Just in time for your Christmas or Thanksgiving preparations, I have the best way to cook your turkey smoothly, in the slow cooker! My slow cooker turkey crown is a delicious way to cook your turkey and avoid the dreaded beef jerky you can get through roasting.
Turkey crown
(if you’re not familiar with this term, it’s a double turkey breast on the bone that’s common in the UK for Christmas) is prepared with a massage made with olive oil, smoked paprika, and herbs.
You can also follow the same method for a single large turkey breast or a turkey . Just make sure that if it’s a whole turkey it fits in your slow cooker. We don’t want any Christmas food disasters!
Jump to:
How to cook a turkey breast or crown What to serve with turkey crown or breast Turkey Tips How to thaw a turkey How to check that your turkey is
- thawed After cooking
- , how to check that the turkey is cooked through
- More slow cooker Christmas recipes Recipes
- Turkey Crown
- How to cook a breast or crown
Reviews
The turkey crown shown was 2kg/4lb and cooked in my 5.7litre slow cooker with plenty of room to spare.
Step 1. After rubbing the spice mixture, I tucked the thawed turkey crown directly into the slow cooker on top of a couple of onions cut in half to remove it from the cooking juices.
Step 2. Put on the lid, then cook. During cooking, spread a couple of times with the cooking juices.
The cooking time for a 2 kg/4 pound turkey crown was 5 hours high.
See the notes on the recipe card for cooking other weights.
Use a kitchen thermometer to check that the turkey is cooked – check out my Turkey Tips below.
Step 3. Suffice with melted butter seasoned with salt and pepper and paprika before serving, for a good shine.
Step 4. Optional additional step. If you want to have crispy skin on your turkey crown, carefully remove the turkey crown from the slow cooker once cooked, transfer it to a roasting can, and put it in a hot oven to brown for about 10-15 minutes (at 180°C/350°F).
You can also put slices of bacon on it before putting it in the oven.
What to serve with turkey
or breast
crown
Serve your slow-cooker turkey wreath with your traditional Christmas side dishes: roasted potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, sliced pigs, cranberry sauce, red cabbage, roasted parsnips (cooked in the slow cooker!), glazed carrots and Brussels sprouts if you’re in the UK, followed by Christmas pudding.
If you’re in the United States and cooking for Thanksgiving, your sides might as well be mashed potatoes, glazed pumpkin, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, filling or dressing, green bean casserole, and pumpkin or walnut cake for dessert.
Turkey Tips
I know cooking a turkey or turkey crown is something that creates a lot of pressure, as we want to get it right and make sure we cook it safely and thoroughly. I’ve added some tips below that I think might be helpful.
How to thaw
a turkey
Follow the instructions on the packaging to thaw your turkey or crown, making sure you know how much it weighs. You can defrost
in the fridge (it takes longer, about
8-12 hours per kilo), in a cold room (it takes a little less time, about 4 hours per kilo) or at room temperature that takes 2 hours per kilo.
Always follow a reliable source – in the UK I like this guide to the Food Standards Agency.
How to check that your turkey is thawed
Remove all packaging, look for ice crystals at the bottom of the crown where the bones are. If any remain, let it thaw longer until it’s gone.
Use a sharp knife or skewer and pierce the turkey breast to see if it feels frozen still. If it does, let it thaw longer until it no longer feels frozen inside the breast.
After cooking, how to check that the turkey is cooked through
This is so when I turn to my reliable electronic meat thermometer Thermapen. This put aside the guesswork, since I know exactly what temperature the turkey has reached.
In order for it to be safely cooked through turkey should reach 74 degrees C in the thickest part of the meat.
Using my slow cooker
on high, and trying my Thermapen after cooking, I found that my turkey had reached over 90 degrees C, so I knew it was fully cooked.
Suffice with melted butter seasoned with salt and pepper and paprika before serving. It gives your turkey crown an extra shine and looks great when serving.
Whether you’re serving your turkey wreath for Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day through Thanksgiving, this will be a great centerpiece for your holiday table.
<img src="https://bakingqueen74.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/slow-cooker-turkey-7.jpg" alt=
“Slow cooker turkey crown” /> More slow cooker Christmas
recipes
If you’re using your slow cooker this Christmas, you may also be interested in:
slow cooker parsnips roasted slow cooker red cabbage pot slow cooker
- gammon glazed
- cooker Baileys chocolate cake
- Slow
- gingerbread pudding
- Thick, creamy hot chocolate
slow
amaretto
sweet slow cooker Slow cooker
cooker
, an alternative to Christmas pudding slow cooker Christmas cake slow cooker
Be sure to also check out my summary of Christmas slow cooker filled with
edible gifts, sweets, Christmas dinner recipes and more, all made in your slow cooker!
Check out my slow cooker files to get even more! You can also subscribe so you don’t miss a post.
For more low cook roast recipes, be sure to check out my guide to making a roasted dinner on your slow cooker.
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