What to Do With Your Thanksgiving Leftovers
From turkey and waffles to a pumpkin pie milkshake, here are some easy tips to turn your leftovers into a meal
Well, that was fast…It seems like 2024 just started and here we are, preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving next week.
After all the shopping and cooking and baking, when all is said and done, what’s left are the memories — and the leftovers.
While there’s nothing wrong with eating some turkey straight from the fridge (I personally love to add cranberry sauce to plain yogurt), it’s time to get creative with the leftovers.
Here are five recipes to get you started.
Turkey & Waffles
Chopped champion and Executive Chef of The Bower in New Orleans, Marcus Woodham uses leftover turkey and cranberry sauce to make an elevated turkey & waffles.
Ingredients
2 lbs. leftover turkey (white and dark meat)
4 cups turkey gravy
A box of waffle mix
Zest of 2 oranges
3 sprigs rosemary, chopped
4 oz. cranberry sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T Dijon mustard
1 oz. cane syrup
1/2 T crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups oil
Directions
Follow the directions on the waffle mix, adding the rosemary and orange zest to the batter. Let rest.
Simmer the turkey in gravy until it starts to shred apart. YOu can add more turkey or chicken stock to thin it out if it gets too thick.
In a blender, add cranberry, mustard, vinegar, cane syrup, and red pepper. Blend and slowly add oil to emulsify. Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook waffles, add turkey on top, drizzle on vinaigrette.
Crescent Ring
Tujague’s executive chef Meg Gray says “This creative twist brings together all your holiday favorites—like turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce—wrapped in a golden crescent roll crust. Perfect for brunch the next day or a cozy snack, this crescent ring is an easy, crowd-pleasing way to enjoy Thanksgiving flavors with a new spin.”
Ingredients
1 (8-oz.) tube crescent rolls
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup leftover stuffing
1 ½ cups shredded leftover turkey
1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°. Unroll crescent rolls, separating each triangle. Arrange the triangles on a baking sheet in a sunburst pattern, with pointy ends of triangles facing outward and bases of triangles overlapping.
Spread mashed potatoes over triangle bases, forming a ring. Top with stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. Fold triangle tips over filling (there will be gaps where ingredients peek out between triangles).
Brush crescent dough with melted butter and sprinkle it with garlic powder.
Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
Pie Milkshake
Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop founder Derek Kaplan says, “Leftover slices of pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie? You’ve got the star ingredient to make an at-home version of the bake shop’s signature pie shake.”
Ingredients
1 slice of pie (your choice)
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
4 oz milk
Whipped cream and your choice of toppings
Directions
In a blender, add one slice of pie, vanilla ice cream, and milk.
Blend until ingredients are well incorporated and smooth, or until the shake reaches your preferred texture.
Prep your glass by drizzling your choice of flavored sauce/syrup around the inside of the glass.
Pour the shake into the glass and top with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Add toppings of your choice.
The Classic Turkey Sandwich
Michael Mayer, Executive Chef of La Fuga and the Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resor, says, “The only respectable thing to do with Thanksgiving leftovers is to make a turkey sandwich.”
Ingredients
Quality sliced white bread (potato bread, Pepperidge Farms, or butter bread)
Leftover turkey (white and dark meat)
Mayonnaise
Cranberry sauce
Stuffing
Directions
Spread mayonnaise on one slice of bread (Hellmann’s of course) and the other with cranberry sauce (canned is fine).
Assemble the turkey and stuffing on the bread, add salt and pepper. Serve cold.
Turkey Pastina
Michael Camerino, culinary director of Batch Hospitality Group (owners of Batch Gastropub in Miami, Florida, and Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach, Florida; batchhospitalitygroup.com) taps into his roots for his favorite way to utilize Thanksgiving leftovers.
Turkey Stock Ingredients
Leftover turkey carcass (pick the meat off the bone and reserve for Pastina)
Water (this should be a 1:1 ratio. 1 quart of water for every pound of turkey bones)
2 "glugs" of yesterday's white wine or juice from a lemon.
Leftover vegetables and herbs from Thanksgiving prep, including carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, peppercorns, etc. (“Personally I would stay away from any dark green vegetables,” says the chef.)
Directions
Place into a large stock pot and slowly bring to a hard simmer. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook for at least 3 hours. 5 is better.
1 hour prior to finishing, add the vegetables/herbs.
Season with salt to taste
Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Pastina Ingredients
Use a 2:1 ratio of turkey stock to pastina
Picked turkey meat
Unsalted butter
Grated Pecorino cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Quality extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Bring turkey meat and stock to a boil and add the Pastina and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Stir vigorously to break up any clumps.
Remove from heat and add a few TBSP of unsalted butter and a few fistfuls of Pecorino and stir to combine.
Garnish with olive oil, cracked pepper, and more Pecorino.