Leftover turkey makes a better taco than it makes a sandwich, as long as you deal with its one problem: it is dry.
Fix the turkey first
Do not just reheat it. Shred the meat and simmer it for five to eight minutes in stock with a spoonful of chipotle in adobo, a little tomato, cumin, and oregano. You are essentially making tinga, and it turns dry breast meat into something juicy and seasoned.
Use the cranberry sauce
Cranberry works as a salsa base if you cut the sweetness. Blend leftover cranberry sauce with a chipotle, lime juice, salt, and a little white onion. The result is tart, smoky, and belongs on a taco far more than it belongs next to stuffing.
What else translates
- Mashed potatoes: spread thinly in the tortilla as a base layer, like a taco de papa.
- Roasted vegetables: chop and crisp them in a pan with cumin.
- Stuffing: crisped in a skillet, it becomes a crunchy topping. It sounds wrong and it is very good.
- Gravy: thin it and use it to moisten the turkey rather than as a sauce on top.
Three combinations that work
- Chipotle turkey tinga, cranberry salsa, pickled red onion, cilantro.
- Turkey, mashed potato base, crisped stuffing, crema, salsa verde.
- Turkey, roasted squash, cotija, pepitas, chile de arbol salsa.
What to skip
Marshmallow sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. Some things should stay on the Thursday plate.
Timing
Leftover turkey keeps three to four days refrigerated and freezes for three months. Shred and freeze it in stock rather than dry.
Our pickled red onions and charred tomatillo salsa recipes complete the plate.
