Travis Schutte and Dave Linn, co-owners of Secret Recipes Inc. of Chatham,
were up to their elbows in turkeys in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. They
prepared more than 85 complete turkey dinners for customers who wanted to eat
a home-cooked meal at home without having to cook.
But having lots of leftover turkey isn’t a problem for the two chefs. They see it as the perfect excuse to make turkey noodle soup with egg noodles, corn, celery, onion, and turkey stock. Mashed potatoes are added to the soup to thicken it. “You can make a large pot and it will last a while,” Schutte says. “Our soups are very popular.”
They suggest other ways to use extra turkey: turkey Devonshire (toast points topped with sliced turkey, cheese sauce, and bacon), pulled-turkey barbecue (honey, Cajun seasoning, and your favorite barbecue sauce, mixed together, heated, and poured over turkey pieces and served on a roll), and turkey divine (turkey with broccoli and creamy cheese sauce).
“These are ideas that you can do at home. You can do anything you want with turkey — it’s like chicken, basically,” Schutte says.
For culinary expert Julianne Glatz, leftover turkey is a perfect excuse to make scrapple, a fried cornmeal dish containing turkey stock, bread stuffing, cooked turkey, and gravy. The dish is “very Americana,” she says, something she always looked forward to as a child and still enjoys today. The recipe was given to her by friends of her grandparents’ who originally made it with pork during butchering season.
After the big meal is over and all that’s left is a half-eaten bowl of cranberry relish, a few bites of stuffing, and a cold bowl of mashed potatoes, you’ll feel as if you’ll never eat again. Oh, but you will.
And for those who can’t stand the thought of one more turkey sandwich, there
are plenty of interesting recipes to perk up the palate that won’t taste like
Thanksgiving warmed over. Here are just a few:
Curried turkey and dried cranberry salad
Ingredients
Chopped cooked turkey, smoked or roasted
Dried cranberries
Vodka or orange liqueur (e.g., Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec; optional)
Mayonnaise
Sugar
Minced canned jalapeño peppers (optional)
Curry powder
Slivered almonds (or natural pistachios), toasted in a 350ûF oven
until lightly browned (about five minutes)
Directions
Mix 1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder with 1/2 cup mayonnaise,
which should be enough for 2 cups of turkey. Curry powders vary widely in their
intensity, both in heat and flavor; judge accordingly. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoon
sugar and 1 tablespoon minced peppers, if you are using them, to the mayonnaise.
(I like to use about 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds. If at all possible, add
them just before serving the dish). If you’re using the recipe as an hors d’oeuvre,
mince the turkey. If it’s to be used as a sandwich filling, chop the turkey
more coarsely. For 2 cups turkey, use about 1/3 cup dried cranberries. If desired,
toss the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of the vodka or orange liqueur, cover
them, and microwave for 1 minute.
Serve salad as a sandwich filling or as an hors d’oeuvre with crackers or toast points. A nice presentation: Put tablespoons of the salad in individual Belgian-endive leaves or apple slices and arrange them in concentric circles on a round platter.
— Courtesy of Julianne Glatz, Real Cuisine
Turkey stock
After the holiday feast, save the turkey bones for broth or soup.
Leg, thigh, and wing bones and the main breastbone and backbone are excellent
sources of a broth base for soup. If you have neither the time nor the inclination
to make soup immediately after the hassle of the holidays, freeze the bones
in a zip-closure bag for soup on a later date.
Ingredients
Turkey carcass and all bones from leftover turkey
2 coarsely chopped carrots
1 celery rib with leaves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley, with stems
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Water or canned chicken broth (if you are short on bones)
Directions
Break up the turkey bones and place them in a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients
and cover with 2 quarts water, canned broth, or a combination of the two. Bring
mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, skimming, for 2 hours. Strain
and boil down to 1 quart.
— From the University of Illinois Extension Service
Turkey and Black Bean Wraps
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups leftover turkey, chopped
2 green bell peppers, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 10-ounce can of tomatoes with green chilies
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
12 flour tortillas
Directions
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add bell
peppers, garlic, oregano, and cumin; cook, stirring, until pepper softens, about
five minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally,
until thickened, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in
a skillet; add turkey and sprinkle with chili powder. Heat and stir for about
five minutes. Cover and set aside.
With the back of a spoon, coarsely mash some of the beans. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Heat tortillas in a dry skillet or microwave. Spoon bean filling onto tortillas and layer with seasoned turkey. Wrap and serve. Makes six servings.
— From the University of Illinois Extension Service
Just the facts
• Turkey’s good for you. Turkey is low in fat, high in protein, and
an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, and B vitamins.
• Watch out for the other stuff. If you’re brave, calculate the calories,
total fat, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in your Thanksgiving Day
meal using the University of Illinois Nutrition Analysis Tool: www.ag.uiuc.edu/~food-lab/nat.
• Remember, nothing lasts forever. Here’s how long you should store
leftovers in the refrigerator:
Roast turkey: three or four days
Stuffing: one or two days
Giblet gravy: one or two days
Cranberry relish (homemade or canned): five to seven days
Baked ham: three to five days
Cooked vegetables: three to five days
Fruit desserts and pie: three to five days
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2004.
