The hoax of leftover-turkey recipes

[Fat Guy]

Thought you all might enjoy this rant in Slate by Jill Hunter Pellettieri, who is fundamentally opposed to leftover-turkey recipes. Her thesis is that these recipes are a hoax perpetrated by the food-media establishment and don't represent actual good (or good-tasting) ideas. She argues:

Turkey leftover recipes are, essentially, a sham—an invention of food entertainment providers hard-up for new holiday ideas. There are only so many variations on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner (this year, try making Indian-spiced turkey breast!), and leftover recipes offer a seemingly appropriate way of filling pages and air time. (Few are brave enough to leave the leftovers alone; kudos to Food and Wine for doing so this year.)

But even the purveyors of these recipes recognize the absurdity of what they're presenting—they don't really expect any of them to become mainstays in your repertoire.

She calls for us to let sleeping turkeys lie, to throw the turkey out with the bathwater. Whatever is left, throw in the garbage, or make stock. She concludes:

Forcing yourself to eke out one more meal, even in a new incarnation, will not make you feel more thankful or more resourceful—it will replace your lingering memories of a lovely holiday dinner with flashbacks of that wretched moo shu turkey. This holiday, let your turkey retain what dignity it has.

[heidih]

I can agree that leftover turkey covered with gloppy pre-packaged foodstuffs is a way to continue the grocery store aisle displays of products you "need". But it kind of begs the question of why you have leftovers that need "disguising". Many families I know have a tradition of turkey sandwiches and turkey soup the next day. We rarely have more than some breast leftover for sandwiches and then a meaty carcass for a great stock. (we like turkey stock- I know there is a huge camp that does not) There should not be much more turkey to use up than that unless your turkey was of the over-processed, over-cooked variety.

[andiesenji]

I like leftover turkey in various ways and I don't think any of them are "disguised," per se.

I really don't understand the rant because I don't think anyone goes out of their way to purposely aim for a huge pile of leftovers. I do know than many families get free or subsidized turkeys from their employers and have no say in what size it is, so they may have leftovers through no fault of their own.

I think my favorite leftover application is a simple layered casserole of dressing or stuffing, covered with a layer of sliced or pulled-apart turkey that is then drizzled with gravy and baked until hot, then topped with a layer of homemade cranberry sauce.

When I have had company on the weekend following Thanksgiving, I usually prepare a ham or something similar and rather than have formal meals, set things out for an informal buffet, some hot, some cold dishes.

For some odd reason, the leftover casserole disappears rapidly - I always make sure to set aside my portion first.

[Jaymes]

Our family never really had a problem disposing of leftovers from Thanksgiving turkey dinners.

In fact, often said leftovers never even made it out of the fridge, since my family was very adept at "head in the fridge leftovers nibbling."

Were we the only ones?

[shellfishfiend]

I don't think I would mind turkey leftovers cooked in a new way, but we never had a chance to experiment. My aunt and uncle sent us a smoked turkey every Thanskgiving from Burge's. After the big meal, it was lightly covered and set on the top shelf of the refrigerator. For several days, every time one of us would walk past, we would pull or hack off a piece of that smoked goodness. No leftovers....but maybe a higher electric bill from openign the refrigerator door so much.

I grew up with a grandmother that said "waste not, want not." I am sure I would find a way to utilize leftover food.

[Rail Paul]

Our family never really had a problem disposing of leftovers from Thanksgiving turkey dinners.

In fact, often said leftovers never even made it out of the fridge, since my family was very adept at "head in the fridge leftovers nibbling."

Were we the only ones?

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No. My family was much the same.

In fact, they would pack up the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc and take it with them. Brought their own large bags, in case we didn't have any. Sometimes they would even take the silverware, glassware, and china. No leftovers. Sometimes we didn't even have furniture left over.

Many of them are gone now, but we expect they will be back with us as the parole rules kick in.

[Fat Guy]

I agree with Pellettieri's main thesis, which is that "Turkey leftover recipes are, essentially, a sham—an invention of food entertainment providers hard-up for new holiday ideas." She links to so many examples in her story that it's hard to dispute that contention.

