Leftover Turkey Recipes
On this day after Thanksgiving when most of my fellow Americans are shopping until they drop, or dropping while they shop, my family is at home putting out a few Christmas decorations, listening to a Josh Groban Christmas C.D., playing games, and visiting with our houseguests. This Thanksgiving we had two single parent families come spend the night on Wednesday and stay through Thanksgiving. That's only seven houseguests, which seems on the small side after some of our adventures this year.=)
While we won't be celebrating Black Friday by hanging out at the mall with our fellow citizens, we do have something else in common with them. What most Americans have in our hands the day after Thanksgiving is leftovers. I posted some leftover turkey recipes over at our home blog, but I want to be fair to my readers, so I will add a couple bonus recipes here that you won't find there, including a couple recipes that use up more leftovers than the turkey.=)
Start with the bones (which I hope you always save anyway) and make a delicious and nourishing soup stock. It's frugal, nutritious, and something good cooks have been doing for millennium. Broth made from bones such as your turkey carcass will contain minerals in a form the body can absorb easily— including chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine. Think about that while buying those expensive chondroitine supplements at the health food store- or make your own meat bone based broth a regular part of your diet and perhaps you can forgo the pricey supplements.
Making soup from the bones of any meat is an art every cook should know. The truly frugal cook will always save meatbones for soup. If you don't have enough from any one meal, you can keep them in a bag in the freezer until you accumlate enough for soup. With the turkey carcass, of course, you already have enough for soup. LOTS of soup.=)
Sally Fallon is the author of the excellent book Nourishing Traditions. On this web page she summarizes some of the information on soups and broths that you can find in her book: "Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals...."
When broth is cooled, it congeals due to the presence of gelatin...
...Although gelatin is not a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, helping the poor stretch a few morsels of meat into a complete meal. During the siege of Paris, when vegetables and meat were scarce, a doctor named Guerard put his patients on gelatin bouillon with some added fat and they survived in good health.The French were the leaders in gelatin research, which continued up to the 1950s. Gelatin was found to be useful in the treatment of a long list of diseases including peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice and cancer. Babies had fewer digestive problems when gelatin was added to their milk. The American researcher Francis Pottenger pointed out that as gelatin is a hydrophilic colloid, which means that it attracts and holds liquids, it facilitates digestion by attracting digestive juices to food in the gut. Even the epicures recognized that broth-based soup did more than please the taste buds. "Soup is a healthy, light, nourishing food" said Brillant-Savarin, "good for all of humanity; it pleases the stomach, stimulates the appetite and prepares the digestion."
That was the why. Here's how:
Put the bones in a stock post and cover with water. If you break up a few bones (use a hammer) that will add to the flavor of your broth. Add a couple tablespoons of vinegar, because vinegar will pull minerals into your broth, making it even more nutritious (we like apple cider or balsamic vinegar. A bit of wine may be substituted). Add two to four cups of vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery. The vegetables should be chopped very coarsely- onions, for instance, can be quartered, celery chopped into four or five large pieces.
Very frugal cooks will save the skins from onions and garlic cloves (they keep in the freezer) because these are nutritious and will add onion and garlic flavor to your broth without adding cost. The leaves to celery are also edible, and can be added to your broth for extra flavor. You may also add garlic cloves (even cloves that have started to sprout).
Let this pot of bones, veggies, and water soak together for about half an hour or a little longer. Bring it to a boil and skim the surface as scum rises to the top. Discard this scum or feed it to your pets (you can put it over the top of a bowl of dry cat or dog food).
Reduce the heat to simmer, cover the pot and simmer it on the back of the stove for hours, even overnight (if you have a wood-burning stove, just set the pot on the back of the stove to simmer gently). Check periodically to make sure there is still plenty of liquid. You can always add more to keep the volume over the top of the bones. Sally Fallon says to simmer from 6 to 24 hours. Just a few minutes before removing it from the heat, add some fresh herbs for added nutrition and flavor- herbs such as parsley, rosemary, basil, sage, and bay leaves will be delicious and savory.
