Crockpot Turkey Breast with Gravy

By Patlynn

With the help of the slow cooker, turkey with gravy is no longer just for the holidays. Using just the turkey breast makes this recipe weeknight friendly, and the gentle heat of the slow cooker ensures that the white meat is tender and moist—not dried out. Browning the turkey skin creates flavorful drippings for the gravy, and putting an extra-thick roux-and-broth mixture into the slow cooker at the outset means that once it combines with the turkey juices, the resulting gravy is the perfect consistency.

Ingredients

• If you don’t have quite 3 tablespoons of drippings after browning the turkey skin in step 1, supplement with additional butter.
• 1 6- to 7-pound) bone-in turkey breast, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped coarse
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped coarse
• 1 celery rib, chopped coarse
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

Step 1

1. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Remove skin from breast and cut into 4 equal pieces. Cook turkey skin in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer skin to slow cooker. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add butter, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook until vegetables are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in broth and wine and bring to boil. Transfer gravy, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves to slow cooker.
2. Season turkey with salt and pepper and place meat side up in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until breast registers 160 degrees, 5 to 6 hours.
3. Transfer turkey to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour gravy through fine-mesh strainer into serving bowl; discard solids. Stir minced thyme into gravy and season with salt and pepper to taste. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.


Save Your Skin


It’s cumbersome to brown a whole turkey breast. Instead, we removed and browned the skin only, getting fat, fond, and flavor for our gravy. We added the rendered skin to the slow cooker for yet more flavor.