# Leftover turkey recipes?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** food-cooking
**Created:** [November 23, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793 "2021-11-23T02:52:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/1 "2021-11-23T02:52:48Z")
It looks like it’s been at least 10 years so why not?
My contribution…
Turkey Divan
My basic formula: 11x13 pan, make bed of par cooked green beans, layer of shredded turkey meat, thin layer of mayo + lemon juice + curry powder. Then top with layer of sharp cheddar. I don’t bother with bread crumbs.
Some go with broccoli instead. I eyeball this, but you can find many recipes on line. They’re usually more complicated than what I do.
> **[Chicken Divan (Or Turkey Divan) Recipe - Food.com](https://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-divan-or-turkey-divan-204407)**
>
> There are a few similar recipes on Zaar to this one, but none exactly the same. This is the one that my mom served when I was a child. The only change
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/2 "2021-11-23T03:06:00Z")
I’ve shared this one before, but in case some missed it:
Sherried Turkey and Ham Bake
12 oz cooked turkey, cut into strips
7 oz thickly sliced cooked ham, cut into strips
¾ cup frozen peas (more or less)
2 TB butter, plus a little extra for greasing the dish
2 TB plain flour
1 cup milk
2 TB dry or medium sherry
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
½ cup cheddar, grated
2 TB chopped mixed nuts (optional, nice for texture, though)
Mix turkey, ham and peas in an ovenproof casserole dish.
Make a white sauce with the butter, flour and milk.
Add sherry, mustard and half the cheese. Stir till smooth. Top turkey and ham mixture with sauce. Add the remaining cheese, as well as nuts if desired.
Bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and slightly browned. Serve over rice, quinoa or noodles.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/3 "2021-11-23T03:13:32Z")
We’ll probably just use it like leftover chicken, and do some “with ginger and scallions” and some curry. And some will be diced and go into the soup.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/4 "2021-11-23T03:56:36Z")
We deep fry at least one turkey so the left over oil is used to make turkey taquitos the next day. Shredded turkey, cheese, cream cheese and jalapeños are diced fine and wrapped in flour tortillas and then fried at 350 F for 10 minutes. It makes a great lunch and dinner with very little effort and is a nice break from leftovers.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/5 "2021-11-23T04:15:33Z")
I’m just going to say that cold turkey between two pieces of untoasted white bread, a slice of cheese and mayo will never get old. I eat three or four the day after Thanksgiving.
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### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/6 "2021-11-23T04:21:07Z")
Probably not dissimilar to other tex-mex options, but I find this one works really well for overly dry leftover turkey (not mine, I brine mine, but I normally have the holiday with in-laws who give tons of leftovers to take home).
Shred leftover turkey finely (pretty easy with dry turkey after all)
Simmer over med-low heat with green chile salsa of your choice (about 2 or 3 to 1 by volume Turkey to Salsa), with juice of one lime for 10 minutes or so.
Add handful of shredded colby jack cheese (get to room temp first!) and let melt, stirring occasionally.
Top with chiffonade of cilantro and/or sliced green onions if you want it to look fancy or want more flavor.
Resulting slightly gooey mess can be poured over burritos, spooned up with tortilla chips / frito scoops, or just eaten out of a bowl with soft flour tortillas. It’s really nice as a hot, stick to your ribs meal for the colder weather we have this time of year, and is unlike roast turkey enough that you don’t mind having it again for a second meal on Black Friday or later in the holiday weekend.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/7 "2021-11-23T04:59:21Z")
I’m making Hot Browns.
> **[Louisville Famous Dish | The Hot Brown Recipe | The Brown Hotel](https://www.brownhotel.com/dining/hot-brown)**
>
> Created in 1920's the Hot Brown became the most famous dish in Louisville. You can find here the recipe, and clips of famous TV shows featuring the Hot Brown.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/8 "2021-11-23T14:51:13Z")
> **[Enchilada Dinner Kit - Mexican Dishes - Old El Paso](https://www.oldelpaso.com/products/enchilada-dinner-kit-14-oz)**
>
> Whip up 6 enchiladas in just 3 easy steps. Each kit contains enchilada sauce, flour tortillas and seasoning mix. All you add is the meat and your favorite toppings.