Pull the bones out with a pair of tongs. If there is any meat left on them, let the bones cool and then pick the meat off with your fingers or a fork. Otherwise, discard the bones. Strain the broth into a large container- I use double folded cheese cloth for this because I like a very clear broth, but a collander works just as well if you don't mind a less clear version- and here's a frugal hint- you can take a large section from a clean but run ridden pair of panty hose and use it the same way as cheese cloth.
Discard the vegetables because you've just cooked all the nutrition out of them and into your broth. You can add them a compost pile because they are cooked so well they will compost- but since they've been cooked with meat bones, bury them deep.
Refrigerate your broth. The next day skim the fat off, which will have risen to the top and solidified. I save the fat (stored in a covered container in my refrigerator) and use it for the fat in gravies and sauces. The broth should be congealed, like gelatin- because this is real gelatin. It will liquify when reheated. Keep this in jars in your refrigerator or freezer. If you freeze it give your jars at least two inches of expansion space between the top of the broth and the top of the jar or you'll have broken jars and ruined broth.
Reheat and use as needed when chicken stock or broth is called for in one of your recipes, or used it as the basis for any soup.
"Shepherd's Pie"
Put a layer of leftover meat in the bottom of a pan- I use 9X13, but you can use a smaller pan and use fewer leftovers.
Put a layer of leftover vegetables on top of the meat- I think green beans, peas, cooked carrots, cabbage, celery, corn, and squash work pretty well. Sweet potatoes, not so much.
Spread a layer of mashed potatoes over the top of this. Pour some melted butter over the mashed potatoes and cook until hot all the way through. The first time I had this, I was a fairly young wife and mother and we'd been invited over to dinner at the home of another young couple. I thought it was excellent company fare, unpretentious, but filling and delicious. I was glad to learn a new way with leftovers and gladder still that my hostess was brave enough to serve this without embarrassment to guests.
Turkey Empanadas
Because of the amount of cheese in these, they aren't exactly frugal, but they are delicious and they will use up a lot of turkey at once.
Filling:
Equal amounts of chopped up cooked chicken or turkey and grated cheddar or jack cheese (or combination)
2 or 3 cans of diced green chiles, or to taste.
Pastry pocket:
Combine:
5 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Cut in 1 1/3 cups plus 3 tablespoons of shortening.
Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of water.
Stir this with a fork until a dough forms. Roll the dough out; cut in large circles (I use a dessert plate as a template and trace it with a knife). Spoon some filling on one side of the circle, fold over the other half and seal all around the edge with a fork edge. You may want to moisten the edges. Put them on a pan, brush with milk, sprinkle with cornmeal for added crunch.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or unti golden brown.
I believe this makes enough to feed four people, depending on appetites. I generally triple it.
Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
6 beaten eggs
Two cups of thinned gravy leftover from Thanksgiving Dinner (or two cups of some combo of milk and cream soup if you're out of gravy).
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dry mustard (this really does contribute to the flavor)
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
10 slices of slightly stale bread (I never use bread. I use leftover stuffing or dressing)
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, sharp
2-4 cps of diced leftover turkey
Mix the first four ingredients to make a sauce.
Grease a 13X9 casserole dish
Spread half of the stuffing (or bread if that's what you use) in the bottom of the pan. Spread the turkey and cheese over this, and top with remaining stuffing (or bread). Pour the milk mixture evenly over this and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.
Brig it to room temperature and bake in your preheated, 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour (until it's bubbling hot). Let stand another 15 minutes before serving.
This serves eight.
Turkey Enchiladas
Sauce~
In a large saucepan heat together:
two cans evaporated milk
2 cans cream soup (usually cream of chicken, but cream of mushroom is also good)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix (optional- it will be richer with it, but it's not necessary).
grated cheese to taste (how much cheese will depend entirely on your budget and your taste preferences).
1 or two cans of diced green chiles
Filling~
Mix about 4 cups of chopped leftover turkey, grated cheese (to taste), and some more green chiles (to taste). Measurements are very flexible. Do you like your enchiladas thick or thin, full of cheese or full of meat, spicy or mild, dry or saucier?
Grease a casserole
Dip a corn tortilla in the sauce mixture. Lay it in the casserole dish. Put a spoon full or two of turkey mixture down the middle of the tortilla. Roll it and turn it seam side down in the pan. Repeat until the pan is full of enchiladas. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and bake until hot all the way through and golden around the edges. I have never found a way to do this while keeping my fingers clean. I tried tongs, and I just could not work well keeping myself at arm's length from the food I was preparing. I am very much a hands on cook.
