Turkey Leftovers

[Deborah]

Every year I spend a lot of time planning and preparing the Thanksgiving feast. The day after, I'll happily eat a sandwich made with leftovers which is always good. The latest issue of Bon Appetit had a few recipes one of which was Stacked Enchiladas with Turkey which looks good and it made me wonder.....what's your favorite recipe or dish that you make with leftovers? I'd love to do something different this year. Care to share? Inspire me!

Thanks!

[akur23]

what's your favorite recipe or dish that you make with leftovers? I'd love to do something different this year. Care to share? Inspire me! 

Thanks!

Turkey pot pie....

[Basilgirl]

Turkey chili made with white beans and lots of green chiles

[JAZ]

The best thing I ever made with the leftover turkey and carcass was mole (loosely based on a recipe from a Rick Bayliss book). We'd smoked the turkey that year, so the whole dish had a smoky undertone that worked really well with the mole spices.

Another year my sister made a salad with wild rice, dried cranberries, turkey and. . . some other stuff. I can't remember, but it was good.

[NancyH]

Thai Style Turkey Soup. Coconut milk makes anything taste brand new!

[albie]

For my money, o other meat or bones yields the flavor of a soup made from a turkey carcass, and with so little effort.

[Mayhaw Man]

Turkey and Andouille or smmoked sausage Gumbo-with stock made from the carcass. I am probably not making an overstatement when I say that in half the homes in Louisiana, South of I-10, that dish is served over the Thanksgiving weekend. It's pretty hard to beat.

I like a turkey melt with dark meat, some decent bread, and some good cheese, as well.

[fifi]

Turkey and Andouille or smmoked sausage Gumbo-with stock made from the carcass. I am probably not making an overstatement when I say that in half the homes in Louisiana, South of I-10, that dish is served over the Thanksgiving weekend. It's pretty hard to beat.

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Yep... That has been the fate of many a carcass in this house. One year I smoked the turkeys. The gumbo was awesome. A tip on the smoked turkeys... If you remove the skin before making the turkey stock you will have just the right amount of smoke flavor for many uses.

[andiesenji]

I make a layered casserole, usually in a deep lasagna pan, dressing, turkey cut into bite-size pieces, homemade cranberry sauce, dressing, turkey, cranberry sauce, bake for about 35 minutes at 375 and serve with freshly-made turkey gravy and perhaps fried potato cakes made from the leftover mashed potatoes with the addition of chopped scallions and hard-boiled egg.

I always buy extra turkey wings and legs for making stock for gravy. I roast them first to deepen the flavor. However, I carefully remove the skin from the legs before roasting because when I do the extra dressing in a casserole or small roasting pan, I cover the top with the turkey skin. This infuses the dressing with the turkey flavor just as it would be infused inside the turkey.

[irodguy]

1) Turkey Soup

2) Turkey Salad

3) Turkey Enchiladas

4) BBQ pulled Turkey

Think I might add the Turkey Lasagna idea

[Deborah]

Great ideas! I'm starting to feel inspired. Lasagna, chili and the gumbo are sounding particularly good to me.

[ladyyoung98]

while this idea is a very simple one....its still one of my favorites...i make dinner rolls for thanksgiving in our home and because i tend to bake too many (perhaps on purpose)...what i like to do is split them in half put them on a plate....add a couple of layers of turkey breast and then ladle some of the leftover gravy over it and heat it up ..usually in the microwave...tastes wondrfull

aside from that...without a doubt..turkey soup

ive also discovered in recent years that if i pull some of the meat into strips and add cranberry sauce and mix it together..that too is wonderful...heating it is of course an option

never thought of turkey enchiladas though...but i think i just might give it a whirl this year

[andiesenji]

I am reading eG and talking on the phone to the friend with whom I spend the Christmas holidays.

She reminded me that I also make a fruit and turkey curry with rice or couscous. Her husband is a really picky eater but if I make it spicy enough he will eat it. I use one of the curry pastes combined with a chutney and cooked in coconut milk and stock(chicken or turkey) to make the "gravy" in which the turkey is heated. I chop dried apricots and peaches, plump them in hot water and cook them in the coconut milk prior to adding the turkey. I thicken it with arrowroot which won't break the way cornstarch does.

