Leftover turkey after holidays (or any other time) is often a problem. Reheated the next day with the leftover fixings is good once, maybe twice, same for sandwiches. But my mother's greatest trick for leftovers was Turkey Pot Pie. She'd use the bones to make broth, top it with leftover stuffing, mashed potatoes, or puff pastry and create a delicious variation on the original dinner to enjoy with leftover mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. (Larger image.) Serves 4.
For more casserole ideas check out "On a (Casse)Roll."
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- *** Broth ***
- Turkey carcass; most meat removed
- 2 carrots; washed and broken in quarters
- 2 celery stalks; broken in quarters
- 2 onions; peeled and quartered
- 10 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- *** Filling ***
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 carrot; trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 sm. celery stalk; cut into 1/4-inch half-rounds
- 1 sm. onion; very coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups cooked turkey; cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- *** Sauce ***
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter; divided
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 1 1/2 cups turkey broth
- 1/2 cup milk or half and half (fat-free half and half works)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- *** Topping ***
- 2 cups leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes or 1 sheet puff pastry
Preparation:
Broth:
1. Break up turkey carcass and place it and carrots, celery, onion, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a soup/stock pot. Add enough water to cover to 2-inch depth.
2. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for two hours.
3. Strain broth and discard solid ingredients.
4. Return to the stove and reduce broth to 1 1/2 cups.
Filling:
5. Heat vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onions, and sauté until carrots are just tender. About 10 minutes.
6. Combine vegetables with turkey and peas in a medium bowl.
Sauce:
7. Melt butter in sauté pan over low heat, whisk in flour, and continuing cooking, whisking constantly, for three minutes.
8. Increase heat to medium and vigorously whisk in turkey broth and milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. (Note: the sauce should be quite thick. The juices released from the meat and vegetables during cooking will thin it to the correct consistency.) Add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust seasoning.
9. Thoroughly mix together turkey/vegetable mixture and sauce. Pour into a two-quart casserole dish.
Topping:
10. The best topping is leftover stuffing, but leftover mashed potatoes are good (my mother often used potatoes on one half and stuffing on the other because there wasn't enough of either to cover the pie). In either case, spread on top and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
11. If you're using puff pastry, trim it in advance to fit the casserole with some overhang and return to the refrigerator. Cook the pie for 15 minutes, then top with pastry and continue cooking for 30 - 40 minutes until pastry is puffed and brown. Pre-cooking the filling helps keep the pastry from getting too soggy on the bottom.
Note: If you have leftover gravy you can reduce the amount of sauce by the amount of gravy you have and use the gravy instead - highly recommended.