12 Unique Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving Leftovers: 12 Creative Recipes to Repurpose Your Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, and More

After spending countless hours in the kitchen or shelling out a small fortune for all of the Thanksgiving fixtures, you may find yourself with a fridge full of leftovers — and wondering what to do with all that extra food. Don’t throw it out and don’t feel like you have to eat the same Thanksgiving meal over and over again. We spoke with 10 talented chefs who gave us their most creative recipes to re-purpose your leftover turkey meat, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and other ingredients for some truly tasty culinary creations.

Birria Turkey Tacos

What better way to use leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving than in a homemade birria. Soak the turkey to make a beautiful leftover consumé with chiles and spices for the perfect birria turkey tacos with a salsa made from some leftover cranberry sauce.

Ingredients (Serves 8):

• 1 large turkey carcass plus skin and any vegetables or herbs stuffed in the cavity (meat removed and reserved)
• 3 large chiles guajillos (0.6 oz/18 grams), stemmed and seeded
• 2 large chiles pasillas (0.4 oz/12 grams), stemmed and seeded
• 4 chiles de árbol, stemmed (and seeded for mild)
• 1/2 medium white or yellow onion
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1.1 oz/30 grams), plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 3 dried or fresh avocado or bay leaves
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 small stick canela or cassia cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram or Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried ginger
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
• 1/4 chopped white onion
• 1 to 3 chopped jalapeños
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice (optional)
• For serving: chopped onion, cilantro, lime wedges, warm corn tortillas

Instructions:

1. Cover turkey carcass, skin, any vegetables or herbs stuffed in the cavity, chiles guajillos, chiles pasillas, chiles de árbol, onion, garlic and salt with water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, toast the spices. Toast peppercorn, avocado leaves, cloves, canela, cumin and coriander in a medium skillet over medium high, swirling the skillet or tossing the herbs and spices, until lightly charred and very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the marjoram and toast, tossing frequently until the marjoram is very fragrant and lightly toasted, about 30 seconds. Transfer to the stock pot with the turkey and chiles. Reduce stock to a low boil and cook, uncovered until stock is very flavorful, and the bones separate easily from the bones.
3. Strain stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, reserve stock and chiles. If you want to reserve any of the vegetables, herbs or spices, you will be adding lots of flavor to the broth but it is completely optional, I want to make this as easy as possible! Transfer chiles any vegetables, herbs or spices and 4 cups of the stock to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth. Wipe out stock pot with a paper towel and transfer chile puree and strained stock into the pot and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
4. Chop or shred any leftover turkey meat. And add to the simmering stock. Cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded and the meat is very tender. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
5. Stir cranberry sauce, onion, jalapeño, garlic, orange zest and orange juice in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Taste and season with salt or lime juice if necessary.
6. Divide the meat among shallow bowls and pour the consommé over. Top with the chopped onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing, cranberry salsa and tortillas to make tacos.

Congee with Turkey and Garnishes

Kung’s favorite way to use up leftover meat and the remaining turkey bones is to make a hearty congee, which can be topped with a number of bright garnishes, such as thinly sliced scallions, soft- or hard-boiled eggs, pickled bamboo shoots, kimchi, chili oil or any sweet-pickled vegetable.

Ingredients (Serves 6-8):

• Reserved skin and bones from 1 turkey or 2 chicken carcasses
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups long-grain white rice (such as jasmine), washed
• 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken (about 1 pound)
• 3 teaspoons glutinous rice flour (optional)
• Optional toppings: thinly sliced scallions, soft- or hard-boiled eggs, pickled bamboo shoots, kimchi, chili oil, preserved chili radish, any sweet-pickled vegetable, additional shredded roast meat (duck, rotisserie chicken, roast goose), gan lan cai (Chinese preserved olive vegetable)

Instructions:

1. Put the carcass(es) and 6 quarts (24 cups) water in a large (preferably nonstick) pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for an hour (don’t bother skimming, as the clarity of the broth is not a priority). At this point, the broth should have a recognizable, if mild, roast turkey flavor. If not, simmer until it does.
2. Season the broth with salt to taste, starting with 1 teaspoon at a time; you should end up with a flavorful, slurpable broth. Strain the broth and return it to the pot (discard the solids). You want to end up with 18 cups of broth; if you have more, save the extra for another use; if you have less, make up the difference with water or chicken stock.
3. Add the rice and ginger to the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shredded meat and reduce the heat so the broth is at a brisk simmer. If using glutinous rice flour for a creamier congee, put it in a small bowl and whisk with ½ cup cold water to form a slurry, then add this to the broth and stir to incorporate. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning, until the congee is creamy, the water has been completely absorbed by the rice, and the rice has broken down.
4. To serve, ladle the congee into bowls and garnish as desired with the optional toppings.

Shepherd’s Pie with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Stuffing, and Turkey

For a hearty, comforting dish, make this shepherd’s pie that incorporates your leftover mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, turkey meat and vegetables.

Materials Needed:

• 9×13 Inch Baking Dish (We love this one from Lodge Cast Iron!)
• You may end up with a bit extra, toss it in an 8×8 inch baking dish and enjoy the next day!…on.
• Serve with cranberry sauce to garnish.

Turkey Soup with Dumplings

Chef Franklin Becker likes to make a soup that utilizes multiple leftover components from a Thanksgiving meal. This recipe uses leftover meat, bones, and stuffing.

For the broth:

• 1 cup ghee
• 2 medium-sized onions, cut
• 4 spears celery, cut
• 2 carrots, cut
• 1 leftover Turkey carcass, pick and reserve the meat
• 2 knorr bouillon cubes
• 8 quarts water
• 1 bunch sage stems, reserve sage
• 1 bunch parsley stems, reserve parsley
• 1 tbs black pepper
• Salt to taste

For the soup:

• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 2 celery stalks, diced small
• 1 carrot, diced small
• 1 tbsp, sage, chopped
• 1 tbsp, parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pot, melt the ghee
2. Sweat vegetables in the ghee
3. Add the Turkey carcass and the bouillon cubes
4. Add the water, stems, and black pepper
5. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer
6. Cook for two hours
7. Remove the carcass and stems from the broth.
8. Remove the peppercorns, strain and season with salt.
9. Add the diced vegetables and chopped turkey meat
10. Set aside.

For the bread dumplings:

• 2 lbs. leftover stuffing
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

1. Combine the leftover stuffing, milk, and egg.
2. Wrap in plastic and roll tightly.
3. Poach the bread dumpling mixture in broth till set firm (25 minutes).
4. Cool the bread dumplings and slice into rounds

For the finished soup:

• Pour the soup atop the bread dumplings and enjoy.
• Garnish with chiffonade of parsley and sage.

Cranberry Sangria Shortcakes

Chef Jackson recommends serving while the cranberries are warm and starting with