What to do with that leftover turkey

One of the Thanksgiving treats at our house is the pot pie I make using leftover turkey. I’ll tell you how I make it but this won’t be a precise recipe as amounts and ingredients will vary with your circumstances.

From the Thanksgiving meal leftovers you may use turkey, dressing (the term for stuffing cooked outside the bird), gravy, and reserved pan drippings, but only the turkey is indispensable. And you don’t have to use cognac or even the wine though the pie won’t be as rich tasting without them. I make my own stock the Friday after Thanksgiving from the turkey carcass and various scraps but if hearing me say that makes you weary, use store-bought stock. For the pastry, I make a standard pâte brisée, but whatever recipe you customarily use will be fine.

Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

Sauté 1 small onion, chopped; 3 or 4 sliced carrots; 1 or 2 ribs of celery, sliced; and 1 small turnip, cubed. I usually don't include potato, but if you want to, add a cubed potato now.

Deglaze the pan with two tablespoons of cognac. (Deglaze: pouring a small amount of liquid into a hot pan after sautéing then scraping to release any browned bits stuck to the pan) Add a bay leaf and 3 or 4 chopped sage leaves. Pour in stock to come to top of vegetables. Simmer until tender.

Meanwhile in another pan sauté a bunch of green onions, sliced, in a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Add 2 or 3 cups of mushrooms and cook until they begin to wilt. I like the combination of sliced shiitake mushrooms and chunkily cut portabellas. Deglaze the pan with ½ cup red wine.

Add any leftover drippings you’ve saved from the Thanksgiving turkey’s roasting pan. Pour in stock to come to top of mushrooms. Stir and add this mixture to the cooked vegetables. Grinds of pepper and salt if needed.

Dissolve 3 tablespoons of corn starch by stirring into ½ cup of room temperature stock (not hot). Pour this into the vegetable/mushroom mixture and bring to boil while stirring to thicken. Reduce heat and add any leftover giblet gravy. Remove from burner and set aside to cool, at least until close to room temperature. At this point add however much of cut up turkey meat you have and stir to distribute.

Line a deep baking dish with pie pastry. If you have any leftover dressing/stuffing, spread some on the bottom of the pie. Pour in the turkey and vegetables. Sprinkle more dressing on top if you have enough. Top with pastry, trim edges, fold over bottom pastry and crimp to seal. Cut a few slits in the top for steam release. Bake at 375º for 50 minutes or until golden.

You may serve this at room temperature, in fact we prefer it that way. It won’t cut into neat slices so use a large spoon for serving.

This makes leftovers something to look forward to!