Have you resigned yourself to the idea that your Thanksgiving turkey will be dry, no matter what? Have you convinced yourself that it’s okay because that’s what gravy is for? Or maybe worse yet, you have crossed to the dark side and serve ham (gasp!) at Thanksgiving! I’m here to tell you, there is a better way! Say “goodbye, dry turkey” and hello to extra space in the oven, too. This crockpot turkey recipe is one more thing to be thankful for!
You’ll need:
1 frozen boneless turkey breast roast (3-5 pounds). If you have lots of mouths to feed, this is easily doubled. And because it’s boneless, it isn’t like a regular 20 pound turkey which consists of bones and parts you’re not actually going to eat, and only produces about 8 pounds of meat once it is plucked completely clean. The point is, this turkey breast will feed more than you think. We double this recipe to feed 12, and two of them fit easily in our crockpot.- 1 can whole cranberries.
- 1/2 cup orange juice.
- 1 packet of dry onion soup mix (or equivalent, if you like to make your own).
Directions:
Place thawed turkey breasts in the crockpot. (Discard gravy packet! You’re not going to need it, I promise.) Whisk together cranberries, OJ, and onion soup mix. Pour over turkey. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
If you’re doing some math in your head and stressing about what time you need to get up to make this work, this can easily be prepared on Wednesday night. Put all the ingredients in the crock of your slow cooker and put it in the fridge. When it needs to start cooking, pop it in the base and you’re good to go. If you do Thanksgiving at dinner time, start it around 9am. We do Thanksgiving at lunch, so that means I have a 3 a.m. alarm (I know, eeek!) but it’s worth it! And I can drift right back to sleep knowing my turkey will be juicy, and the rest of my meal isn’t going to have to fight the turkey for a turn in the oven.
When it’s done, put it right on a platter and loosely cover with foil for a few minutes to rest. Then carve, serve, and enjoy the sounds of disbelief and delight coming from muffled mouthfuls around the table.
