Simply put, a turkey crown is the breast of the bird, but without the legs and wings. Crowns can be cut in one of two ways: retaining the backbone or without the backbone. Because these are smaller, they are ideal for feeding fewer guests or guests who only enjoy white meat on from their christmas turkey.
Why Choose a Crown?
Many people choose a turkey crown as it cooks much quicker than whole turkeys and should fit in most peoples roasting tins and ovens. They are a favourite among families all over the UK as an easy yet super tasty Christmas dinner option – it also makes an impressive table centrepiece!
Many chefs recommend a turkey crown for the ease of cooking, so if you’re a first-timer cooking a Christmas dinner, a turkey crown is a great option! Our easy-to-carve crowns are the perfect starter turkey with heaps of flavour and moisture.
Turkey crowns are also ideal for families and guests who don’t like dark meat as it saves on wastage and leftovers.
Is a Turkey Crown Enough?
Our turkey crowns come in a range of sizes so you can choose one that suits your celebrations the best. Our turkey crows can serve up to 20 people or can serve as few as 4. No matter the size of your gathering, our turkey crowns are the best option for those who love white meat. Choose from our range of bronze and white turkey crowns now.
Cooking a turkey crown
You cook a turkey crown in much the same way as a whole bird, just not for quite so long.
- Lay your turkey crown on a bed of thick cut lemon slices and stuff your joint with onion, butter and herbs, flavours which will seep through the joint and really compliment the subtle gaminess of the meat.
- You can lay streaky bacon over the top of the buttered, seasoned skin of your turkey crown for the first 20-30 minutes of cooking to baste the breast and stop the skin from browning too quickly.
- Be sure to rest the turkey crown well whilst you make the most delicious gravy from the reserved juices.
What to do with turkey crown leftovers?
- Pick all the meat you can get off the turkey crown and put it to one side.
- The carcass can be boiled up with a few veg and herbs to make a delicious stock which you can freeze to use in soups, stews and risottos some other time.
- Use the turkey crown meat in sandwiches, curries, soups or a coronation turkey salad on boxing day.
Our Turkeys
At John Howe, we have both bronze and white turkeys that live genuinely free-range lives. We believe in traditional turkey farming methods to rear the most succulent and tasty turkey ready just in time for you to celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving every year.