It’s turkey time! Whether you roasted a wild turkey for Thanksgiving or went the Butterball route, you’ve probably got leftover meat, a picked-over carcass and maybe even some raw legs that you cut off before roasting a wild-turkey breast. Never fear—we’ve found six recipes that will help you use up that turkey meat and give you a break from eating meat, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce all weekend.
Photo courtesy of MeatEater
Wild Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Soup is a classic post-Thanksgiving dish, and it’s a great way to utilize the carcass once you’ve trimmed all the meat off. This recipe from MeatEater calls for chicken stock, but it’s a no-brainer to make turkey stock this time of year. Just cover the turkey bones with water, add some salt and whatever aromatics you like—bay leaf, thyme, onions, I like a pinch of saffron—and let it simmer for up to 12 hours (a slow cooker does this overnight easily). Strain it, salt to taste and you’re ready to use it in place of the chicken broth.
Interestingly, this recipe has you pan-fry some already-cooked-and-shredded turkey meat until it’s crispy, then pile the fried turkey on top of the soup rather than stirring it into the pot. Sounds like an awesome texture boost to me.
Photo courtesy of RealTree
Wild Turkey Leg Enchiladas
If you saved the legs from your wild turkey (we don’t blame you; they tend to get tough and stringy if you roast them with the breast), try this RealTree recipe for wild turkey enchiladas. Even if you didn’t save the legs, this would work with shredded leftover meat, dark or white—just add it straight to the slow cooker with beans, chilis and enchilada sauce and continue the recipe from there.
It's cheese, meat, sauce, beans and tortillas—classic enchiladas that everyone loves, and it’ll be a great break from eating turkey and stuffing. I’d probably use corn tortillas, personally, and I might mix in some black olives.
Photo courtesy of MO Conservation
Wild Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey tetrazzini had its heyday in the first half of the last century—it was a staple in practically every 1950’s housewife’s repertoire. It’s fallen out of style, but it’s no less delicious than it used to be. This recipe from the Missouri Department of Conservation uses wild turkey for a twist on tradition, but it’s got all the creamy, cheesy, noodley goodness of a classic tetrazzini.
You’ll have to cook some spaghetti noodles first, then make a thick sauce with milk, cornstarch and bouillon. Add some cheese and peppers (I’d sauté them first because I hate crunchy peppers), mix it all up with your spaghetti and leftover shredded turkey, and top with Parmesan. Bake it til it’s bubbly and dig in!
You could even prepare this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you wanted to bake it.
Photo courtesy of The Sporting Chef
Wild Turkey Red Curry
In the mood for a little spice? The Sporting Chef shares this recipe for turkey red curry, utilizing diced—or shredded, if that’s what you’ve got—cooked wild turkey breast. You might have to make a trip to the grocery store if you don’t keep lemongrass and red curry paste on hand, but this promises to be a creamy, spicy, hearty meal that will be a refreshing break from sandwiches and soup.
Maybe best of all, it’s essentially cooked as a stir-fry, and it all comes together pretty quickly, with less than 15 minutes of actual cooking time.
Photo courtesy of IDFG
Gramma’s Wild Turkey and Rice Casserole
Any recipe with “gramma” in the name has to be stick-to-your-ribs good, right? This recipe from Idaho’s Department of Fish & Game has a little bit of everything, from boxed wild rice to green beans, water chestnuts and the good old cream of celery soup. It’s your basic mix-it-all-and-dump casserole recipe that’s as easy as pie to follow. And then you cover it with cheese, of course.
This is another one you could make ahead of time and refrigerate until time to bake. Is it gourmet? Not hardly. Will everyone love it on a cold November night? Absolutely!
Photo courtesy of NWTF
Wild Turkey Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a post-Thanksgiving staple, but this one from the National Wild Turkey Federation takes things up a notch by making leftover meat into a turkey salad-type spread. It uses mayo, of course, along with red onion, celery and red bell pepper for color and crunch. Lemon juice and capers—a surprise ingredient I love—add flavor and zing.
The recipe is as simple as mixing it all together and spooning the turkey salad onto bread. The author recommends croissants, which sound awesome to me, but I might also be tempted to use a big, soft sub bun kind of like an extended lobster roll.
I’d imagine this keeps well in the fridge, too, so you can make a batch of the turkey salad and let everyone make their own sandwiches when they emerge from their naps.
