Enjoy a stress-free holiday feast with this slow cooker turkey crown recipe. It’s the simplest method of cooking a turkey crown ever – it takes just a few minutes to prepare, then let your slow cooker/crock pot take care of the rest.
Cooking a turkey in a slow cooker will give you perfectly juicy, moist meat to serve at your Christmas meal – and you hardly need to lift a finger!
Forget about the hassle of basting and lifting heavy roasting pans – give yourself a break this Christmas and try this incredibly easy slow cooker turkey recipe. You can also use the leftover juices to make a delicious gravy.
Is your family not a fan of turkey? Try this air fryer roast chicken recipe instead!
what is a turkey crown?
A turkey crown is the upper portion of a turkey that includes the breast meat and part of the backbone, usually without the legs and wings. It’s the whole turkey breast with the bone in, often presented in a neat, crown-like shape.
It’s much easier to carve and cooks more quickly than a whole turkey, making it a popular choice for smaller gatherings or if your family prefers eating white meat to the darker, stronger flavoured meat on the turkey legs and thighs.
why you’ll love this recipe
There are many reasons why cooking a turkey crown in the slow cooker is a great idea:
- Practically hands-free method: The prep is super easy. All you need to do is rub the turkey crown with butter, season and place it in the slow cooker. Pour over some stock and wine (or more stock if you don’t want to use alcohol) and that’s it. Just walk away and let the slow cooker do all the work for you!
- succulent, juicy meat: It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned cook. When it comes to cooking Christmas dinner, overcooking the turkey is one of the biggest fears. No-one likes dried out, overcooked meat. Cooking the turkey crown in a slow cooker and covering it in liquid (stock and wine) will guarantee your turkey turns out succulent and tender. No dry, tough meat here!
- saves oven space: Cooking a turkey crown in a slow cooker is a fantastic way to free up valuable oven space for all your Christmas side dishes.
- economical: Cooking your turkey crown in the slow cooker is an economical choice. The slow cooker uses significantly less energy compared to an oven, reducing overall electricity consumption.
ingredients
You just need a small handful of ingredients to make this slow cooker turkey crown recipe:
- A fresh (fully defrosted if frozen) Turkey crown. This recipe is suitable for a 1.5-2kg turkey crown. These sizes fit perfectly in my 3.5 litre crock pot.
- sliced onions and fresh herbs (I use thyme, sage and rosemary) sit on the bottom of the slow cooker. These ingredients will create the base of a delicious stock for making gravy or leftover turkey soup on Boxing Day!
- A couple of Bay leaves are a nice addition – they aren’t essential, but if I have any to hand, I pop them in with the herbs.
- butter spread over and underneath the skin helps keep the turkey nice and tender.
- chicken stock
- white wine, or more chicken stock
- garlic granules sprinkled on top of the turkey provides a savoury backnote. If you don’t like garlic, you can leave it out.
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season the turkey.
- For the glaze – melted butter and maple syrup. Pour the glaze over the fully cooked turkey, then pop it in the oven to brown and crisp the skin.
defrosting time for a turkey crown
If your turkey crown is frozen, you will need to make sure it is completely defrosted before cooking. Defrosting times should be on the packaging, but here’s a quick guide:
- small turkey crown (1-1.5 kg) – at least 15 hours in a refrigerator (on a large plate or bowl to catch any drips)
- medium turkey crown (2kg) – at least 24 hours in a refrigerator
Always check to make sure the turkey crown has fully defrosted before you begin cooking.
how to make a turkey crown in a slow cooker
scroll to the bottom of the post to find a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions on how to make this recipe.
- Remove the turkey from the fridge about 45 minutes before cooking it. This will remove the fridge chill from the bird and ensure it cooks evenly.
- Remove the turkey from all of the packaging. The turkey I used for these photos weighed 1.7kg. Preheat the slow cooker/crock pot.
- Pat the turkey crown dry with paper towels. Rub soft butter all over the crown and underneath the skin.
- Place sliced onions and the fresh herbs and bay leaves in the base of the slow cooker.
4. Place the buttered turkey on top of the onions and herbs. Season well with salt and pepper. You can use any seasonings that you wish here – I tried Old Bay seasoning which worked really well.
