The Turkey Chronicles: Leftover Turkey

Sometimes the shear mass of the meal exceeds the crowd's capacity to consume it all. If you're looking for some ideas for using up leftover turkey, enjoy.

* The frame/skeleton should be made into as much fresh, rich turkey stock as possible: freeze the stock if you won’t use it all within a couple of days (ice cube trays are a convenient way to freeze/use it in small quantities; bag I.Q.F. in Ziplock bags to store)

* Turkey tortilla soup: chipotles, lime, crispy tortilla strips, onion, carrot, Mexican white cheese, fried tortilla whiskers

* Turkey mole enchiladas or tacos…use bottled mole sauce diluted w/turkey stock (Doña Maria or Rogelio), leftover turkey meat, Mexican white cheese

* Yucatecan black mole turkey soup: charred garlic and chiles, turkey meat and stock, onion, carrot, celery, potato,black or "burnt" mole paste, shredded Mexican white cheese, pickled red onions

* Turkey Thai tom yum soup: mushroom, shallot, makroot leaves, lemongrass, lime juice, Thai chiles, cilantro

* Turkey sandwiches with gruyere, sautéed portobellos, sautéed onions & garlic, roasted red bells, done paninni-style

* Turkey hash with yams (microwave the yams before dicing & sauté in hot olive oil) instead of potatoes, with bacon lardons, mushrooms, onions, garlic, parsley, paprika…top with poached eggs

* Fijan turkey salad with coconut milk, lime, cilantro, roasted Thai chiles, scallion, garlic, soy…serve with fried shrimp chips

* Turkey Thai laab salad wraps: diced turkey with minced lemongrass, garlic, and makroot leaves, roasted Thai chiles and shallot, mint, cilantro, fish sauce, lime juice,jicama

* Turkey and Mexican white cheese gorditas with guajillo chile sauce

* Turkey shwarma wraps with tatziki sauce (yogurt, lemon, garlic, pureed cucumber), turkey meat, cucumber slivers, tomatoes, shredded Romaine; inside pita bread

* Turkey cakes (pan sauteed or broiled) with Swiss cheese, minced celery, leeks, garlic, egg, sage, panko crumbs; served with cranberry coulis

* Turkey tapas, pa amb tomaquet style (Spain): grilled peasant bread, smeared with garlic clove and ripe tomato, topped with warm turkey medallions, garnish with alioli or romesco sauce

* Turkey Lebanese fattoush salad: romaine, endive, parsley, mint, purple & green olives, broken pita bread, garlic, green onion, sumac, lemon-sour orange-olive oil dressing, feta cheese crumbles, shredded turkey

* Turkey tetrazini with penne: cream & turkey stock reduction with garlic, mushrooms, Parmesan, grilled asparagus, Italian parsley, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, topped with Parmesan

* Turkey pizza with black sauce (black olives, a little anchovy, capers, parsley, olive oil), bechamel, mozzarella, diced prosciutto, mushrooms, Asiago cheese

* Turkey sauté with onions, garlic, thin lemon slices or preserved lemons, turkey stock, ras el hanout spice blend, cinnamon, dried apricots; serve over couscous

* Turkey bisteeya (Moroccan pastry pie with Moroccan spices, turkey stock, onions, garlic, just-scrambled eggs, powdered sugar & cinnamon on exterior to serve;”shell” is made from overlapping sheets of puff pastry

* Turkey bisque with potatoes, celery, mushrooms, onion, garlic, turkey stock, cream; serve with “hushpuppies” on the side made from cornbread stuffing mix, scallion, egg, and grated Edam cheese

* Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches made with sliced turkey, cucumber slivers, green onions, jalapeño slices, lettuce, pickled carrot slivers, cilantro, mint; dressed with nuoc cham dressing (fish sauce + lime + water + sugar)

* Mexican turkey and chile cream bisque with turkey, onions, garlic, pureed grilled corn, poblano chile rajas, grated Monty jack, garnish with tortilla whiskers and chile powder (thicken with a  slurry of masa harina + turkey stock

* Turkey frittata: sliced Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, onions, garlic, porcini mushrooms, swiss chard, Parmesan, turkey, eggs; garnish with stripes of green sauce: basil, parsley, anchovy, capers, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil, bread, pureed (these are good made in large muffin tins)

* Piquillo peppers stuffed with a mix of diced turkey (moistened with warm stock), grated Manchego cheese, crème fraiche, jamon Serrano, roasted garlic

* Persian turkey pilau rice casserole with currants, apricots, onion, garlic, almonds, saffron

* Turkey pot pies: pre-bake bottom & side linings, filling of turkey, stock, carrot, onion, garlic, potato, parsley; great in big muffin tins

* Turkey and andouille sausage gumbo over Texmati rice: garlic, onion, celery, green bell, thyme, cayenne, bay, dark roux, scallion

* Turkey and green bean casserole with French fried onion topping, but make it with real ingredients: mushroom-garlic cream sauce, real fried onion slivers

* Louisville Hot Brown sandwich: open-faced turkey, bacon, white cheddar-mornay sauce (browned w/ a torch), chopped tomato, parmesan

* TAB (Turkey, Avocado, Bacon): toasted white peasant bread, garlicky aioli, crispy bacon, turkey meat, fontina, avocado slices, roasted cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, shredded romaine, garlicky aioli

* Turkey salad wrap: flatbread, turkey salad (pulled turkey meat, celery, scallion, capers, red onion, diced jicama, aioli), shredded Swiss or emmental cheese, confit of roasted cheery tomato, shredded romaine

* Turkey Melt: grilled white bread, turkey salad (aioli, capers, red onion, celery, diced radish, chopped HB egg), gruyere, rosemary aioli

Mick Vann ©