Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with The Perfect Turkey Gravy!

We love turkey in our family, especially my son, so we like to have it more than just for holidays.  If you have watched the movie "The Christmas Story" where the father is so in love with turkey, that is how my son feels about turkey...lol.  This is a good cooking method for a turkey breast, especially in the summer when you don't want the oven on for hours, because of the heat.  This is also a good method if you want to free up your oven for your other side dishes and such. 

This produces a really moist turkey breast.   It also produces a really rich turkey stock for your dressing and gravy.  I like to be sure I get a lot of broth, because I use a whole lot in the dressing and I make quite a bit of gravy.  If we ran out of gravy, my bunch would be grumpy.  

 Here is what you will need.

3 stalks of celery, cut in fourths

1 sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped in large pieces

7-8 lb. turkey breast

oil (olive, vegetable, or canola)

Nature's Seasoning Blend (you can just use salt, but I like this blend)

Lawry's rotisserie chicken seasoning (or whatever chicken seasoning you prefer)

black pepper

1 stick of butter

4 cups water

Place all of the vegetables in the bottom of a large slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.   Rinse the turkey breast and pat it dry with paper towel.  Brush it all over with the oil.  This just helps the seasoning to stick.   Sprinkle inside the cavity and all over the outside surfaces with the Nature's Seasoning blend , rotisserie chicken seasoning, and black pepper.   Place the turkey breast with the breast side down on the vegetables in the slow cooker. Place the stick of butter, whole in the cavity of the bird.  The butter will melt down into the meat as it cooks and will enrich the broth also. 

Cook on high for 1 hour, turn down to low for 7 hours.  All slow cookers cook at different rates so if you know yours cooks very low, you might let it go 8 hours on low.   Mine cooks pretty hot, so 7 was good for mine.  Carefully remove the breast to a cutting board and allow it to rest for a bit before carving. 

Strain the stock to remove the vegetables so you can use it for dressing and for your turkey gravy.  Gravy seems to intimidate some cooks, especially if you only make gravy for holiday meals.   I can't imagine that, because in our family, we'll put gravy on just about anything, so we make it often.  Gravy making is really not all that difficult, if you just know a few basic things and follow them. This recipe makes a good amount of gravy, because my family puts it on everything...turkey, mashed potatoes, even the dressing and they want some for their leftovers also.  Here is my recipe for the "Perfect Turkey Gravy"!

Turkey Gravy

5 Tbs. butter

5 Tbs. flour

5 cups of turkey stock

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

pinch of garlic powder

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/2 cup of half and half or heavy cream

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour and whisk and cook it until it bubbles.  Cook for about a minute, whisking constantly.  A good whisk is a must have when making gravy to keep it smooth.  Add the turkey stock, slowly and whisking continuously until the flour is all smooth and incorporated.  Bring this up to a boil and boil until the gravy starts to tighten up or get thicker.  When it coats a spoon, turn the heat down and add the seasonings.  This is not a really thick gravy, but it should have some body to it.   Taste for salt and pepper, because the turkey stock will be salty from the seasonings on the turkey.  It may not need salt.  I do like to add black pepper to taste.  At the very end and when it is no longer boiling, whisk in the cream.  Half and half or heavy cream can be used. 



Here is the finished product!  It's rich and wonderful and just puts the finishing touch on your holiday meal!