> Great With Chicken Or Beef
Or leftover turkey.
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### Author:  [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/9 "2021-11-23T14:57:44Z")
Like Wesley said - white bread sandwiches. No mayo for me but lots of salt. Maybe a little butter. Cheese if it’s a warm toasted sandwich and the cheese gets melty.
If there is gravy and mashed potatoes leftover, a hot turkey sandwich really tastes good.
I have a very simple chicken or turkey soup recipe. Turkey, carrots, Minute Rice, can of corn, can of creamed corn, and chicken broth made with Better Than Boullion. Simmer until carrots are cooked.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/10 "2021-11-23T16:10:59Z")
> [@TRC4941](#):
>
> I have a very simple chicken or turkey soup recipe. Turkey, carrots, Minute Rice, can of corn, can of creamed corn, and chicken broth made with Better Than Boullion. Simmer until carrots are cooked.
Yes to turkey soup, _ **hells to the no** _ with the broth made from Better than Bullion. C’mon, you have a turkey carcass, for the love of God, and you probably have the Friday after Thanksgiving off. Put that carcass in a big pot, throw in some coarsely chopped onion, celery, cloves of garlic, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, etc. whatever you have on hand really, and let it simmer for 4 or 5 hours. (or just one hour in an Instant Pot).
**THEN** proceed with your soup once you have the most wonderful soup stock. Turkey stock produces a lot of rendered out collagen, so it really gelatinizes well when refrigerated.
In fact, I’ve been wanting to try one year reducing down the turkey stock even further, add in some turkey bits, and make some old-fashioned Turkey in Aspic.
> **[Turkey in Aspic](https://vintagerecipecards.com/2012/04/12/turkey-in-aspic/)**
>
> 12 ounces cooked turkey white meat, cut in 6 slices 4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced 3/4 pound fresh asparagus spears or 1 8-ounce package frozen asparagus spears, cooked and drained 6 pimiento strips 2 …
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### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/11 "2021-11-23T16:15:29Z")
Or better yet, instead of using the big pot and having to do at least periodic checking to make sure the heat is right, throw all of the same into a largish slow cooker and have fewer worries. My in-laws generally have 3-4 turkeys for the big day, and I take all of them home, rendering them down about once a week and STOCKpiling the gelatinous gold in my freezer for use over the cold months.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/12 "2021-11-23T16:23:39Z")
Yep. My wife picks up a rotisserie chicken every time she goes to Costco. After making a few meals out of it I put the leftover carcass in the freezer until I have at least two carcasses saved up and make a batch of stock with it. I’m never without a few quart-sized ziplock bags of gelatinous gold in the freezer.
As mentioned, I love using my Instant Pot to make stock. Way faster, just as trouble-free, and I think it makes even better stock than a crockpot. My one regret with buying my Instant Pot is that I went with the 6 quart model and not the 8 quart.
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### Author:  [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/13 "2021-11-23T16:24:37Z")
No thanks! Sounds like a lot of work to me. And mess.
I’m sure it’s delicious though.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/14 "2021-11-23T16:35:48Z")
> [@TRC4941](#):
>
> No thanks! Sounds like a lot of work to me. And mess.
>
> I’m sure it’s delicious though
Well, I’m kind of a mad scientist or alchemist that way- I love throwing a bunch of ingredients together and transforming them through heat into a magically delicious end result. And it’s not _ **all** _ that much work, especially if you take the babysitting and guesswork out of it with an Instant Pot or slow cooker as @ParallelLines recommended.
And yeah, it’s delicious. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is the simplest-- after I finish a batch I test it out by filling up a coffee cup, adding salt to taste (never add it to the main stock in case you want to reduce it later), a fair amount of pepper, and some umami— a splash of good soy sauce or just a little Accent (straight MSG). Bone brothy golden goodness.
Pro tip-- add a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to the stock before simmering. The extra acidity is supposed to help render out more collagen.
