Turkey breast cooked in the pressure cooker is super moist and tender with only a 30 minute cook time.
When you pressure cook a turkey, you won’t get a crispy golden oven-roasted turkey. So if you love to eat the skin, this method isn’t for you. I won’t be cooking my turkey this way for Thanksgiving, but it’s a great alternative if you don’t have an oven, if you’re having a big crowd and won’t have enough white meat, or if you’re eating at someone else’s house and just want to come home to some left over turkey sandwiches. I know I always miss Thanksgiving leftovers when we eat at someone else’s house.
I’ve cooked two turkey breasts in my pressure cooker so far. A 3.5 lb. turkey breast which took 25 minutes and a 6.5 lb. turkey breast which took 30 minutes. The first turkey breast I browned in the pressure cooker before I cooked it. It was difficult to brown evenly because of it’s shape, and I didn’t notice any difference in terms of the flavor of the turkey or gravy. After it was cooked it wasn’t golden or crispy enough to serve.
You could try browning the turkey in the oven after it’s cooked in the pressure cooker, but since we don’t eat the skin any way, I just discarded it.
The larger turkey had a tender timer that never popped in the pressure cooker, so don’t rely on that. Use a meat thermometer to check to see that the turkey breast has reached 165°.
Another great thing about cooking a turkey in the pressure cooker is that you get lots of flavorful liquid to make wonderful turkey gravy. I’ve given gravy directions in the recipe that you can make in the pressure cooking pot after the turkey’s finished cooking.
Next week I’ll post my pressure cooking stuffing recipe. (I know it’s really dressing if it’s cooked outside the turkey, but to me it’s still stuffing.)
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