HOW TO DEAL WITH THE LEFTOVER TURKEY
The first line of an old song is: “After the ball was over…..” Well to paraphrase, after the dinner is over… someone has to deal with what’s left of the bird. There’s a difference between turkey leftovers and leftover turkey, ask anyone in charge of preparing Thanksgiving dinner. The first implies making sandwiches or dinner re-runs, the second is salvaging the meat from the carcass for future meals and even boiling the bones for stock. It’s a bit more work, but my family tradition is to use every bit of the Thanksgiving turkey to advantage, perhaps in the spirit of the day.
Actually, in the spirit of this holiday week, it seems only fitting that the icon be on sale too. Pre-Thanksgiving prices are the deepest, not only turkey, but overall meat price cuts of the entire year. Consequently, it’s economically sensible for several reasons, to buy a turkey larger than actually needed. The extra poundage doesn’t involve more work since it’s an oven roast simply requiring more cooking time. Stripping the meat from the carcass takes more time too, depending on the amount remaining, but again not much. Of course, boiling the bones will require about two hours. None of this is really labor intensive, especially when the effort is weighed against the prospect of having several entrees nearly ready in advance. All things considered, adding extra pounds to the bird you buy is an excellent investment.
There are as many opinions on how to cook a turkey as there are cooks who do it. I roast mine stuffed, at low temperature for many hours. I remove the essence as it rends, measuring as I do, let the fat congeal and make the gravy just before serving. About half-way through the cooking time, I cover the pan to prevent over-browning. For large, well done birds, serving at table is difficult. Carving them in the pan then presenting the meat and stuffing on a platter is easier not only for serving but for storage and stripping too.
The first step in dealing with the remaining turkey is to remove the stuffing if cooked in the bird. There are two suggestions below for uses other than dinner re-runs, but most recipes freeze well. Deeper, rather than wide containers are recommended and a thin coating of either gravy or pan dripping on top prevents freezer burn, insures moistness and can be re-heated with the contents.
Safe handling is always a concern with any food. The sooner the carcass is stripped the better, but it can be kept for two days if properly covered and chilled. I cover mine with a kitchen towel and the pan lid. Because the roasting pan is too big for my refrigerator, and since I live in a Northern climate, a garage shelf is fine for temporary storage. However, if there is a chance of it freezing wrap the whole pan in a blanket. I have also cooked a turkey in Florida, and there I used a large drink cooler filled with ice packs, which was placed only overnight, near the vent in an air-conditioned kitchen.
The actual stripping of meat is easiest done by hand with the carcass in the roasting pan. White meat tends to dry in freezing, so I remove the breast meat first and wrap it for refrigeration. This is the source of sandwiches or base of the recipe for several wonderful, party dishes to serve guests during the holidays ahead.
The remainder of the meat, I separate into piles according to size, larger pieces for entrees, smaller ones for casseroles and scraps for soup. I divide each pile into two portion packets which I wrap in plastic, label and freeze, several parcels to a zip-lock bag. The bones, skin and gristle I put into a soup pot as I strip them of meat, along with any remaining drippings in the pan. I deglaze the roasting pan with hot water and add it to the soup pot with enough extra water to cover the solids in the pot plus a large onion and a couple of celery stalks.
I bring the liquid in the pot to a boil, cover and simmer for about two hours. Using tongs I move the larger bones to the trash and with a ladle and collider strain out the rest of the solids, discarding them as well. The rendered broth will be cloudy rather than clear and usually amounts to three or so quarts. I like to divide this into two containers for freezing, because each will supply two dinner portions of soup, but this decision depends on the size of your family. I don’t skim the broth because the layer of fat which will rise to the top protects it from freezer burn and drying. This is easily spooned off in chunks and discarded before re-heating.
Now to the bottom line: how many meals can you expect to set aside to show for the extra expense and time? From my experience, based on leftover meat from a 22 to 24 lb. bird having served 8 to 10 people for dinner, I calculate at least enough for 12 to 14 portions ,not counting the broth for soup and any breast meat. One side breast from a turkey of this size can serve 9 to 10 in a buffet casserole alone. Those tiny scraps left on the bones, are sufficient, when added to broth with some noodles and/or vegetables to make a dinner too. Even without much meat remaining, you can still boil the bones for soup. So make the most of the bird!
Party casseroles:
TURKEY WITH WALNUTS : Serves 4
3 cups cooked cubed turkey or 4 turkey cutlets cut in 1×2 inch strips @ 1 ½ lbs.