5. Pour over the hot stock and wine. Close the lid and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then turn down to LOW and cook for a further 5-6 hours. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the turkey is fully cooked. The safe temperature for a turkey crown is 75C/167F.
TOP TIP – The turkey will not brown in the slow cooker, but you can pop it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes to crisp up the skin. I coat the turkey in a butter maple glaze for delicious flavour and a beautiful golden skin.
6. If you’re browning the turkey, preheat the oven to 190C/170Fan. Carefully lift the turkey crown out of the slow cooker and place it on a roasting tin.
7. Melt butter and maple syrup together in a small saucepan to make a glaze. Pour or brush this all over the turkey. Cook for about 20 minutes, basting occasionally, or until the skin is golden and crispy. Don’t leave the turkey in the oven for too long or it will start to dry out.
recipe tips
- Please note cooking times are a guide and they may vary depending on the make and model of your slow cooker. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the turkey crown is fully cooked.
- I know this may seem obvious, but please make sure your turkey crown fits inside your slow cooker!
- Instead of placing the herbs directly in the slow cooker pot, you could chop them up and make a herb flecked butter to rub all over and underneath the turkey breast.
- The turkey will not look too pretty when you take it out of the slow cooker, but once you’ve added the glaze and placed it in the oven to brown the skin, it will look golden, bronzed and beautiful.
- Don’t skimp on the butter. You need plenty to ensure the turkey is juicy and moist.
Are you cooking a whole turkey this year? Try my roast turkey with orange and herb butter recipe.
This rolled turkey breast with apricot, cranberry and sausage stuffing would be a simple but delicious option for a small gathering.
serving suggestions
Serve this slow cooker turkey crown with all the traditional Christmas side dishes – roast potatoes, honey roasted parsnips and carrots, sausage stuffing balls, Brussels Sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, spiced red cabbage, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and lashings of gravy.
more slow cooker Christmas recipes
Interested in more slow cooker recipes? Take a look through my slow cooker archives.
more turkey crown recipes
leftover turkey recipes
- Leftover easy turkey curry
- leftover turkey and vegetable soup
- leftover turkey and ham pie
- Turkey, stuffing and cranberry filo tarts
Slow Cooker Turkey Crown
Cooking a turkey crown in a slow cooker is so easy and saves you not only oven space, but money too! Give yourself a break from basting and fretting over overcooking your Christmas centrepiece this year - try this slow cooker turkey crown recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2-3 rosemary sprigs
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves (leave them on the stem)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.7kg Turkey crown (please make sure it fits comfortably in your slow cooker!)
- 75g soft butter
- 250ml hot chicken stock
- 250ml good white wine (or more chicken stock)
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- FOR THE MAPLE BUTTER GLAZE
Instructions
- About 30-40 minutes before cooking, remove the turkey crown from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Preheat the slow cooker on HIGH (according to the manufacturer's instructions).
- Place the onions, fresh herbs and bay leaves in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Pat the turkey crown dry with paper towels. Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the breast, creating a small pocket so you can push the butter under the skin on each side. *See notes below*
- Push half of the butter underneath the skin, then rub the remaining butter on top of the crown.
- Place the turkey crown in the slow cooker. Pour over the chicken stock and wine (or more stock). Season the turkey with the garlic granules, salt and black pepper.
- Cover and cook for one hour on HIGH, then turn down to LOW and cook for 5-6 hours (please note cooking times may vary slightly depending on the make/model of your slow cooker). Use a meat thermometer to check if the turkey is fully cooked - the safe internal temperature is 75C/167F. Insert the probe in the thickest part of the meat.
- Remove the turkey crown from the slow cooker and leave it to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes. If you are browning the turkey in the oven, place it in a roasting tin and preheat the oven to 190C/170Fan/Gas mark 7.
- To make the glaze, melt the maple syrup and butter together in a small pan over a low heat. Once the mixture has completely melted , brush it all over the turkey.
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the turkey is golden and crisp.
- Allow to turkey to rest again for about 20-30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
If you wanted to (and I sometimes do) you could make a herb butter to spread over the turkey. Chop the herbs up finely (you'll need about one tablespoon of each), mix with the butter and add some salt and pepper. Rub this herby butter all over and under the turkey skin.