OK, enough stock evangelizing; I think I’m on the verge of a hijack here…returning you now to your regularly scheduled turkey leftover ideas.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/15 "2021-11-23T16:53:11Z")
I, too, to will make a turkey broth. There are only two hard parts: cutting all the meat from the carcass, and straining the soup after it’s brewed.
You probably need to remove the meat to fit it in the fridge anyway.
But chopping a few veggies, dumping everything in a big pot, and letting it simmer on the back of the stove for a few hours are all easy, and take very little “active time”.
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/16 "2021-11-23T17:08:06Z")
Sauce pan, jar of BBQ sauce, shredded turkey, slap on some bread…easy peasy. Maybe top with some red onion.
Once at a fancy schmancy restaurant I got a chicken salad sandwich. They added a bit of curry to the mayo (and very thinly sliced Granny Smith apple kind of like you’d use lettuce). Easy to substitute turkey o’course.
Do they still marathon this leading into Christmas?
[Bumpus dogs get the turkey (video)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-just-called-the-pound/479625)
> **Narrator (Ralphie as an adult):**
> [After the Christmas turkey is stolen by the neighbors’ dogs] The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!
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### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/17 "2021-11-23T18:01:49Z")
> [@solost](#):
>
> And yeah, it’s delicious. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is the simplest-- after I finish a batch I test it out by filling up a coffee cup, adding salt to taste (never add it to the main stock in case you want to reduce it later), a fair amount of pepper, and some umami— a splash of good soy sauce or just a little Accent (straight MSG). Bone brothy golden goodness.
This, so much this. When I was young, and my father was simmering a whole chicken for matzoh ball soup, I’d sneak a cup and do exactly this as an illicit snack. And I don’t deny using an Pressure cooker does a great job, but mine is far to small for major stock making (and it is a lot more finicky to clean than a slow cooker insert), so my slow cooker gets center stage.
Okay, my other, OTHER suggestion for leftover turkey. By day 2-3, I’m sick of turkey, so I start putting it in dishes where the base meat isn’t important. In my case, normally potstickers or fried dumplings. Shredded finely, mixed with hoisin, soy, ginger, scallions and garlic, the base meat doesn’t really matter anymore (for that matter, when I’m making them normally I use ground turkey due to price and fat content anyway) - and for that matter, they freeze really, really well for quick side dishes or even meals months down the line. Since it’s work intensive, it’s a great task for the long weekend when I’m hiding from crazed shoppers with sharpened credit cards!
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### Author:  [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/18 "2021-11-23T20:38:15Z")
If you have an turkey fat left over after making gravy (you do use turkey fat for the gravy, right?) use it to make a roux to add to the soup.
I’ll put any extra turkey fat with added butter or oil as necessary, then twice as much flour, roux it, and then mix it into the giant pot of soup. It adds tons of flavor, and can give the soup a creaminess, without adding cream. Because the fat is bound up with the flour it won’t separate in storage.
My soup recipe:
one poorly carved turkey carcass
nearly boil in a giant pot for a few hours with some aromatics
remove from pot
separate meat and bones
discard bones, add meat back to pot
add any or all of carrots, celery, corn, green beans, onions, garlic, etc.
add a starch such as little pastas, brown rice, wild rice, etc
more turkey meat, if you were too efficient carving
slowly add the roux from above, so it can dissolve instead of just making chunks
fresh parsley at the end
divide into 1 quart yogurt containers with some head room
freeze containers for later consumption
repeat at Christmas
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### Author:  [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/19 "2021-11-23T21:02:02Z")
Second the Hot Brown
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### Author:  [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leftover-turkey-recipes/954793/20 "2021-11-23T22:25:45Z")
I make a white lasagna very similar to this–diced turkey, diced ham, sliced swiss cheese, and a double batch of white sauce play the leading roles, layered with lasagna noodles. Its ritual as a Thanksgiving leftover meal is right up there with turkey hash.
I think this year, I will raid **Aspenglow** ’s recipe adding mustard to the white sauce and peas in with the meats. I may even have some dry sherry lurking about the liquor cabinet.
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