TURKEY: Leftover Turkey Ideas

Hope you have some leftover ya cheap bastard (just kidding). But seriously I hope your guests were all bursting at the seams and there's more bird left. Personally there are five of us and I got a 15 pounder. Yep, glutton.

I won't put all of the recipes here but I will give a quick description and link so we keep this short.

Okay, let's get straight to it.

First Steps

1. Dismember the turkey so it's easier to store. Cooked is same as raw. Find the joints and cut. If you need more than that, details are in CUT: Birds.

2. If you've got a bunch of random bits and will just munch on it throughout the weekend, by all means throw them in a zip bag or container and move on. If you have a lot left and much of it is in whole pieces, then it's time to have some fun.

3. Separate into different zip bags by part. Breast meat in one bag, thighs another, legs and wings a third, and if you're like me, tenderloin separate from the breast meat.

4. Take the remaining carcass and stick it in a stock pot, cover with water and bring to boil then down to a dinner for 2-3 hours.

Parts and Uses

Turkey Breast

White meat. Revered by westerners, feared by Asians. This is what you're probably most familiar with. Yes you can toss it in anything, but if you have dark meat left, hold on a second. Breast meat is easy to overcook and dry out, so rule of thumb is avoid further heat. Best used in sandwiches and salads. But in a pinch, sure, better in than throwing out.

• Turkey club sandwich with gravy bread

• Turkey salad

• Turkey gyro

• Turkey soup (totally works but since the dark meat aren't as great for sandwiches and gyros, just see what you have and use your judgement

Turkey Thighs

Dark meat the only delicious meat - near bones for flavor, worked for texture, and seeped with fattiness. Not as pretty as your white meat but IMO and if you ask any worthy Asian, it's the best meat. Anyway, uses?

• TURKEY SOUP!

• Turkey ragu pasta

• Turkey salad

• Top any salad

Turkey Wings and Legs

Same as thighs but honestly I end up munching on them in the middle of the night - that's when I usually write.

Enjoy getting sick of turkey until next year.

-TC