We do two things with leftover turkey:

1. Recreate the Thanksgiving-dinner entree plate: reheated turkey, stuffing and gravy, plus cranberry sauce.

2. Make turkey sandwiches.

We don't make turkey stock from the carcass, in part because the carcass doesn't make particularly good stock (compared to cheap, readily available chicken parts) and in part because we don't typically take possession of the carcass after dinner at my mother's place.

One year we had a good experience making turkey hash. I can't say it was as good as hash made from, say, leftover beef brisket, but it was a tasty, productive, un-forced use of leftover turkey meat.

[Kerry Beal]

Turkey a la King in a nice puff pastry case. That's after the reheated and turkey sandwiches.

[TongoRad]

It seems that she is basically arguing against these crazy ideas that seem to have a low results/effort ratio, and that is pretty much how I tend to look at it as well. I may go one or two steps above making a plain old turkey sandwich (such as perhaps adding a little bacon and avacado to the works, or maybe even heating up the sliced turkey in some gravy and putting that all on a kaiser roll), but to me that's stuff I enjoy and look foward to making the next day. Some of the ideas mentioned in the article seem to go way beyond that without much promise of a bigger payoff.

[Alex]

We don't make turkey stock from the carcass, in part because the carcass doesn't make particularly good stock (compared to cheap, readily available chicken parts) and in part because we don't typically take possession of the carcass after dinner at my mother's place.

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Turkey stock makes a terrific risotto, especially if you add shredded leftover turkey and some sautéed mushrooms.

[Andrew Fenton]

I think it's indisputable that most of those leftover-turkey recipes are horrible; their prose admits as much, with their desperate claims to help solve the problem of massive amounts of leftover poultry. The real solution is just to not cook an excessively large bird; just enough for an enjoyable amount of leftovers.

Still, I like leftover turkey: I like the sandwiches, I like the Thanksgiving-redux meals on Friday and Saturday. Most of all, I really love the turkey soup that follows those meals. The leftover turkey works great in it, and by the end of Thanksgiving weekend, I'm looking forward to something simple, light, with lots of vegetables and broth. So I don't see a real problem there.

[SuzySushi]

I agree with Jaymes on the walk-by-the-refrigerator-and-eat method of dealing with turkey leftovers.

We never have much left over anyway because each guest gets a "care package" to take home for sandwiches the next day.

One year we didn't even have that because we made up hot turkey dinner plates for the gate guards at our local military base.

I've never tasted turkey divan casserole!

[Jaymes]

It must be difficult to be a food writer and always under pressure to come up with something new and different to say.

[Qwerty]

How can anyone say that turkey carcass doesn't make a good stock? Maybe not in a traditional sense, as in a helluva lot of body, but turkey stock/broth is great for soup and even bases for pot pies and the like...not to mention still light years ahead of any type of canned or bottled broth.

[devlin]

Sacrilege! We always make a bigger turkey than we need just for the leftovers. Good heavens! Seriously. One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is all the leftover stuff you get to pick at and make sandwiches and fried turkeyandstuffingandpotatoandgravymash stuff out of for as long as you can eke it out, portion by portion.

Clearly people who don't enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers are very poorly educated.

We've been invited to friends' house tomorrow for dinner, but we plan to make our own traditional thanksgiving dinner soon just to enjoy the leftovers.

[andiesenji]

And turkey chow mein... I have a friend who only ever makes it with leftover turkey.

[annecros]

Baggie of sliced turkey on the top shelf of the fridge, out of hand, whenever I am walking by and thinking about it.

I think it is safe to say, if you need a recipe for figuring out how to use leftover turkey, you probably aren't the person who should cook the turkey.

We also overcook, and send packages out on the wind for the four corners of the earth.

[sheetz]

To me, Thanksgiving leftovers are just as much a holiday tradition as the original meal itself. That said, I never make leftover recipes that can't stand on their own merits.

