Jocelyn Deprez’s simple recipe for sandwiches made from Thanksgiving turkey leftovers, complete with homemade mayo
Here you are, the day after Big Turkey Day, facing all those containers of leftovers stuffed into your refrigerator. Wastehater that you are, you resisted throwing half of them out last night. So now you’re stuck. Honor commands that you deal with them creatively, dazzling your family and friends with your ingenuity. But you’re tired, and you really don’t want to be bothered looking through piles of recipes. What better way than to fall back on two of the most basic procedures for easily rescuing leftovers: white béchamel sauce and homemade mayonnaise.
Béchamel, which you probably know under the name of white sauce or cream sauce, is ground zero for hundreds of hot dishes made with cooked food, from simple creamed pasta sauces to a binding base for croquettes or fillings. It is so easy, and you have probably been doing it for years anyway, but if you need a reminder about how to go about it, here’s my recipe.
White Béchamel Sauce
(makes about one cup)
In a sauce pan, melt over medium heat, 2 Tbs. shortening (butter is best)
Stir in 2 Tbs flour until smooth.
Add, stirring vigorously 1 cup milk or stock (preferably heated) and a pinch of salt and pepper, if using just milk.
Bring to the simmering point, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes. You can shorten the time if you are in a hurry, but be sure that the mixture comes to a simmer, so that the flour will be cooked. If it thickens too much, gradually add a little more milk. This will be your all-purpose sauce. Its uses are endless.
Now for The Bird. Everybody’s all-time favorite is turkey sandwiches for lunch the next day. Sounds incredibly simple. It is, except you really need a good mayonnaise to set off the delicate meat flavor. Do you really want to ruin it with commercial mayonnaise loaded with sugar and heaven-knows-what? Of course not. Especially when you can so easily make your own. You will need a blender.
Jocelyn Deprez’s Homemade Mayonnaise
This needs to be a constant in your fridge, as its wonderful flavor will boost the blandness of any leftover. The ingredients should be as cold as possible, as the processing will warm them up.
(Makes about 1½ cups)
Measure:
1 cup vegetable oil (not olive)
Put in blender:
1 egg
1 tsp. mustard, Dijon style
1 tsp. salt
A pinch of pepper
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
3 Tbs. of the oil
Process at top speed for about 15 seconds. Then, dribble the rest of the oil, very slowly, into the center of the mix while continuing to process at top speed. If it becomes too stiff, stop the process and scrape the sides before continuing. If it seems too soft, don’t worry; it will stiffen up in the fridge*. You can add a spoonful of olive oil at the end if you like that flavor.
Depending on your usage, you can make 2 to 3 batches at a time, as this mayonnaise keeps a long time in the fridge. You can divide it up and keep another jar or two of your mayo mixed with other seasonings, e.g., crushed garlic, herbs, extra lemon juice, etc.
* However, if it turns to soup, which it might do on a hot day or if you have added the oil too quickly, put it aside and start all over again with a new batch. When you have completed the second batch, keep processing and add your runny mix by teaspoonfuls. You will end up with a double batch, which you might have intended anyway!
NOTE: This tasty mayonnaise can be used as an emergency quick cold sauce. For example, mix it with a little water and lemon juice, add a pinch of dried tarragon, and serve it over cooled asparagus.
Or dilute it with a little water and vinegar and pour it over warm, sliced potatoes.
Or mix it with a little vinaigrette and use it as a dip for artichokes or over asparagus.
Turkey Sandwiches
As for those iconic turkey sandwiches, I feel that they do not need much more elaboration, beyond your tasty homemade mayonnaise, than maybe a few lettuce leaves, possibly a little crumbled crisp bacon, perhaps a little squirt of mustard (remember there is mustard in the mayo you have just made!). Thinly sliced cucumbers work, too.
At issue is the delicate flavor of the meat, which you do not want to smother with a lot of conflicting flavors. As much as I love tomatoes, I don’t think they do much to enhance a good basic turkey sandwich. But to each his or her own taste, so pile it on if you like. And, oh yes, don’t forget the bread: if possible, use whole grain and fresh, made with no extra sugar!
