Slow Cooker Turkey Stew

The slow cooker is a magical device. Put in the ingredients, cook on low all day, and you end up with a bowl of delicious. It’s definitely an essential kitchen appliance, I love mine. Contrary to popular belief, good isn’t quick. Flavors need time to develop. The slow cooker creates a dish that is more than just the sum of it’s parts. So, I had some turkey thighs in the freezer. What better way to cook them than to make slow cooker turkey stew, it warms the soul

Stews have been prepared for thousands of years. Meat, vegetables, spices and a liquid put in a pot and cooked over a fire for a long time. But, not all cuts of meat can be prepared this way. The “working” muscles are the best for the slow cooker. These muscles get used a lot, legs, thighs, shoulders. The meat is tough, it contains connective tissue and fat. That needs time to breakdown. These cut’s of meat are usually cheaper, and have historically been referred to as Peasant Food. But peasant food is good food. An example is pork shoulder, hours in the slow cooker renders this cheap, tough cut of meat into the most succulent dish that melts in your mouth.

Chuck is the best cut of meat for beef stew, this shoulder cut of meat contains fat and connective tissue that has to be broken down slowly in the cooking process. Beef and pork do not have the monopoly on stew meats. Birds have working muscles too, legs and thighs. The dark meat on a bird is great in the slow cooker. It handles the cooking process well and doesn’t dry out, slow cooker turkey thighs are an example. This, is a similar recipe, but put together in a more classic way.

The idea of searing meat is not to seal in the juices, but to caramelize it. There is a science behind it. It’s called the Maillard reaction. In meats, its the reaction of proteins and carbohydrates to heat, creating new flavors and aromas. So it changes the flavor profile of the dish. Sprinkle kosher salt and coarse ground pepper on the meat before tossing into a preheated pan with oil. Just brown off the outside before adding to the slow cooker.

I mentioned kosher salt and coarse ground pepper, there’s a reason why. What is kosher salt? It’s not that it’s kosher, however, its part of the kosher process. For meat to be kosher the blood has to be drawn out. Kosher salt has larger granules, making this process easier. From my point of view, the lager granules in kosher salt don’t dissolve like finer grain salt. I find I get a better salt flavor, it’s a personal thing. The same can be said for coarse ground pepper. I like the flavor of the pepper, fine ground can get lost in the dish, however, coarse ground does not. Again, this is a personal thing.

Now let’s move on to the building process. All good soups and stews start with the aromatics. Onion, carrots and celery, it’s a mirepoix. Because it’s going to cook for at least 8 hrs, chop them up and toss into the slow cooker. Now add the meat, and the seasoning. The seasonings we use are dehydrated, before they can add their flavors they need to be reconstituted. Adding them as a middle layer ensures they stay submerged. Absorbing the liquid around them and adding their flavors to the dish. Now for the starch, potato and black eyed peas. Potato is more of a classic stew ingredient. Black eyed peas are too underrated, and bring lots of goodness to the dish.

A can of diced tomatoes is the next layer, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, it adds a little body. The tomato paste is thick and needs to be dissolved. Put the can of chopped tomatoes and tomato paste in the pan used to sear the meat, bring to a boil. The paste will dissolve, and the pan will be deglazed. All those stuck on bits of meat added to the stew. Then add chicken stock and the wine, completely covering the ingredients about an 1″. The wine adds flavor and is also a tenderizer. I respect those that do not add alcohol, so it is optional. Put on low and let it cook all day, that’s when the magic happens.

Now for the last step, the pasta. This is a hearty stew, it is supposed to fill the stomach with rich flavor and goodness, the pasta helps with that. As it cooks it absorbs the flavor of the stew, and, by absorbing some of the liquid, thickens it. Please read my post about thickening soup and stews, Turn the slow cooker to high, add the pasta and let cook 1/2 hour. When the pasta is done, turn off, remove the lid and let sit for about 15 mins to cool a bit before serving.

And that is slow cooker turkey stew, easy to put together, hearty and filling as well. Slow cooker season is in the winter when it’s cold. This will certainly warm your bones as well as your heart. Enjoy, and thank you for reading.