It doesn’t get easier than cooking a whole a turkey in the Crock Pot. Plus, this leaves you a lot of oven space for other things.
Check out what my pals over at The Little Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
“Every year, at a company that I worked at for 8 years, we had a Thanksgiving luncheon. Everyone signed up to bring different things. Since there were so many of us, five to six people signed up for the stuffing, different veggies, the pie, and so on. We even had many turkeys! My former boss, BJ, always cooked his turkey in the slow cooker. He said his mom cooked it that way when he was growing up. The turkey always turned out moist.”
I am definitely going to be trying this method!
Ingredients
Rub Ingredients for the Turkey
4 teaspoons Morton salt
2 teaspoons McCormick paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Crockpot
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, scrubbed, no need to peel, chopped in halves or thirds
2 celery stalks, cut in thirds
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 whole lemon, quartered
8 to 9-pound turkey
Instructions
Combine salt, paprika, onion powder, dried thyme, white pepper, garlic powder and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Prep the vegetables and place inside the slow cooker (I use a 7-quart oval one like this one).
Remove turkey from packaging and remove neck and pouch with organs. Discard or save for use in another recipe. Optionally, rinse turkey with water. Pat dry with paper towels.
Fold back the wings. Rub smashed garlic all over outside of the turkey. Put one garlic in the slow cooker and the rest inside the turkey. Put the rub all over the outside and inside the turkey. Add the quartered lemon to the inside of the turkey. Tie the legs with kitchen twine.
Place turkey on top of the vegetables, you may need to move the veggies around depending on the size of your slow cooker. Cover slow cooker and cook turkey on low for 6-8 hours. (I used a 9.82-pound turkey, it took about 6 1/2 hours. The time will depend on the size of the turkey and your slow cooker.)
Remove turkey and place in a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking dish. Place baking dish in the oven under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes but watch it carefully. It may take less time or a little longer, depending on the temperature of the broiler in your oven, you don’t want to burn your turkey.
Allow turkey to rest after removing it from the broiler for 25 to 30 minutes.
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Quick Tip: Serve this slow cooker turkey with all of your favorite Thanksgiving fixings.
Thank you to The Little Kitchen for this great recipe.
