CrockPot or Instant Pot Turkey Breast with Lower-Carb Gluten-Free Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 turkey breast with skin and bones
• 1 – 2 tsp. dried ground thyme
• 1/2 – 1 tsp. dried sage
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 4 ribs celery, cut into large pieces
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
• 2 cups chicken or turkey stock
• 1 1/2 T arrowroot starch for gravy, mixed into 1/4 cup cold water

Directions

Slow Cooker Directions:Trim extra skin and fat from turkey breast, leaving the parts of skin that are directly covering the meat. If you have a meat thermometer, pull out the pop-up timer if desired.Grind the dried thyme and dried sage together in a mortar and pestle (affiliate link), or use ground spices. Rub breast all over with thyme and sage.Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, then brown turkey breast on both sides, about 5 minutes each side. Put browned turkey breast in crockpot.While the turkey browns cut up carrots, celery, and onion.Add the turkey or chicken stock to the frying pan you browned the turkey in and cook for a couple of minutes, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits.Pour the liquid over the turkey, then add carrots, onions, and celery to the slow cooker.Cook on high until temperature in the thickest part of the meat reaches 165F/75C; this will take about 3 hours. (You can also cook on low for a longer time, about 5-6 hours.)Remove turkey breast and let rest while you make gravy, covering with foil if desired to keep it warm. Use a fine-mesh skimmer to scoop out vegetables and skim the broth, or strain through a fine strainer into small saucepan. You should have 2-3 cups broth.Bring to a boil and reduce until there is a strong turkey flavor (or add another teaspoon or two of Penzeys Turkey Soup Base to get more turkey flavor). I kept tasting it as it cooked down for a few minutes, and stopped when it tasted good to me.Reduce heat so the liquid is barely at a simmer. Mix arrowroot starch with cold water, then stir gently into the simmering liquid and stop stirring once it’s combined. Don’t over whisk or continue to cook once it’s thickened, or the gravy won’t stay thick. (Gravy can also be thickened with cornstarch mixed with water if you don’t have arrowroot, but it will take about twice as much cornstarch to get the same amount of thickness, and cornstarch is slightly higher in carbs and will take longer to thicken.)Remove bones (and skin if you prefer), slice the turkey and serve hot with the gravy.Instant Pot Directions:Trim the turkey as above and use a large meat cleaver to cut the breast along the bone into two pieces.Rub turkey with spices, and brown in a frying pan as above. (You can brown the turkey in the Instant Pot if you prefer but we thought it was easier in a frying pan.)While turkey breast browns, cut up the carrots, celery, and onion. Add them to the Instant Pot (after you’ve removed the browned turkey if you browned it in the Instant Pot.)Put browned turkey breast pieces on top of the vegetables in the Instant Pot. Add stock to the frying pan and cook as above, then pour that cooking liquid into the Instant Pot.Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 25 minutes. (We had a relatively small turkey breast, if yours is closer to 5 pounds, I would add a couple more minutes.)When time is up, use NATURAL RELEASE for at least 20 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.When pressure has released remove the turkey breasts to a cutting board. We drained the stock into a colander placed inside a large measuring cup to catch the liquid. (You could strain it again with a fine strainer if you want gravy that’s completely smooth.)Put that cooking liquid back into the Instant Pot and cook on SAUTE or SIMMER until it’s reduced to about 3 cups. (Taste to see if it’s as strongly-flavored as you prefer, and add a little more Penzey’s Turkey Soup Base if desired.)Mix the arrowroot powder (or thickener of your choice) with cold water to make a slurry, and whisk that into the hot liquid in the pot, cooking until it thickens, turning off the heat as soon as it thickens if you’re using arrowroot. (See comments above about using cornstarch instead of arrowroot.)Remove bones from turkey (and skin if you prefer), then slice the turkey and serve hot, with gravy.