Turkey Redux - leftovers you love

[RAHiggins1]

I finally got around to making my turkey stock, I deboned my 22# bird, roasted the bones and put it all back in the freezer until I had a full day. I got 3.5 Gal of stock from this one. I save all of my chinese take out "soup for two" containers just for this. I also used my turkey fryer to simmer the stock in as it has a drain on the bottom. That really made keeping the manky stuff on top seperated from the good stuff underneath easy.

[DHeineck]

Okay--so I'm actually going to be with family for Thanksgiving, but the grocery deals as of now are pretty tempting for this graduate student.

Even a 12-15 lb turkey is going to be a lot for my roommate and I to eat--so I'm hoping for some clever ideas on how to broaden the use of said turkey. There's only so many cranberry/turkey sandwiches one can eat before bursting.

So I guess I'm looking for about 2-3 different recipe angles to use a single bird so I don't get bored of it... any recommendations? I've got two down: squash/turkey soup and simply roasted using an herb under the skin and sliced up.

What are your family favorites to do with a leftover turkey?

Cheers!

Daniel

[Pierogi]

Okay--so I'm actually going to be with family for Thanksgiving, but the grocery deals as of now are pretty tempting for this graduate student.

Even a 12-15 lb turkey is going to be a lot for my roommate and I to eat--so I'm hoping for some clever ideas on how to broaden the use of said turkey. There's only so many cranberry/turkey sandwiches one can eat before bursting.

So I guess I'm looking for about 2-3 different recipe angles to use a single bird so I don't get bored of it... any recommendations? I've got two down: squash/turkey soup and simply roasted using an herb under the skin and sliced up.

What are your family favorites to do with a leftover turkey?

Cheers!

Daniel

Turkey enchiladas (use any chicken enchilada recipe and sub the turkey) are always a winner. Turkey and rice. Turkey fried rice. Turkey pot pie. Turkey soup. Turkey and dumplings. Turkey noodle casserole. Basically anything you use leftover chicken for can be adapted to use leftover roasted turkey. Freeze it in "recipe sized" zip bags and use throughout the winter.

[Nomina]

How does everyone store their turkey leftovers? sliced? I've tried slicing and putting into Ziplocs but then the meat gets dry and falls apart. I have also tried cutting turkey into chunks (ie. legs, breast, thighs) and storing in Ziplocs but then it just doesn't get eaten because no one wants to deal with cutting it up. Every time I roast a turkey, I seem to end up throwing half of it out. Help!

[Richard Kilgore]

Still eating turkey leftovers - turkey vegetable soup tonight, and enough of that leftover for a lunch or two. And a couple of quarts of neutral stock left to make another soup in a few days.

[Jaymes]

I have wondered as an aside, about doing something with leftover bread stuffing. I always make too much and people eat a)what comes out of the bird

Leftover bread stuffing is terrific in stuffed pork chops. If you don't want to do that right away, then freeze the stuffing. A few weeks later, thaw out that stuffing and put it into some of those extra-thick pork chops that are slit for just that purpose.

Other things we enjoy:

"Turkey a la King" ladled over hot biscuits.

Turkey in curry sauce over rice.

And "barbecue" turkey sloppy joes. A 'never fail' with a house full of kids.

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Edited December 2, 2009 by Jaymes (log)

[heidih]

How does everyone store their turkey leftovers? sliced? I've tried slicing and putting into Ziplocs but then the meat gets dry and falls apart. I have also tried cutting turkey into chunks (ie. legs, breast, thighs) and storing in Ziplocs but then it just doesn't get eaten because no one wants to deal with cutting it up. Every time I roast a turkey, I seem to end up throwing half of it out. Help!

I use leftover broth or de-fatted liquid from the pan (set aside for this purpose) and dunk each slice if storing sliced, or pour into the bag with the bigger chunks. The benefit of storing in bags is that you can flip them over a few times in the fridge to get it all evenly moist and then freeze when well saturated.

I have wondered as an aside, about doing something with leftover bread stuffing. I always make too much and people eat a)what comes out of the bird

Chopped turkey mixed with the leftover stuffing (add egg if needed) and formed into patties is an easy one that can also be frozen. Freeze a bag of cranberries and make fresh sauce around the time you start pulling turkey out for re-dos, or freeze your leftover sauce if you have any.

Turkey in the Japanese curry mix is also a kid favorite over rice. Adding some of the cranberry sauce as a garnish adds a nice contrast.

[Lapin d'Argent]

Last night I wanted to finally use up the leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving, plus various other ingredients that had accumulated in the intervening days, and I have to say, I came up with a winner!

There was a dish of mashed root vegetables (potatoes, celery root, and carrots), plus some plain mashed potatoes from the in-laws. These got microwaved to soften, then re-mashed together with some heavy cream and salt for a little oomphing. They went into a decent sized, buttered corningware casserole.

Next came one leek leftover from making pizza over the weekend. Sliced and sauteed in butter with a little salt and leftover lemon juice. Some sauteed mushrooms, also from the pizza making, got added to the leeks as well, and this made the next layer on top of the mash.

Finally, I took the remains of a baguette, turned it into fresh breadcrumbs in the food processor, and tossed it with the leftover parmesan my husband had grated for a weekend turkey risotto. Lots and lots and lots of freshly ground pepper and a little melted butter to hold it together, and that became the top layer.

Into a medium oven for about 45 minutes, uncovered part of the time to crisp the crumbs, and out came the ultimate comfort food. The root vegetables were rich and satisfying, the leeks and mushrooms added a nice sweet contrast, and the breadcrumbs were a lovely crunchy, savory accent.

Those of you who were wondering what to do with leftover bread stuffing could crisp it up first a bit in a layer on a baking sheet, and use that as the top layer instead -- I'm sure it would be even more delicious.

[KaffeeKlatsch]

My family isn't especially fond of dark meat, but they never complain when I make it into a casserole. I cut up the dark meat and mix it with any leftover vegetables, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I add this to some cooked noodles. I usually have enough gravy leftover to moisten this sufficiently. I try to avoid the canned soup route, so I've added sour cream or mayonnaise if it needed just a tad more "sauce". Pour it into a baking pan and top with the leftover stuffing (mine has sausage). The stuffing crisps up and makes a great topping. The rest is creamy and completely in the comfort food zone.

Magi

[onrushpam]

We finished ours off last night (except for the carcass, which is in the freezer for stock when I get time). Last night, I sauteed a couple of diced carrots and sliced mushrooms, then simmered them in the rest of the gravy until the carrots were tender. Added chopped turkey and frozen peas. Served over biscuits. We licked our bowls.