[curlywurlyfi]

my mother does a quick + easy turkey + chickpea curry which we have come to prefer to the turkey qua turkey.

take one onion, slice thinly, fry half till softened + golden, add tbsp (or to taste) curry paste, tin chickpeas (drained), use the empty tin to measure in a tinful chicken/veg stock or water, heat through + boil off a little, add strips of cooked turkey, heat through. Meanwhile, in a little frying pan, you have fried the other half of the onion really hard till blackened and crispy. When turkey is heated through, serve over white rice and top with blackened onions.

god this is delicious, I had forgotten.

[lovebenton0]

Turkey and Andouille or smmoked sausage Gumbo-with stock made from the carcass. I am probably not making an overstatement when I say that in half the homes in Louisiana, South of I-10, that dish is served over the Thanksgiving weekend. It's pretty hard to beat.

←

Yep... That has been the fate of many a carcass in this house. One year I smoked the turkeys. The gumbo was awesome. A tip on the smoked turkeys... If you remove the skin before making the turkey stock you will have just the right amount of smoke flavor for many uses.

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Absolutely, fifi. And then if you want to throw that skin in a little pan of with a bit of that stock and water, extract all the goodness out of it you can, put that broth in the freezer, you can use a little to smoky up anything you want.

Gumbo, yes! Turkey enchiladas with sourcream/salsa verde, roasted turkey with dumplings and baby carrots.

Any wild assortment of turkey soups using that fine carcass.

Turkey, wild rice with pecans, chopped apples, and sweet onions for a mild bite, gingered butter.

Thiiiiin sliced pork chops rolled and tied around turkey and dressing, braised with apples and orange flesh squash or pumpkin.

[nessa]

Turkey tortilla soup. Turkey enchiladas, Turkey and dumplings, Turkey gumbo, curried turkey salad, Turkey-chipotle sandwich spread......

I LOVE the days after!!!! Sometimes I'll smoke two turkeys so that I can have that much more fun!

[Jason Perlow]

ALL the white meat goes to sandwiches. All of it. The rest of the carcass always goes to soup.

Turkey sandwich on nice fresh bread with lots of cracked pepper, mayo, lettuce, tomato, BACON. Oh yeah.

[rcarter]

I usually use the meat for Turkey sandwiches and soup, but last year I tried a Nigella Lawson recipe for cold rice noodles with leftover turkey. Very light and refreshing after a heavy Thanksgiving meal.

Cold turkey, bean sprouts, snow peas and sliced red chilies over rice noodles with a dressing of fish sauce, rice vinegar and a little sugar.

[Mabelline]

Definitely the carcass soup and/or enchiladas. andie beat me to the turkey curry and curlywurlyfi's recipe sounds gorgeous.

I like darkmeat-stuffed pitas with sliced avocadoes and tomatillo sauce and whatever else. Rich, decadent, sinful, deee-lish.

White meat sammiches are the bomb, but I almost cannot swallow one without cranberry relish and some dressing piled in there too. Also, they are 'required eatin' at 2:00 am raids, maybe with some pecan pie and bourbon whipped cream on the side. I am carefully filing Jason's bacon recommendation.

I may do an extra turkey in a groundpit this year. I love those. The meat and the juices are so flavorful! Ah, the anticipation. Love with drumsticks attached

[Jaymes]

Love with drumsticks attached

That's nice.

Anything that you usually make with chicken. And there are LOTS of wonderful chicken dishes.

In addition to the obligatory turkey stew with either rice, potatoes or noodles (I try to vary it from year to year according to my mood), we often have:

Turkey a la King

King Ranch Turkey

Turkey Cacciatory

Tortilla Soup

Avgolemono

[Deborah]

Thank you everyone! Such fabulous suggestions!

[Lexica]

Enchilada casserole was always our post-Thanksgiving favorite. Sauté diced onions in a little oil until soft, then layer in a casserole dish with corn tortillas, shredded turkey, enchilada sauce, and your cheese or cheeses of choice. Serve with a generous amount of chopped cilantro.

[adoxograph]

I'm a fan of turkey ravioli m'self, with a roasted red pepper sauce. What I'm wondering though is what can be done with half a green bean casserole that I made by request. Any good ideas?

[Suzanne F]

Rinse all that gunk off the beans and reheat them in butter or beurre monte.

[andiesenji]

I'm a fan of turkey ravioli m'self, with a roasted red pepper sauce.  What I'm wondering though is what can be done with half a green bean casserole that I made by request.  Any good ideas?

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I puree them and add to turkey soup. Love the different flavor.