Thanksgiving Turkey In 30 Minutes: Instant Pot Recipe
This turkey is falling off the bone, seasoned with herbs, steamed in ale, and comes with a side of stewed veggies. Thanksgiving dinner has never been easier.
I’ll confess it: I have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving.
I cherish enjoying a delicious meal while creating family memories, and taking stock of all the good things in life.
But I just hate preparing a turkey. HATE. IT. Who among us hasn’t realized that they royally screwed up the bird in the hours (or *ahem* minutes) before sitting down for dinner?
Well, friends, those days are in the past. Get ready to make this 30-minute Instant Pot turkey.
THIRTY. MINUTES. Your eyes are not deceiving you. You read that right.
This turkey is fast, easy, and falling-off-the-bone tender. These are three things I have never said about turkey until trying this cooking method.
BONUS: It comes with a built-in side dish! The turkey is cooked over veggies, which can be served alongside your turkey. You can even save the leftover liquids in the Instant Pot — they make a tasty base for soup.
I recommend that you pop the bird in your broiler for a few minutes before serving to give it a golden glow. This makes all the difference! And then you’re done. Game-changer, isn’t it?
While you can adjust the cooking time slightly and use a whole turkey (keep it on the smaller side to ensure a good fit), this recipe calls for turkey breast, which is less hassle, more white meat and fits nicely in my six-quart Instant Pot.
I used a six-pound bird, which serves about six people. You could get away with a bigger turkey or turkey breast if you have a larger pressure cooker. Please note that 30 minutes was just enough for my turkey, and depending on how much bigger you go, I’d tack another 5 to 10 minutes onto the cooking time.
But sticking with a smaller turkey has the added benefit of producing fewer leftovers for a small Thanksgiving get-together, which many of us are having this year!
No matter how large your turkey, be sure that it’s completely defrosted. I know that sounds like kind of a no-brainer, but sometimes there are little pockets of frozen turkey left deep inside. You want to make sure it’s cooked properly — it never hurts to invest in a meat thermometer to be 100% sure.
This turkey is delicious with my chorizo-fig sourdough stuffing. It’s got all the classic flavors of Thanksgiving, but with a tangy, sweet and smoky twist.
Ingredients
- Turkey breast
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Chicken stock
- Beer (optional)
- Bay leafs
- Butter
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Garlic Powder
- Lemon
- Salt and pepper
Directions
Create a compound butter with rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
Squeeze lemon over the turkey, then rub compound butter under skin and all over the bird.
Add chicken stock, beer, lemon rinds and bay leafs into the Instant Pot. Place trivet into Instant Pot, add turkey and cook.
For crispier skin and a browner bird, pop the turkey in the oven for a few minutes.
Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker Herbed Turkey
Equipment
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 6 lb. turkey breast
- 1 large white onion cut into eighths
- 2 celery stalks cut lengthwise and horizontally
- 1 large carrot roughly chopped
- 1 c. chicken stock use two cups if you choose to omit beer
- 1 c. beer
- 2 bay leafs
- 1 1/2 c. stick butter softened
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary (or 1 tbsp. fresh)
- 1 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 tbsp. fresh)
- 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp. salt
- 1 lemon
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix softened butter, rosemary, thyme and garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour lemon juice on turkey and rub butter mixture under skin and over frozen turkey.
- Add veggies, chicken stock, beer, lemon rinds and bay leafs into the Instant Pot. Place trivet into Instant Pot/pressure cooker and set turkey inside. Close lid, seal and cook on manual setting for 30 minutes.
- Optional: For crispy skin, transfer turkey into an oven-safe pan and put in the broiler for a 3-7 minutes, until golden brown.
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Honolulu girl obsessed with farmers markets, eating, seasonal ingredients, eating, writing and eating. Read more about me here and get new recipes from me every week @feedthesoulblog.
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