The Great American Slow Cooker Book (72 page)

1
Warm a large skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then swirl in the oil. Crumble in the turkey and cook, stirring often, until there are no pink, raw-looking bits left, between 4 and 7 minutes. Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.

2
Stir in the tomatoes, tequila, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic, oregano, honey, and lime zest until the tomato paste dissolves in the mix.

3
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours, stirring once or twice during the cooking, until the chili thickens a bit and the flavors meld.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
You don’t want to use an aged, oaky
añejo
tequila, best for sipping; instead, try a high-quality, floral
reposado
. Just remember: no amount of high-quality ingredients can ever cover the taste of cheap alcohol.

•
There’s quite a bit of chili powder here—it serves not only as the flavoring agent but also the thickener.

•
Stirring the chili once or twice will keep the ground turkey from clumping.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
According to USDA guidelines, the label on ground turkey tells the whole tale. “Ground turkey” means the package includes ground meat, skin, fat, and even cartilage; “ground turkey meat” means there’s only meat in the mix. white-meat ground turkey must be so labeled, with the above strictures still in force (thus, the ridiculously complex “white meat ground turkey meat” on some packages). For the slow cooker, we prefer a mix of white and dark meat without skin and fat—thus, look for
ground turkey meat
at the store.

1
Mix the turkey, breadcrumbs, ricotta, egg yolk, lemon zest, oregano, marjoram, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl until the spices are uniform throughout and there are no pockets of unblended ricotta.

2
Use your clean, dry hands to make fairly hefty meatballs, using about ¼ cup of the meat mixture for each. Set them in one layer in the slow cooker; sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the meatballs.

3
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until the meatballs are cooked through and until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of one meatball registers 165°F. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meatballs to bowls to serve.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
These are rich, dense meatballs, thanks to the bread and cheese. You’ll want a green salad with a spiky vinaigrette afterward!

•
Use full-fat or low-fat ricotta for this dish. Fat-free may become too watery during the long cooking—and thus cause the meatballs to fall apart.

Serve It Up!
Although fine on their own, you can put the meatballs on a bed of cooked and drained spaghetti, tossed with olive oil and white wine vinegar. Pour the cooking juices in the slow cooker into a fat separator, then drizzle these over the servings.

1
Set a tea kettle full of water to boil. Pour the couscous into a large bowl and cover it with boiling water. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Break up the couscous grains with a fork and cool, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

2
Add the turkey, onion, cranberries, celery, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper to the bowl; stir well until the spices and vegetables are evenly distributed throughout.

3
Dribble a little olive oil into the slow cooker and wipe it around with a paper towel, coating the bottom and the bend at the sides. Form the meat mixture into a smooth, fairly compact mound in the cooker, leaving a ½-inch border between it and the slow cooker’s perimeter.

4
Use a fork to mash the cranberry sauce and vinegar into a paste in a small bowl; smear over the top of the meatloaf.

5
Cover and cook on low for 4½ hours in a small slow cooker, 5 hours in a medium cooker, or 6 hours in a large one, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf registers 165°F. Uncover, turn the slow cooker off, and cool for 10 minutes. Use a nonstick-safe knife or large spatula to cut the meatloaf into ½-inch-thick slices right in the cooker.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
The onion, celery, and cranberries need to be minced into fine bits so they almost melt into the meatloaf.

•
Turkey meatloaf, even in a slow cooker, can turn frustratingly dry. Couscous to the rescue! It adds and even binds in necessary moisture, keeping the overall texture more satisfying.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
There’s no doubt: you’ll cry when chopping onions. Natural defenses of the plant are released as a gas and combine with your tears to make a mess in your eyes. Everyone has a solution: chopping the onion underwater (which waterlogs the vegetable), wearing protective eyeglasses (which can fog up), or holding your breath (which doesn’t help). The only way to avoid the tears? Ask someone to do the job for you.

1
Whisk the tomatoes, beer, tomato paste, and chili powder in the slow cooker until the tomato paste dissolves. Stir in the beans.

2
Mix the turkey and sausage meat in a large bowl; form into golf ball-size meatballs, tucking them into the sauce in the cooker as you make them.

3
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or until the meatballs are cooked through, until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of more than one registers 165°F each time. Ladle the meatballs, beans, and sauce into bowls.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Because turkey is a low-fat meat, these meatballs can’t stay warm for a long time in the cooker without drying out. Be prepared to eat them soon after they’re ready.

•
If you can’t find canned fire-roasted tomatoes at your market, use regular canned diced tomatoes and add ¼ teaspoon mild smoked paprika to a small slow cooker, ½ teaspoon to a medium slow cooker, and ¾ teaspoon to a large one.

•
Add up to 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves with the chili powder for a brighter pop of flavor.

•
Although we prefer the spice blend in Italian sausage here, you could substitute Cajun or even Southwestern pork sausage at will. Just remove any casings and crumble the meat into small bits to mix with the ground turkey.

Serve It Up!
Serve this stew over cornbread squares—or even split-open and toasted corn muffins.

1
Mix the turkey, carrots, breadcrumbs, egg, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, and allspice in a large bowl until the carrots and spices are even through the mixture.

2
Pour a little olive oil into the slow cooker’s canister, then use a paper towel to smooth it around, greasing the bottom of the cooker as well as the bend where the walls meet the bottom.

3
With your clean, dry hands, gather the meat mixture into a smooth, fairly compact mound in the slow cooker, leaving a ½-inch clearance between the loaf and the walls.

4
Whisk the brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl; smear over the meatloaf.

5
Cover and cook on low for 4½ hours in a small slow cooker, 5 hours in a medium one, or 6 hours in a large model, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf registers 165°F. Uncover the cooker, turn it off, and let the meatloaf stand for 10 minutes. Use a nonstick-safe knife or a large nonstick-safe spatula to cut the meatloaf into ½-inch-thick slices for serving.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Shredded carrots add moisture to this meatloaf. Shred them through the large holes of a box grater or with the shredding blade of a food processor.