Serve with a salad and refried beans on the side.
Cranberry pinwheels
pinwheel toppings
* 2 C. packaged biscuit mix (my recipe for home-made biscuit mix is here)
* 1/2 C. milk (Or just make some biscuit dough- it needs to be a soft dough, not too stiff)
* 1/2 C. Cranberry-Orange Relish (this is easy to make and our recipe is here)
Sauce
* 1/4 C. chopped onion
* 1/3 C. flour
* 14 1/2 oz chicken broth (or just under two cups of your own home-made turkey broth)
* 1 1/3 C. milk
* 1 1/2 C. cooked chicken or turkey cut into bite sized pieces
* 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
* 3 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained (fresh mushrooms work, and you can skip the mushrooms altogether, although we never do)
To prepare pinwheels, combine biscuit mix and the 1/2 c. milk. Stir till well blended. Turn out onto lightly floured surface: knead 5 to 6 times. Roll out to a 10 inch square. Spread cranberry relish over dough to within 1/2 inch on all sides. Roll up as for jelly roll. Moisten edges with water; seal. Cut into 8 slices; set aside.
Sauce
In saucepan cook onion in butter till tender but not brown. Stir in flour, blending well. Add chicken broth and the 1 1/3 c. milk. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in chicken or turkey, cheese, and mushrooms. Cook and stir over low heat till cheese melts and mixture is boiling. Turn chicken mixture into a 9x13 pan. Arrange pinwheels, cut side down, atop hot mixture. Bake in a 425 degree (Fahrenheit) oven about 25 minutes or till pinwheels are browned.
Serve hot.
Makes 8 single adult sized servings. We generally double it for our family of nine because we like to have more than one serving.
Chicken can be substituted for the turkey in any of the above recipes. I don't know why you couldn't substitute any other meat- the cranberry pinwheels would probably be quite tasty with ham or chicken, the stuffing casserole would be just as good with ham, chicken, or ground beef, the empanadas would be good with seasoned ground beef or sausage, and while the enchiladas really are out of this world when made with smoked turkey, they are quite satisfactory with other meat in the filling- or just as cheese enchiladas.
I hope these recipes are a blessing to you and yours, and wish you all the best on this Black Friday. Just remember.... The point of life is not to become a more satisfied shopper. Practice contentment and use what's in your hands.=)
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6 Responses to “Leftover Turkey Recipes”
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
All of the recipes sound divine! I already make Shepherd’s pie, but I’m looking forward to trying the rest of them!
Thanks for all the great ideas!
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
[...] Go to source>> [...]
November 24th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I have Sally Fallon’s book… that is how I found this blog. I would have thrown away all my leftovers; I got your blog in time to freeze them instead. I am going to try the Shepherds Pie, Turkey and Stuffing Casserole, and bone broth.
Thanks!
November 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Thank you so much for giving the details on how to make a good, rich broth. I have never been able to make a broth with chicken bones that was tasty enough for my family to enjoy. Now I see that I haven’t been cooking it long enough– and the hint to break up the bones ought to help also. I’m putting these instructions in my cookbook binder!
November 27th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
*sigh* And now our turkey soup is running out. So sad
August 15th, 2008 at 4:47 am
Bone broth differs from gelatin in that it also contains minerals and GAGS. Traditionally made stock uses bone and cartilage and produces a higher quality result. It also produces a safer result considering that commercial gelatin contains small amounts of monosodium glutamate (MSG).
This tasty turkey casserole recipe is made with leftover turkey, leftover stuffing and gravy, and a little cranberry sauce for topping.
Truthfully I didn’t really like this recipe. Normally I use Maggi’s recipe bases for shepherd’s pie, but I thought I would try something different and homemade. It was way too sloppy, even though I didn’t put in all of the stock, but the flavour was still good. I used mixed frozen vegies instead of chopping my own. The pan I used was probably too big, meaning my meat layer was nowhere near thick enough. If I were to make this recipe again, I would use much less stock, more potato and a smaller pan. However, I probably won’t use this recipe again.
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