Turkey meat has very valuable nutritional qualities, but it has one drawback - it takes too long to cook and by no means always turns out to be soft and tender. Nevertheless, turkey pork is quite popular with our hostesses, and in order to cope with the problem of stiffness, they began to cook it more often in a slow cooker. This miracle oven generally helps out in the kitchen very often, moreover, it helps the hostess to cope with the preparation of lunch or dinner much faster, if only because it frees her from the need to constantly monitor the process. Which is especially true in the case of a turkey, which, as a rule, is cooked for a minimum of one and a half hours. Most often, this meat is not cooked solo, but with additional ingredients. As a rule, they usually use potatoes or a mixture of any vegetables. And sometimes both that, and another together.
About how to cook a turkey in a slow cooker with vegetables, we want to talk in our review. But first, some useful tips on choosing the “right” bird.
How to choose a turkey
You can get a really juicy dish of turkey meat only if you get a young bird. How to find out when choosing? By the color of the meat. In older individuals it is dark red in color, while in young ones it is lighter, with a pink. Another important nuance: it is strongly not recommended to buy frozen poultry. Such meat noticeably loses taste.
Well, now, when we assume that turkey meat is already on our table, we can begin the process of preparation. We bring to your attention the first recipe for turkey with vegetables in a slow cooker.
What will be needed for cooking
A stewed turkey with vegetables in a slow cooker is quite simple to prepare. Moreover, each recipe you like can be upgraded and tailored specifically for you. The fact is that almost all vegetables are interchangeable. If there is no time, then in general you can take a frozen vegetable mix and not mess with the preparation. We propose the following option: for one and a half kilograms of turkey fillet, you should take a small zucchini, onion, tomato, carrot and two red peppers (sweet).
How to cook
The fillet is cut into large enough pieces, as for the shape, it can be arbitrary. Rinse and dry the meat with a napkin. At the bottom of the bowl, pour a couple of spoons of vegetable oil, and then put the meat on it. Cover it with a layer of chopped onion rings. All other vegetables are laid out in layers and in any order. You can cut them arbitrarily, but it is better to grate the carrot. Sprinkle each layer with salt. As for water, you do not need to add it. Juice, which will begin to produce vegetables, will be enough. Preparing a turkey in a slow cooker with vegetables in the "Stewing" mode. If such a function is not available in your appliance, you can use the "Baking" mode. The whole process will take about an hour and a half.
Cooking roast
A turkey in a slow cooker with vegetables is quite juicy and soft. So the main task, by and large, has been solved. But in order to make such a dish more satisfying, you can add potatoes to vegetables and make a roast. The cooking procedure will not differ much from the previous one, except for the fact that potatoes are added, and the zucchini will not be used.
To cook the roast, put half a kilogram of turkey fillet cut into cubes on the bottom of the bowl. Rinse the same amount of potatoes, then cut into cubes and add to the meat. Send two carrots processed on a coarse grater there. Randomly cut two large onions, a pair of tomatoes and bell peppers. All salt and pepper, mix. The turkey is cooked in a slow cooker with vegetables and potatoes for two hours in the "Baking" mode. About ten minutes before the end of the process, open the lid, pour into a hot mixture of two tablespoons of tomato paste and the same amount of sour cream, mix and close. Serving it immediately is not recommended. Give him at least half an hour after the end of the process to sweat in a closed crock-pot.
With eggplant and mushrooms
A turkey in a slow cooker with vegetables can be an excellent dish for those who want to lose weight. The next recipe that we want to offer you is ideal for those who prefer protein diets. Turkey meat goes well with blue ones, mushrooms will add spice to it, and tomatoes - a slight sourness. As a result, you will get not only a healthy and protein-rich dish, but also diversify the pretty annoyed diet menu.
Two eggplant must be cut into cubes and soaked in cold water. We cut the turkey meat (the skin must be removed) arbitrarily, as well as two tomatoes, one onion and three hundred grams of any boiled mushrooms. Then you need to fry mushrooms and onions in a few drops of olive oil. Add to them dried meat, tomatoes and eggplant. Salt, close the lid, set the "Baking" mode. Such a diet turkey with vegetables is cooked in a slow cooker for an hour and a half.
Semi-finished turkey
If you want to cook turkey fillet with vegetables in a slow cooker, but don’t have enough free time at your disposal, as we mentioned above, pay attention to the available vegetable sets. Today there are a large number of them, and the composition of the mixes pleases with its diversity. Frozen foods can save you time and effort. For cooking, it will be enough just to pay a little attention to the meat - cut it and wash it. However, given the fact that many semi-finished products are already semi-finished, fillets should be tried to cut smaller, which will reduce the cooking time. And then everything is simple. Just load the turkey slices and the contents of your favorite set into the multicooker. It is not even recommended to thaw it. Then all the components need to be salted and mixed. As for the cooking process, it is practically no different from those described above. Unless it takes a little less time. Usually enough 50-60 minutes.