Paleogram
  • Blog
  • About
    • About
    • What is Paleo?
  • Tips & Hints
  • Contact

The Best Thing About Thanksgiving Turkey? Leftovers!

11/18/2015

2 Comments

 
I have a pretty large extended family. Back in the day, when we didn't all live so far away from each other, we would gather at the home of one aunt and uncle or another  for Thanksgiving. The turkey was carved in the kitchen and then brought to the table for all to dig in. Invariably, a cousin or two or three remained in the kitchen for a minute or two eating what was left on the carcass (yes, after all these years, I admit that I was one of them.
​As for my partners in crime, well you know who you are).

What we were doing, of course, was eating the scrumptious leftovers even before the meal had started.

These days, I don't wait for Thanksgiving to make turkey. I roast one whenever I have the urge for turkey soup, one of my husband's specialties ( in fact, one of his only specialties, if you don't count the macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta which our grandsons clamor for and call "the bomb," their sincerest words of praise...of course Velveeta has no place in a Paleo blog. But the soup definitely does).



Henry's Turkey Soup
4 to 6 servings

This is a two-day process, but don't be intimidated. The first day you make the broth (with just two ingredients), then refrigerate it overnight. On day two, you add the rest of the ingredients, simmer for an hour, and, voila...a rich and delicious soup for dinner!
INGREDIENTS
Carcass, bones, skin, and drippings or gravy from a cooked
​     turkey (leave a little meat on the carcass)
3 quarts low sodium chicken broth (I use Imagine brand)
2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and sliced
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
3 TBS fresh dill, chopped
2 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Picture
Day 1
1. Place carcass, bones, skin, drippings or gravy in a large soup pot and add chicken broth.
2. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 6 hours. Let cool slightly and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2
1. Remove soup from refrigerator and heat until broth liquefies. Strain through a colander placed over another soup pot or large bowl. Discard skin, carcass and other bones, and most of the by-now shredded meat, but if there are larger pieces of meat, add them back to the strained broth.
2. Add vegetables, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Add the 2 1/2 cups reserved turkey meat along with the vegetables and herbs. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for one hour until vegetables are tender. Serve hot.

​Turkey Sandwich

This one's easy: Take a bunch of Paleo leftovers and pile them on sliced Paleo Rye Bread. I use turkey ( of course), cranberry sauce, and kale. Then I add sauerkraut (make sure it is free of additives) and Paleo mayo ( see Tips and Hints section). For Paleo Rye Bread, simply follow the Paleo Sandwich Bread recipe in the Breakfast, Part 2 post, below, but substitute regular flax meal for golden flax meal and add 1 TBS of caraway seeds to the mix.

Curried Turkey Salad
Makes 3 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large apple , peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries ( if using cranberries, fruit juice-sweetened only)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup Paleo-friendly mayonnaise ( I use Primal Kitchen Mayo with avocado oil-- see Tips and Hints section)
1-2 TBS curry powder, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBS chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley sprigs for garnish
Leftover cranberry sauce for serving, optional

Picture
1. Mix mayo, curry powder and lemon juice in a small bowl.
2. Mix turkey, celery, apple, raisins, almonds and chopped parsley in large bowl.
3. Stir mayo mixture into turkey mixture and combine well.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste ( if you are using Primal Kitchen Mayo, go easy on the salt)
5. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve with leftover cranberry sauce on the side.

This is also great with leftover chicken, but, after all, this is a Thanksgiving post.

​Turkey Paté

Don't be put off by the anchovies in this recipe. They add a nice salinity and you don't have to use
​additional salt to season.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 canned anchovies, rinsed
1/4 cup ghee
Juice of one half lemon
2 TBS fresh sage, chopped
Sage leaves for garnish
Picture
1. Put turkey, anchovies, ghee and lemon juice in a food processor and process until mixture is smooth and holds together
2. Add chopped sage leaves to the mixture and pulse a few times until sage in incorporated into mix.
3. Garnish with whole sage leaves and serve with Paleo crackers (see Hints and Tips)

What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers? Please post a comment and let me know.


2 Comments
Linda Dickey
11/18/2015 06:34:10 pm

Great recipes...except for the turkey...! You know how I hate turkey! But I wish I didn't given these, esp. the soup.

Reply
Deborah link
11/23/2015 06:10:17 am

Try it with duck? :-)

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Picture

      Deborah Shepherd

    New recipes and Paleo adaptations of family favorites I've been cooking for years that I hope will work for all of us, whether Boomers or beyond.

    Picture

    .

    All
    Breakfast
    Comfort Foods
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Lunch
    Travel

    Archives

    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015

    RSS Feed

Home      About     Contact

Copyright 2015 Deborah Shepherd
Website design by Liz Mortati