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It is a little late this year for this post, but for any of you who ended up with extra turkeys and need some tips, this may help.
I hate leftover turkey. It tastes stale to me. You can even see a color change in it as it goes from whitish pink, to grayish white. Once it gets that grayish tinge, the flavor goes off, and I dislike it.
We found the solution though. Leftover turkey in our house is now good eating. The key is to act fast, and treat it right. Turkey goes stale within just a few hours of being refridgerated, so even waiting overnight is too long.
After the turkey is served the first time, instead of throwing it into the fridge, then picking the bones later, get it cleaned off right then. Pull all the meat from the bones, and pull all the skin and gristle from it so you have good clean meat.
Usually our family only uses about half a turkey for a holiday meal - we had larger turkeys when the family was larger, so the amount stayed about the same.
I'll pull the second breast piece off whole - it slices nicely for sandwiches. The rest of the meat gets pulled off in chunks. I never cut it up right away, because I don't want to spend my holiday processing turkey - I only want to do what is necessary to preserve the meat.
I throw everything into a crock pot - including that large breast piece. I add water to cover, plus a little extra for evaporation, and I add the following:
Onion powder - about a tablespoon or two
Butter or margarine - 1-3 tablespoons
Poultry seasoning - 1/2 tsp.
Pepper - 5 or 6 shakes
Parsley - a tablespoon or two dried
Chicken Boullion - the good kind without MSG - about 2 tablespoons
That gets set on the lowest setting in the crock pot, and left. I usually leave it overnight, turned way low, and then finish it in the morning. This gives it time for the broth to get into the meat, which is what helps it keep the flavor - keeping it covered in liquid also helps.
Next day we fish out the big piece of meat, and use that for lunch. I then add carrots and celery to it, and any other veggies that I want to add. At dinner, we remove half of what is left, chunk the meat, and make turkey tetrazzini or turkey a la king. The next day, the rest of the stock and meat is turned into soup.
We just use it fairly quickly now, but I used to cool it, and divide it into quart zip bags - some meat and stock in each bag, and each bag could then be pulled from the freezer for a quick meal. You can do it with, or without the veggies before you freeze it.
You can also freeze larger chunks like the breast piece and they'll keep their flavor if you put a bit of broth around them.
Usually though, we use the big pieces right away, and make mixed dishes from the rest of the meat.
It makes:
Turkey soup, of any kind (noodle, potato, rice, barley, whatever). Just add veggies and your main carb.
Turkey Tetrazzini - add a dash of cayenne, veggies, and thicken it, serve over noodles.
Turkey a la King - add veggies, thicken, serve over hot biscuits.
Turkey pot pie - add veggies, thicken, put in casserole dish, cover with preferred topping (biscuits, pie pastry, etc), and bake.
Turkey pockets - use very little thickened broth with this, veggies, and use as filling inside bread dough or biscuit dough.
Turkey rice casserole - add veggies, thicken the broth, stir into cooked rice, top with cheese or crushed chips, and bake.
Turkey Potato Casserole - thicken broth (without veggies), add cooked cubed potatoes, and steamed broccoli, stir together, put in casserole dish, top with cheddar, and bake.
And any number of other turkey dishes that start with turkey and broth. If your family does not like turkey for meal after meal, this helps you spread it out without waste or decline in quality.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to deal with the turkey right away, and you get multiple meals of good tasting turkey from it - no stale taste. And if you freeze it instead of refridgerating it, you don't have to worry about the leftovers going bad!
Works for us!
Laura
Mom to Eight
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