Behold the Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich
Stop with trying to be creative with your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving. If you’re like millions of other people in the country, you’ve survived an entire day with the family, lapsed into a food coma, and are now faced with a fridge full of leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.
Around this time of year, you’re likely to see “creative” ways to use that turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I’ve seen it all — frittatas, omelettes, lasagna, casseroles, chili, and hash come to mind. There’s one problem with most of these recipes — you have to actually prepare them. I know the last thing on Earth I want to do the day after Thanksgiving is toy with my oven again. Besides, how can you possibly top the perfection that is the leftover sandwich?
The best part of the leftover sandwich is the fact that you have all the ingredients in your fridge to make a bespoke meal of your own: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, gravy, cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, and that green salad that nobody touched. For bread, traditionalists use white bread (Wonder, IYKYK), but anything you have on hand works: a hoagie, leftover dinner rolls (for sliders), wraps, tortillas, pita, or homemade sourdough.
The assembly is also completely in your hands. I, for one, eschew tradition and don’t put cranberry sauce on my sandwich, preferring to save the fruity condiment as a mix-in for my Greek yogurt and oatmeal in the coming days.
But you do you. That is the entire point of the leftover sandwich.
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few suggestions, but the leftover sandwich is your unique personal creation. Thanksgiving might have been a day for gathering with family or friends, but the day after is your time. So, make a sandwich and enjoy.
Michael Mayer, Executive Chef of La Fuga and the Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, agrees that the sandwich is the only logical choice when it comes to a post-Thanksgiving meal. “The only respectable thing to do with Thanksgiving leftovers is to make a turkey sandwich”. Mayer starts with a quality sliced white bread, like a potato bread or a butter bread. (he recommends a large-sized loaf with thick slices like Pepperidge Farms.) One side of the bread is spread generously with mayonnaise (Hellmann’s is his brand of choice), and the other with cranberry sauce: “Homemade is great, but the canned variety is what I grew up on”, he says. White and dark meat should be used, sliced as thin as possible, and mixed to get all the flavor of both meats, along with a layer of stuffing (plenty of it, according to Mayer. The sandwich should be served COLD. “Don’t forget the salt and pepper,” he added.
Tamer Altillawi, owner of Sufrat Mediterranean Grill in Miami, makes a Mediterranean version of the lefyover sandwich — by stuffing everything in a pita. He starts by shredding the turkey and then tossing it in garlic, lemon, and spices. He then stuffs the turkey into a soft pita with pickles, tomato, and lettuce — but you can also add cold brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. Drizzle some tahini sauce instead of mayonaise, and you’ve got a twist on an old favorite.
The internet has been buzzing with the recipe for the Ross Geller leftover sandwich that has the most unfortunate name for a meal I’ve ever encountered: The “Moist Maker”. Parade Magazine assembled the sandwich from a recipe found in 2020’s Friends: The Official Cookbook. The ingredients include leftover turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, romaine lettuce, mayonnaise, and three slices of white sandwich bread. It’s basically a double-decker, and you can find the recipe here.
Finally, there’s the Fonzie version of the classic leftover sandwich. Two years ago, Henry Winkler shared his version of the leftover sandwich, which shall forever be named the Thanksgiving Fonz in my heart:
“Wonder Bread, mayo, turkey, stuffing, cranberry — out of the can, none of that berry shit, more mayo, Wonder Bread. Smoosh. Cut in half — and if there’s any left over, some creamed spinach.”
Gotta love the classics. Now go make a sandwich.
By the time I get to the leftovers, the dark meat was already consumed (by me). So I have to stick with the white meat. This demands that I use cranberries (whole, not jellied), and then there's the gravy and mashed potatoes. If I find some yams remaining, they will also make it between the slices of bread. Some sliced Brussels sprouts will also be there, too.
Wow, it will be tasty! Better get to work!