[JAZ]

Maybe it's because I've mostly cooked for only myself or for two, leftover protein is part of my usual cooking strategy. For instance, if I want to roast a chicken or a pork loin, I have three choices -- eat exactly the same thing for several days in a row, waste a lot of it, or use it in recipes later. So using cooked turkey in other recipes seems completely natural to me -- it's just another ingredient. It's true that turkey is not anywhere close to my favorite protein choice, but if I have it, I'm going to use it.

Doesn't anyone else in the country regularly use leftover cooked chicken, pork or beef? What's the big deal with using turkey the same way?

[monavano]

This piece sounds a bit jaded. Sure, most of the recipies won't become family heirlooms, but sheesh! what's wrong with giving folks ideas for something different to try? Maybe they will, and maybe they'll just make sandwiches. But to think that somehow we're having these recipies "foisted" upon us is insulting in the least and worse, it makes it appear that people who go ahead and try a turkey curry or whatever ought to be given a big ol' eyeball roll.

And making turkey into something new not resourceful? I pride myself on turning mashed potatoes into potato pancakes, carcasses into stock (or at least part of it) and leftover flank steak into tacos or a main salad.

As if the (only) turkey she mentioned isn't tasty when prepared correctly. Another insult. And if leftovers out of tupperware is your family tradition, you're probably not even paying attention or looking up recipies for leftovers. It's called free will and just because it's leftover day-all-day on Food TV, are we hypnotized and seduced? No. Curious to try something new? Maybe and I say more power to you.

Most family cooks pride themselves on making ingredients last and the ability to turn one dish into another completely different dish. It's called being clever and inventive. Just because I don't order turkey in a restaurant, or use it regularly doesn't mean I can't treat it like any other protein I cook.

I say...lighten up lady! It's a turkey. Frankly, she's doing some heavy handed foisting herself. Message- you're somehow inferior if you don't use your leftovers in untouched pristine condition. Cook them into something else and you've been dupped. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled.

And please, stop trying to channel Bourdain. You need gravitas and a heroin habit.

Edited November 22, 2007 by monavano (log)

[Jaymes]

Creamy turkey a la king ladled over homemade biscuits. Yum.

[monavano]

Creamy turkey a la king ladled over homemade biscuits.  Yum.

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I love turkey a la king! Believe it or not, I used to live basically across the road from a turkey farm and they had a little "country store". She made turkey a la king and sold it in her freezer case. Oh, good memories.

If I were going to have leftover turkey (which I'm not ) that would be my choice!

[haresfur]

When I was growing up, one of the main points of Thanksgiving was to make turkey in Hollandaise in the next few days (well, after feeding the family, friends, and any stray graduate students that were around). Actually a mock hollandaise - lighter and better IMO - with those canned button mushrooms in the old days when decent fresh ones weren't available.

Nothing wrong with picking at the remains in the fridge or sandwiches but why not inspire people to try something different?

That being said, I'm stuffing and roasting a pumpkin this year. Not sure what to do with the leftovers of that.

[Henry dV]

As this is generally aimed at, I believe the American viewers, please feel free to send me packing.

In the UK the turkey is the Christmas bird, although only recently, and what we do in our household with any and all roasted white bird meat leftovers is to remove from the carcase all lean meat, then weigh it and make a vegetable mirepoix of equal cooked weight and leave to cool.

Next step is to make a roux and when mirepoix and roux are cool mix together with the finely chopped turkey and some fresh herbs to a nice cohesive paste the size of a squash ball and then dredge with plain(general purpose) flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs, this is then deep fried and served with lemon wedges and tartare sauce.

I do however agree with Fat Guy, that the kind of recipes touted by the magazines etc. can be as we say a bit hackneyed, but that is the nature of the beast perhaps ?

[Shalmanese]

True, the zeal for turkey leftover recipes in the food press is overblown but that doesn't mean it's illegitimate to want to do something creative with turkey leftovers. Simply treat them as you would any other leftover food. One of the best soups I have ever made was an adaptation of the Thai Chicken Soup from The Cooks Book using leftover turkey.

There's plenty of leftover recipes that take advantage of the natural cooked state of turkey. Turkey pot pie, Turkey fried rice, Turkey wraps, Curried Turkey Salad etc.