Thanksgiving in August

My husband’s favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because his favorite food is turkey. He is a turkey junkie of the highest order. He’d eat turkey every week if he could. But we live in Florida, and I’m not overworking our A/C while a turkey roasts for hours in the oven. It’s a cool-weather thing, or at least it was until I figured out a way to give him his bird and heat it, too. 😉

The answer is in slow-cooking a turkey breast. While I have successfully prepared a turkey breast in the pressure cooker, I prefer the slow-cooker method. I can, as author Phyllis Good says, “Fix it and Forget It.” I’ve collected all her Fix-it-and-forget-it titles and now own three different sizes slow-cookers. I’m a convert. If you haven’t any of her cookbooks, start with her latest, Fix It and Forget It Slow Cooker Magic: 550 Amazing Everyday Recipes.

The bonus in slow-cooking a turkey breast is the homemade stock. One 6 pound turkey breast produces about a quart of rich stock (I don’t add any liquid to the pot). I strain and skim fat from the juices. Then I use it for sauces, gravies, soups, or seasoning vegetables. Stock freezes well, too.

This recipe is my usual except I’ve added a butter/hot sauce rub. (My husband loves spicy cuisine. If you don’t, simply skip the rub step and season as usual.) With this recipe I paired the flavors of Buffalo wings with roasted turkey to serve both his flavorites in one meal. Regardless of how you season your turkey breast, the slow-cooking method is the same.

RECIPE

Slow Cooker Turkey Dinner With a Kick

Serves 4 + leftover turkey for future meals

Equipment: For the full meal recipe, you will need a six-quart slow-cooker. 

Ingredients:

• 1 6 lb. turkey breast, thawed
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1 cup hot sauce, your choice
• 1/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 carrots, whole
• 2 ribs celery
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and halved

Directions:

• Spray the inside of the slow cooker pot with nonstick cooking spray.
• In the bottom of the pot, arrange the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
• In a measuring cup, combine the softened butter with the hot sauce. Add salt and dried thyme.
• Rub the turkey breast thoroughly with the butter/hot sauce mixture, carefully lifting the skin and getting the mixture beneath it.
• Position the turkey breast over the vegetables so that the slow-cooker lid will fit. Cover.
• Cook on the highest setting for two hours.
• Reduce the temperature to medium or medium/low (depending on the controls of your model slow-cooker) and continue cooking for at least five more hours. If you lift the lid to view the turkey breast, you may need additional cooking time.*
• After a total of six hours of cooking, check the turkey for doneness using a poultry thermometer (or meat thermometer with a poultry setting). Remove turkey from the slow cooker when it’s done and allow it to rest on a carving board. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Carefully remove the potatoes and carrots to the serving platter. Strain and reserve the broth from the pot for gravy or flavoring stuffing mix. Broth also freezes for future use.
• Slice the turkey breast meat into serving pieces, arrange on the platter with the carrots and potatoes, and serve with other side dishes of your choice.

*I put my turkey breast in the slow cooker at night, switching to low after two hours and allow it to cook overnight.

Now if we want a turkey dinner in August, we have it. And I don’t turn on the oven. 

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