We think a good turkey recipe is only half about the bird. The other half is everything around it: the parts roasted separately, the ground turkey that turns up on weeknights either side of the holiday, and the carcass that becomes stock once the plates are cleared. Roasted, brined, spatchcocked, shredded into a sandwich at midnight… it earns its keep for about a week. Worth planning all three at once rather than just the main event. A stuffed turkey breast works for a smaller table that does not want to babysit a full bird for four hours, while bones simmered low overnight make the gravy taste planned rather than improvised. Plan the bird, the parts and the leftovers together, and start with these.
Jump to: The Whole Bird · Turkey Parts, Burgers & Table Starters · Leftovers & Next-Day Turkey
The Whole Bird
1 · Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast
The stuffing goes under the skin, not on the side, so the chestnut and mushroom filling bastes the breast meat instead of drying out during the roast. It’s the one to make when a full bird feels like overkill for a table of six or eight.
Get the recipe: Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Turkey Breast
Turkey Parts, Burgers & Table Starters
2 · Breaded Turkey Meatballs
Ground turkey needs help staying moist, and a proper breadcrumb panade does the work instead of relying on the sauce to mask dry meat. These are the meatballs to make when the crowd wants something familiar amid all the holiday specialty dishes.
Get the recipe: Breaded Turkey Meatballs
3 · Asian Slaw Turkey Burgers
A quick-pickled slaw on top solves the usual turkey burger problem: lean ground turkey reads flat and one-note on the bun without it. Pile it high here rather than treating it as a garnish, since the acidity is doing the real work of waking the patty up.
Get the recipe: Asian Slaw Turkey Burgers
4 · Grapefruit Glazed Turkey Tenderloin with Cilantro
Turkey tenderloin cooks fast, so the grapefruit glaze reduces separately on the stove and gets brushed on right at the end instead of simmering the meat dry. The citrus cuts through all the rich sides on a Thanksgiving plate in a way nothing else on this list does.
Get the recipe: Grapefruit Glazed Turkey Tenderloin with Cilantro
5 · Turkey and Coconut Milk Chili
Coconut milk stands in for the usual tomato base, keeping the chili rich even though ground turkey brings less fat to the pot than beef would. Make a double batch, since it freezes cleanly and gives you a break from turkey the week after the holiday.
Get the recipe: Turkey and Coconut Milk Chili
6 · Creamy Turkey Broccoli and Swiss Skillet Dinner
Everything cooks in one pan, and the Swiss cheese melts into the sauce off the heat so it never breaks into an oily film. It’s the one to make on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving when nobody wants to look at a roasting pan again.
Get the recipe: Creamy Turkey Broccoli and Swiss Skillet Dinner
Leftovers & Next-Day Turkey
7 · How to Make Turkey Stock
Don’t toss the carcass. Roast the bones again for twenty minutes before they hit the pot, and the stock comes out deeper and darker than a straight simmer ever gets. Freeze it in quart bags and you’ve got the base for gravy and soup covered through New Year’s.
Get the recipe: How to Make Turkey Stock
8 · Turkey Breakfast Hash with Poached Egg
Leftover turkey gets diced small and crisped in the same pan as the potatoes, so the poached egg on top is really the only new thing you’re cooking. It’s a smarter use of the meat than another round of sandwiches, and it turns day-three turkey into something worth getting up for.
Get the recipe: Turkey Breakfast Hash with Poached Egg
The post Turkey Recipes and Techniques for Thanksgiving appeared first on Honest Cooking and Travel.
