OK, LEFTOVERS!

As soon as I recover from yesterday, I plan to make turkey gumbo.

Because we had only a small number for dinner, I did a 10 pound capon. After picking off the remains, the carcass went into the pressure cooker, and now we have 3 qts. of wonderful rub-spice stock ready for chicken soup.

Breakfast will be mashed 'taters, refried.

Frank

Do you cook your roux slow or fast? I learned how to cook using Paul Prudhomme's book and have always cooked it hot and fast. I know there are some who believe you need to cook roux very slowly. Is there a difference in flavor or does cooking it slowly just give you more control over the color?

i simmer the carcass in chicken or turkey stock [ the turkey farm sells frozen stock by the qt.] strain and pick the meat off and return to stock , bring to a boil and add the left over mashed potatoes and gravy and boil till they have thickend the broth and there are no tater lumps. add some milk and cream to adjust consitancy add the stuffing and stir till it is broken up and heated and serve with a dollop of cranberry sauce in the center. i think technically this would be turkey and stufffing chowder with cranberry relish. and it tastes like thanksgiving dinner in a bowl.
bill

We'll have lots of sandwiches and a casserole or two, but the big leftover production is Thanksgiving Gumbo. Before the dishes were finished yesterday, I had the carcass in the stock pot, cooking out every last bit of flavor. Sunday morning I'll cook up a roux the color of dark chocolate, use okra and peppers that I grew last summer, add a few chunks of buckboard bacon, some sausage from a great butcher shop up by KC, quite a bit of the dark meat from the turkey, a few fresh oysters and some shrimp.

turkey pot pie ....leftover turkey, mixed with stuffing (a box of stouffers if i don't have any home-made left), take some mad max gravy and add some half=and=half to it . . .mix it all together, put it in one of those pillsburry roll out pie crusts, top with a second pie crust, and bake in the egg or oven at 350 degrees for one hour. . .top with some more MM gravy. ..

easy peasy, and yummy in your tummy!!!

The smoke flavor! I do my roux on the stove and then move the 9QT DO to my large and leave the top off. Works great for chili also, IMHO

Sammie's. Then the carcass goes in a stock pot and gets transformed into Turkey Rice soup.

Sweet Tater into Sweet Tater Pie.

Stuffin' Hmmmm never mind none left :woohoo:

The carcass is currently roasting in the oven with veggies to make Rick Turkey Stock (scaled up 1.5 times since we had an 18-pounder):

Rich Turkey Stock

Cooking Light, November 2003

The secret to rich stock is roasting the bones and vegetables. To encourage caramelization, cut the carcass into pieces that lie as flat as possible in the pan. If your turkey was larger than 12 pounds, you may have to cut it into smaller pieces than the recipe instructs.

Bones and skin from a cooked 12-pound turkey
2 carrots, each cut in half crosswise
1 celery stalk, cut in half crosswise
1 large onion, quartered
1 whole garlic head, halved
5 cups water
3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 425°.

Cut the turkey carcass into quarters. Place the carcass, skin, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic on a jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes, stirring once.

Place turkey and vegetable mixture, water, broth, and peppercorns in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl, reserving stock. Discard solids. Cover and chill stock 8 hours or overnight. Skim solidified fat from surface; discard fat.

Note: Store the turkey stock in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 9 cups (serving size: 1 cup)


For dinner tomorrow (tonight is pizza night), the legs will get cooked with turnip greens:

Pot O'Greens

Food Network, Alton Brown

1 quart water
1 1/2 pounds smoked turkey legs
2 pounds stemmed collard or turnip greens
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra if desired
1 teaspoon sugar

Place the water and turkey legs in an 8-quart pot over medium-high heat. Cover, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, remove any large stems from the greens and wash them thoroughly; do so in a sink with at least 5 inches of water. Moving the leaves around in the water and allowing them to sit for a few minutes to allow the sand or dirt to fall to the bottom of the sink. Once clean, chop pieces in half. You should have 2 pounds of greens once they are stemmed. (Weigh the greens after stemming, but before washing.)

Once the turkey legs have simmered for 10 minutes, add the greens, salt and sugar, reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer gently for 45 minutes or until the greens are tender. Move the greens around every 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired. Serve immediately.


And most of the meat, currently in vacuum packs in the freezer, will become King Ranch Casserole:

King Ranch Casserole

adapted from Texas on the Half Shell

2 to 3 Cups cooked chicken or turkey
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
chili powder
garlic salt
1 package flour tortillas
1 can chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes and chilies, undrained

Cut chicken into bize-size pieces. Chop onion and bell pepper, combine soups and grate cheese. Just before putting casserole together, dunk the tortillas in chicken broth.

Start layering casserole in a 9 x 12-inch baking dish in this order: tortillas ”dripping with broth,” chicken, onion, bell pepper (sprinkling to taste with chili powder and garlic salt), soup mixture and cheese. Repeat the layers, being sure the tortillas are oozing with the broth. Cover the casserole with the Ro-Tel tomatoes and all the juice. Juices in the casserole should be about half the depth of the dish; if not, add a little of the remaining broth.

May be made and frozen several days ahead, but always make at least one day ahead and refrigerate so that the flavors will blend.

Bake uncovered at 375’ for 30 minutes.


Although I am definitely considering trying on of the gumbo recipes posted instead of the casserole this year.

Michelle