Turkey In A Crock Pot

Isn't there a song that goes "Turkey in the straw...turkey in the straw...." 

I digress even at the start of today's post.

Today's topic is turkey in the crock pot.  Let me get back on track...

Recently I purchased a frozen turkey breast.  Usually I buy the whole bird but my mom made a turkey breast the last time we went to visit and it was so tasty.  And not so messy!  Last week I pulled the frozen mass from the freezer and placed it in a pan in the refrigerator.  It took a good four days to thaw in the fridge.  I decided to try cooking it in the crock pot, like my mom does. 

Brine the turkey.  Brining means to soak the meat in a water/sugar/salt/spice bath overnight, in the refrigerator.  You'll see in this picture I filled a stockpot about half full.  To the water I added fresh rosemary, about 3/4 cup salt and 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Stir that until everything is dissolved.  Then slide the turkey breast into the water, making sure it is under water.  (Yes, I agree, it looks gross)

 Make space in the refrigerator for this pan.

Aren't I daring to let you see into my fridge...

Cover the stockpot and let it set overnight.

 The next morning, I pulled out the crock pot and

added two washed carrots (I didn't even peel them),

two stalks of celery and about half an onion.

Pull the turkey breast out of the brine water

and rinse the meat off under running water.

 Stuff it into the crock pot.

This was a tight fit and I have a big crock pot!

I poured 2 cups of chicken broth over the meat.

Place the cover on and cook, on high, for

about 4 hours. 

 Clean up is important when touching chicken or turkey.

I used paper towels to wipe out the sink, the faucets

and the counters.  Then I pulled out the

disinfecting wipes to really clean up any residue.

 The delicious smells of cooking turkey started

about two hours into the cooking time.  Yum!

It is important to have a meat thermometer to test

for doneness.  I got interrupted in my day and

our turkey cooked for about 5 hours but it

didn't get dried out. 

I used two big spoons to pull the meat from the

crock pot and placed it on a cookie sheet

to rest about 15 minutes before starting to cut.

 The juices and veggies left in the bottom of the

crock pot look like a good soup!

I used a strainer to capture the good juices and

made gravy on the stove.

 We will be enjoying many meals from this

easy-to-make turkey breast. 

It was amazingly simple.

Give it a try!