too. There's no worrying about whether the legs are cooked or worrying how to fit it all in the oven. The oven can be on for less than an hour to do the roast potatoes, stuffing and pigs in blankets.

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

• No basting or hassle changing temperatures.
• Economical to cook at about 20 pence.
• Gravy cooks at the same time.
• Frees up space for side dishes in the oven.
• Moist and juicy turkey breast meat.
• Easy to carve.
• Perfect for smaller gatherings.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Turkey - turkey crown, which is a turkey joint of the breast meat on the bone only, without the legs or wings. Defrosted if frozen. A 2 kg crown will take approximately 30 hours to defrost in a refrigerator and needs to be cooked within 48 hours.
• Stock - chicken stock from a stock cube or homemade.
• Tarragon - dried tarragon.
• Carrots - any type of carrots.
• Onion - brown onion.
• Celery - 2 sticks of celery.
• Salt - cooking or kosher salt.
• Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
• Oil - olive or vegetable oil.
• Butter - salted or unsalted.

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

🍽 Equipment

• slow cooker - crock pot with 3.5 litre or 5.3 pint capacity
• blender
• frying pan / skillet
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• wooden spoon
• saucepan
• slotted spoon
• kitchen towel
• aluminium foil

🔪 Instructions

Preheat the slow cooker on the HIGH setting, while you prepare the ingredients.

Peel the carrot and onion, wash the celery, and trim the ends.

Chop the vegetables into small pieces.

The vegetables will form part of the mirepoix stock.

💭 Top Tip

• Mirepoix is a French term for the combination of onions, carrots and celery cooked slowly, without caramelising or colouring. The aim is to bring out the natural sweetness and flavour of the vegetables as the basis for a sauce.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the vegetables over a low to medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon.

Bring the turkey to room temperature about an hour before cooking.

Pat the turkey crown joint dry with kitchen paper and season the breast.

Add the butter to the remaining oil in the frying pan over a medium heat.

Brown the turkey breast for a few minutes, as it won't get any browner in the slow cooker.

Put the turkey on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker or crock pot.

Add the stock and tarragon to the pan and bring to the boil.

Use a wooden spoon to loosen any bits stuck to the pan.

Pour the hot stock around the turkey.

⏲️ Slow Cooking Time

Cook the turkey for 4 hours, or until the juices run clear.

Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes on a plate, covered loosely in foil.

Skim off any fat from the surface of the mirepoix stock, then transfer the liquid to a blender and process until smooth.

💭 Top Tip

• Take care when blending hot liquid as it can quickly increase in volume and spill over. If in any doubt, blend in batches.

Transfer the gravy to a saucepan and season to taste.

Warm the gravy over a medium heat to serve.

💭 Top Tip

• If you have the oven on you can put the slow roast turkey crown in the oven for 20 minutes to brown.
• It's easier to carve if you remove each breast and then cut thick slices across the breast. This way, each portion gets some turkey skin.

🥗 Serve with

• Pork Stuffing
• Cranberry Sauce
• Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips
• Roast Chantenay Carrots
• Roast Green Beans and Carrots
• Long Stem Broccoli
• Roasted Swede
• Baked Cauliflower Cheese
• Cabbage with Onion and Bacon
• Leeks in White Sauce
• Easy Roast Potatoes

🥙 Substitutions

• Turkey crown - use a turkey breast joint instead but reduce the cooking time. As a guide allow an hour for each 500 grams or pound of meat.

📖 Variations

This recipe is designed to be as economical as possible, however, you can add a few tweeks to make it more luxurious.

• Use a tablespoon of fresh tarragon instead of dried.
• Deglaze the frying pan with 100 ml of dry white wine and allow to reduce for a few minutes before adding the stock.
• Add a tablespoon of quince jelly or redcurrant jelly to enrich the gravy.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - cool, cover and keep for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator
• To reheat - wrap in foil and reheat in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 or use in stir fries, pasta or curry dishes.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make the slow cooker turkey crown and gravy a few days in advance if you prefer.

🤔 FAQs

More slow cooker recipes

• Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
• Slow Cooker Christmas Pudding
• Slow Cooker Brisket and Gravy
• Slow Cooker Beef Cheeks
• Slow Cooker Beef and Ale Stew
• Slow Cooker Corned Beef Hash
• Slow Cooker Chocolate Rice Pudding
• Slow Cooker Pea Pottage
• Slow Cooker Venison Stew

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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