Turkey In A Crock Pot

Yep, I cooked a bone-in turkey breast (which I thought was the same as a whole turkey, but maybe not? I guess there weren't any legs/drumsticks now that I think about it) in a crock pot. Why was a I cooking a turkey in July? Good question, long answer, we'll skip that. Why do it in a crock pot? Because it's July so our apartment is hot without having the oven on for 4 hours and my dog is very sick so I just wanted to start it and leave it with minimal effort. I wouldn't have made it at all, but I didn't know if you could refreeze a totally thawed turkey.

Anyway, it turned out delicious, moist and tender, though not particularly beautiful if presentation is important to you. When I lifted it out of the crock pot one whole side came, leaving the bones and the other side totally separate and still in the pot.

I used:

7.5 lb bone in Turkey breast

6 quart crock pot

olive oil, about 1/2 cup total

black pepper (about 1/2 Tbsp.)

salt (about 1/2 Tbsp)

season salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)

garlic powder (about 1/2 Tbsp)

thyme (about 1/4 teaspoon)

1/2 onion (any but red), peeled

3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled

I thawed the turkey completely in the fridge. I rinsed it, then trimmed off most of the skin, the neck, and any yucky stuff inside (including removing the provided gravy packet which I almost always manage to slice open when removing the turkey wrapper). I rinsed the turkey again, then patted it dry with paper towels. I used my hands to rub a layer of olive oil all over the inside and outside of the turkey. I put the garlic cloves and the 1/2 onion inside the opening of the turkey.

I mixed all of the seasonings together in a small bowl, then added enough olive oil to make the mixture the consistency of a thick paste. I rubbed this spice paste all over the outside of the turkey, and even some of the extra inside the turkey. I placed all of this in the crock pot and turned it on high. That's it. Well, actually I then Lysoled the entire kitchen counter and sink.

After 3 hours I used a meat thermometer to check the turkey. I had read that the turkey needs to reach 140 degrees in the first three hours to be safe; mine hit 150. I can't vouch for the truth in this, but it does make sense that you don't want a semi-warm turkey laying around. I put the lid back on the crock pot and left it for two more hours. After a total of five hours of cooking the top side of my turkey (out of the liquid) reached 190 degrees and the bottom side (in liquid) over 200, meaning it was cooked thoroughly. Given the seriousness of getting poultry cooked thoroughly to prevent illness, I'll direct you to the experts for info on how to know your turkey is done.

Now I don't need to worry about presentation for my turkey, but I am guessing you could broil this for a few minutes after it was finished in the crock pot if you wanted to brown it a little, and then arrange it nicely on a plate. I am excited for turkey, turkey sandwiches, and a number of other left over turkey creations in the next week or so (I refroze some of the cooked turkey). It's a nice change from what I typically eat and if you can catch turkey on sale midsummer, you just might want to give this a try! It's been a weird weekend so why not make a turkey?