Recipe: Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Cajun Buttered Turkey Breast
Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Cajun Buttered Turkey Breast
Adapted from Crockpot 365 via AskMetafilter.
Make sure you've removed any packaging or gravy or giblet packets from within the turkey breast before cooking!
Like with chicken breasts, using turkey breast straight from the freezer insures the meat will stay tender and not overcook.
1 frozen bone-in turkey breast (whatever size will fit in your crock)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 cup chicken stock or broth
In a bowl, combine all spices. Work into softened butter. Rub turkey breast all over with spiced butter, getting it in all the nooks and crannies and underneath the skin. Place in crock, meaty side down. Pour any residual spice mix on top. Add chicken stock.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (there isn't much moisture in turkey, so don't peek).
Serve warm with your favorite sides, and save the leftovers for sandwiches.
Adapted from Crockpot 365 via AskMetafilter.
Make sure you've removed any packaging or gravy or giblet packets from within the turkey breast before cooking!
Like with chicken breasts, using turkey breast straight from the freezer insures the meat will stay tender and not overcook.
1 frozen bone-in turkey breast (whatever size will fit in your crock)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 cup chicken stock or broth
In a bowl, combine all spices. Work into softened butter. Rub turkey breast all over with spiced butter, getting it in all the nooks and crannies and underneath the skin. Place in crock, meaty side down. Pour any residual spice mix on top. Add chicken stock.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (there isn't much moisture in turkey, so don't peek).
Serve warm with your favorite sides, and save the leftovers for sandwiches.
Personal Notes: Holiday Field Notes, First Impression: That crockpot turkey breast did surprise me by being super moist. I mixed the spice blend into some butter and then rubbed it all over the turkey breast including between the skin. It was so juicy and moist it almost fell entirely off the bone when I was taking it out of the crock. Yay for hands-off, oven-free bird ready for leftovers and sides!
Day After: Everything I made is def. worth making again, which is always a nice surprise. Favorites go to the Rosemary Bacon Cranberry Port Chutney (replaced cranberry sauce, awesome) and (shockingly) the Slow Cooker Cajun Buttered Turkey Breast--it made the moistest turkey I've ever eaten, oddly enough. I will make Toasted Masa Cornbread for sure next year (before then actually) and the jeweled wild rice was yummy 'cause I sort of pilafed it with fresh homemade stock. Worth it!
I like having the Slow Cooker Cajun Buttered Turkey Breast in my back pocket now as a secret weapon for making flavorful turkey with an awesome texture that can be used as the backbone/blank canvas for all the sides, and that's hands-free and oven-free to boot. It's so moist and juicy it doesn't dry out when you zap it for reheated leftovers either. Perfect for week-long hassle-free Thanksgiving gluttony.