Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast With Lemon-Garlic Gravy
Published Nov. 5, 2024
- Total Time
- 12½ hours
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4 hours and 20 minutes, plus overnight brining
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 1½tablespoons dried thyme
- 1½tablespoons dried rosemary
- 1tablespoon onion powder
- 1tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1(5- to 7-pound) bone-in, skin-on whole turkey breast
- 2carrots, scrubbed (no need to peel or cut)
- 1large yellow or red onion, sliced into 3 or 4 thick rings
- 1large garlic head, halved crosswise
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- Chicken or turkey broth or stock, if necessary
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Turkey
For the Gravy
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
800 calories; 39 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 92 grams protein; 1263 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the turkey: Combine the salt, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, paprika, brown sugar and several generous grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Pat the turkey breast dry and put it in a very large bowl. (Remove and discard the pop up thermometer if there is one.) Coat the meat all over with the salt mixture, including the bone and under the skin. (Gently slide your fingers under the skin to loosen it and generously season the meat underneath.) Arrange the turkey skin-side up in the bowl and refrigerate uncovered overnight (8 to 12 hours).
- Step 2
Remove the turkey breast from the refrigerator about an hour before you’re ready to cook. Put the carrots, onion and garlic (don’t worry if it falls apart) in the bottom of a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Put the turkey on top, skin-side up. Smear the softened butter under the skin of the turkey (don’t worry about being even or neat). Cook on low until the thickest part of the turkey just registers 155 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Depending on your slow cooker and the size of your turkey breast, this will take between 4 and 6 hours. (Start checking the temperature at the thickest part of the breast at around 3 hours and 45 minutes, so that you can get a sense of how quickly it is cooking.)
- Step 3
Using tongs, pull the turkey breast out of the slow cooker and put it on a sheet pan. If the turkey is done much sooner than you are ready to eat, tent it with foil and let it sit at room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
- Step 4
Position a rack about 8 inches from the broiler heat source (farther than usual) and turn the broiler on high. Broil the turkey to brown and crisp the skin, checking and rotating it every 3 minutes, for 6 to 9 minutes total.
- Step 5
Let the turkey rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Meanwhile, prepare the gravy: Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove and discard the onion and carrots from the slow cooker. Squeeze the soft garlic out of the papery skins into the drippings, and discard the skins. Pour the drippings and garlic into a liquid measuring cup. If you don’t have 2 cups of drippings, add chicken or turkey broth to make up the difference.
- Step 7
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine into evenly moistened, sizzling crumbles. Pour in the 2 cups of turkey drippings and bring to a simmer, whisking, until the gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 3 minutes. Squeeze in the lemon juice and smash the garlic bits with a fork; season with black pepper to taste. (This gravy is rustic with garlic bits — if you’d prefer it smooth, strain it through a fine sieve before serving.)
- Step 8
Carve the turkey breast and serve it with the warm gravy.
- If your turkey breast is frozen, allot a day or two to completely defrost it in the refrigerator; don’t put frozen meat into the slow cooker.
- To serve 2 to 4 people, use a half turkey breast, preferably skin-on and bone-in, though you can use boneless, skinless. (The skin is more important than the bone.) For a 2- to 3½-pound half breast, use a dry brine of 1½ to 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt (the smaller amount for under 3 pounds), mixed with 2 teaspoons each dried thyme, dried rosemary, onion powder and paprika, 1½ teaspoons light brown sugar, plus several generous grinds of pepper. Use the same aromatics in the bottom of the slow cooker, and rub the turkey with 2 tablespoons softened butter before cooking. Cook on low for 2½ to 3½ hours. Start checking the temperature at 2 hours and 15 minutes. Make the gravy with 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 cup drippings/broth and juice of ½ lemon.
Private Notes
Comments
Test drove this recipe today using a less than ideal boneless, skinless breast as that's what I could find. The turkey was moist (I know, terrible word but it's turkey breast so the word matters). Some general thoughts: * The technique (dry brining, crock pot) is spot on. * Bit too salty. FWIW…used Diamond Crystal/followed adjustments. Will half it if I make it again. * I cut back on the amount of butter as I didn’t have a bird with skin. * Too much rosemary/not enough thyme (and I miss sage).
I used a bone in, skin on full breast. The turkey was just right, juicy and delicious. Note to gravy fans, however: I had only a scant half cup of drippings, so have stock ready to add, and for me, the juice of a whole lemon was too much, far too acidic, and I would taste before adding and then reduce the volume.
Could you not puree at least some of the cooked carrot and onion with a stick blender to fortify and thicken the gravy? Perhaps the carrot would radically change the color more than wanted, but I think I might give it a try!
Well, my bone in breast cut from a whole bird has been in for 8 hours and it still is hovering in the 140 degrees. Not sure of the weight, but not huge ( the whole turkey weighed 11.9 lbs) and I am so very frustrated. My slow cooker is not malfunctioning - I just made something in it that was timed perfectly as usual.
Juiciest turkey I've ever cooked! Mine was a little over 5 pounds and ended up in the slow cooker for about 5 hours. I think it was probably done a little before 4.5 hours but I kept it cooking on low as I had sides finishing. I didn't broil it and everyone still loved it. I'll definitely be making it again. My crockpot is a 6 quart.
I happened to see this slow cooker recipe when considering how to prepare this year's turkey breast. We switched to boneless breasts several years ago, and have never looked back! This approach was so appealing, since the oven is always in demand on Thanksgiving! The brine was so easy but added delicious flavor, for sure. And the turkey was incredibly moist, as always. So much easier when not needing to wait for the dark meat to cook.