Related Posts via Categories
Love this idea for a healthier version of mayo than what comes in a jar! I have been concocting my own healthier version of salad dressings with similar ingredients, plus sometimes honey, herbs, different types of vinegar. It’s easy to come up with something tasty, and no (or much less) preservatives/chemicals/additives than buying readymade, plus tastes better/fresher (usually!), and of course, costs less.
Jocelyn, I view mayo as so much of a staple, I never think about making it myself. But when I think of how much I love mayo, despite the calories, I have to think that making it yourself would make it taste SO MUCH better — and maybe help to substantiate all those calories. I’m sold..let you know how I do!
Thanks
Hi All,
Leftovers are gold here. Never a nuisance. Some friends hate them but to me they are treasures. (Even a spoonful, a drib or drab… of anything, vegetables, cooking water, meat juices, etc., is frozen and ends up in a soup.)
So our leftover turkey becomes sandwiches, hot sandwiches, casseroles, etc. The carcass makes soup. And all the leftover side dishes are also enjoyed and enjoyed till they are gone and then we wish there was just a bit more to enjoy. Of course pies would never be thought of as a leftover!!!
Some years I take leftover turkey and do what Mom did. She took the leftover Thanksgiving turkey and made Turkey Tetrazzini and froze it. It was our Christmas dinner. She made a salad and some Pepperidge Farm heat and serve rolls and for dessert we had her Christmas cookies and fruit she froze during the summer. Easy. She didn’t want to have to fuss on Christmas.
A turkey sandwich we love is mayo and mustard on one slice of bread, cranberry sauce spread on the other slice and then the turkey and lettuce in between.
Happy Thankgiving! Happy Leftovers!
Peace, Mike
Hi Mike,
“Gold”, “treasures”: I love these words to describe the endless resources of leftovers. If those who hate them would only realize that in using leftovers they are taking advantage of work already done! Your list of possiblities is inspiring. Your mom raised you right!
Fun to read your posts. Happy post-Thanksgiving eating!
Jocelyn
Something else Mom did. We had dogs. After she made the soup stock from the turkey carcass, she would take the bones and put them in the pressure cooker. She cooked them in some water. Not sure how long, but a seemingly long time for a pressure cooker. The bone and all would break down and would then be edible. This was mixed into the dog food. She did this with chicken bones too.
My Aunt Jean, Jean Burke, made something called she turkey hash with the turkey leftovers. (For people!)
Pieces of cooked chopped turkey, onion, celery and stock were cooked together. There might have been a slight bit of thickener in the stock. She had a big serving platter and this was piled in the center. Then she put spoonfuls of mashed potato all around the perimeter of the hash and baked the whole thing until hot the potatoes were a little colored. This was an out-of-this world treat with leftovers. So much flavor!
Mike, your mom was incredibly resourceful. What better way to get natural calcium into those dogs! The hash platter sounds interesting: presentation is so important, and I have noticed that a ring of starchy food (mashed potatoes, polenta, rice, etc.) really dresses up a hash or creamed dish, making it look really classy. Thanks for the good ideas!
At the family Thanksgiving I attended this year, we lived off turkey sandwiches for days! The family I was staying with had about 30 people come for Thanksgiving dinner, then about 15 of them stayed a few nights. Two turkeys were cooked – one was set out for Thanksgiving dinner, and the other was cut up and put away to feed the guests over the next few days. By the time eveyone went home, all the food was eaten and the hots didn’t have to spend a lot of time and money feeding all their house guests for three days (or waste any extra food)!
With more of my family members headed off to college, we seem to have more and more extra food on Thanksgiving! Last year, we got a little creative with our leftovers… for breakfast! With our leftover stuffing and potatoes, we came up with Eggs Florentine Thanksgiving style: a crispy potato pancake with leftover potatoes topped with poached eggs on a bed of leftover apple sausage stuffing with spinach and mushroom saute! Top it with some hollandaise sauce and you have a great eggs Benedict dish to share with your family.