John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey

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INGREDIENTS
  • 2 kg turkey breast Turkey-Breast1
  • 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
  • 1 onion (brown, yellow or white), unpeeled, cut in half
  • 1 lemon, cut in half
  • 5 sprigs of thyme (or 2 tsp dried thyme leaves)
Rub
  • 1½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 5 grinds of black pepper
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
Gravy
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Place Rub ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
  2. Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels. Slather with the Rub, using most for the side and top.
  3. Place the garlic, onion, thyme and 1 half lemon face down in the slow cooker. Place the turkey breast on top so it is elevated.
  4. Squeeze over the remaining ½ lemon and then push it down the side.
  5. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
  6. Remove turkey from the slow cooker and let it rest for 20 minutes before crisping the skin.
Crisp the Skin
  1. Preheat gril/broiler to high.
  2. Place an oven shelf 30cm / 1 foot from the heat source.
  3. Remove turkey breast from the slow cooker into a heatproof serving dish.
  4. 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!
  5. Serve immediately with gravy on the side.
Gravy
  1. There should be quite alot of liquid and fat in the slow cooker (see photo of turkey in the slow cooker).
  2. Scoop off ¼ cup fat from the surface and place into a medium saucepan.
  3. Scoop off as much of the remaining fat as you can and place into a separate bowl – reserve for another use (or keep as a back up or discard).
  4. Then pour the remaining liquid from the slow cooker (and the onions etc) through a sieve into a large bowl. Use a potato masher or spoon to mush the onions etc to extract as much flavour out of them as possible. I usually even get my hands in there to mush it up.
  5. Heat the fat in the saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir until combined. Stir for 2 minutes until the mixture browns slightly (this is how you give the gravy some colour, otherwise it is a pale golden colour).
  6. Lower the heat to medium low and add 2 cups of the juice you strained in the previous step and use a whisk to combine. As it simmers, it will thicken – this will happen quickly. Add the chicken stock to get the consistency to your liking.
  7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  8. Remove the saucepan from the stove. If your gravy has lumps in it, strain before serving.

(Recipe Tin Eats, 2013)