1 green bell pepper
2 medium onions in 8ths
4 celery ribs
2 tsp. Soy Sauce
(1) 10oz can chicken broth – divided ¼ cup reserved (This is the Condensed found with the soups, rather than the 14 oz. broths)
2 Tbs. butter
½ cup cream sherry
2 Tbs. cornstarch
½ cup walnut pieces – toasting optional
Salt and Pepper
½ lb. cooked pasta – suggestions orzo or broad egg noodles
Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. If using raw turkey sauté first then add vegetables and sauté until soft .If using leftover add it with the sherry after the vegetables are soft. Add ¾ cup chicken broth and Soy sauce cover and simmer 8 min. Add sherry and cook 1 min more, add cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup broth and cook 3 min., stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Serve over pasta and garnish with walnuts.
NOTE; To toast walnuts- place on foil in 350 degree oven for 5 min.
TURKEY a la King—Serves 4
This recipe is based on the dish served in the Café Pierre in the Hotel Pierre in New York City and is suitable for entertaining or for a simple dinner at home.
4 portions larger size pieces frozen turkey meat thawed = 2 packs
(2) 4oz. cans button mushrooms
(1/2 ) 8 oz. can pitted ripe olives sliced lengthwise in half
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1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
(1) 10 oz. can chicken or turkey broth—can use your home made here–+ water to equal 1 ½ cups
1 tsp. curry powder- or to taste
1 cup milk – divided
½ cup light cream
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1 pkg. frozen patty shells
Cook patty shells according to directions and have ready “caps” or tops on the side.
Combine broth, water, bouillon, curry, olives, mushrooms and ½ cup milk in a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients. Dissolve the cornstarch in the other ½ cup of milk, add to the pot and, stirring constantly, and cook over medium-high heat until sauce thickens-about 3 min. Lower heat, add meat, peppers and cream and continue stirring gently until heated through and sauce is smooth and thick. Serve hot in patty shells garnished with the “caps”
Examples of how to use frozen leftover turkey to make quick impressive entrees:
TURKEY in ORANGE SAUCE – Serves 4
4 portions of large pieces of frozen turkey thawed
1 medium-small onion diced fine
1 Tbs. oil
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate*
1 ½ cups white wine*
1 Tbs. soy sauce or to taste
orange marmalade or brown sugar to taste
3 Tbs. match stick pieces of orange rind ½ inch long
Sauté the onion in the oil until soft, about 3 min. Add the juice, wine, soy sauce and orange rind. Stir to mix well and taste to adjust flavors adding marmalade or sugar if needed. This sauce should be tangy. Add the meat to the pan and simmer for about 10 min. to infuse the flavors. Serve hot.
* equal amounts of fresh orange juice can be substituted, but it’s best to dissolve ½ tsp. of cornstarch in the liquid first, and stir until slightly thickened before adjusting seasoning or adding the meat.
This technique works well substituting ½ cup, or to taste, leftover whole cranberry sauce for the frozen orange juice concentrate, mixing it with the wine and omitting the soy sauce and marmalade. The orange rind is optional.
The medium size pieces of leftover turkey are great for pastas, pizzas and fajitas. I like these dishes for quick weekday meals. Basically they all start with 1 large onion and 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped for the pasta and sliced for the other two dishes, micro waved for 2 min. with 1Tbs. oil, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper and a dash of red pepper. I add 1 cup of frozen broccoli stems and pieces for the second minute when making the pasta and pizza. Then
A) For the pasta I like to use penne. I toss the cooked, drained noodles with about 1 cup of fresh or canned diced tomatoes, pesto or riciato sauce, or just olive oil, the cooked vegetables, dried oregano and basil, and the thawed turkey meat, and top with grated Parmesan oregano and basil, and the thawed turkey meat, and top with grated Parmesan.
B) For the pizza, I spread the pesto or riciato on the crust then pile on the cooked vegetables, diced tomatoes and the meat and sprinkle with the fried herbs and top with the cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-12 min.
C) For the fajitas, I omit the broccoli and add the meat with 2 tsp. more oil for the second minute of microwaving the onion and pepper, or as long as needed for all to get really hot. I warm flour tortillas in the microwave for 20 sec. put salsa, sour cream, grated cheese and guacamole on the table, and serve the tortillas on a plate, the fillings in their cooking dish and let everyone dig in and fix their own.
Small scraps of meat are also good in:
TURKEY HASH; Serves 2
2 cups minced cooked turkey
2 cups stuffing
½ cup minced onion and celery
¼ cup craisins
¼ cup gravy
¼ cup minced cooked sweet potatoes (optional)
2 eggs
Microwave the onions and celery on ½ heat for 1 min. to soften slightly. Mix all ingredients except eggs together and press into 2 oven proof bowls. Indent the centers and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 min. Break eggs into indentations and bake for 10 min. more.
