One of the best parts of Christmas is the leftovers the next day. This is the one everyone actually waits for. Cold turkey, warm gravy, stuffing, and a pile of shoestring fries on top so the whole thing crunches when you bite into it. It takes about fifteen minutes and it uses up three things sitting in the fridge.
Serves 1. Scale it up for however many people are standing in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 crusty bread roll
- Leftover turkey, sliced
- Leftover Susie's Stuffing
- Leftover gravy
- 1 potato
- 1L vegetable oil, for frying
Method
- Slice open the bread roll, slice the leftover turkey, and heat the gravy.
- Using a mandolin on the fine julienne setting, cut the potato into thin matchsticks. Place in a bowl of cold water.
- Heat the oil in a medium pot to 200°C. Pat the potato dry, then fry in batches until golden, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towel and season with salt.
- Build the roll: turkey, stuffing, gravy, topped with the fries.
What turkey works best for this?
Anything you have left. Breast meat slices cleanly and holds together in a roll, so that is the easy answer. The darker leg meat has more flavour and is worth pulling off the bone by hand and piling in loose. If you are buying for Christmas with the leftovers in mind, a free range boneless turkey roast gives you neat slices for days afterwards, while a whole Bendele turkey gives you the carcass for stock as well. Both are free range birds from Bendele Farm in Queensland.
How long does leftover turkey keep?
Three to four days in the fridge, in an airtight container, once it has cooled. Get it off the bone and into the fridge within two hours of serving rather than leaving the bird out on the bench all afternoon. If you want longer, slice it, lay it flat in a bag and freeze it for up to three months. Freeze it in portions you will actually use, because reheated twice-thawed turkey is a sad thing.
Do I have to make the gravy from scratch?
No. If you ran out on the day, our Organic Chicken Gravy is made from scratch in our Richmond kitchen using Certified Organic stock, and it is the one the East Brunswick Village counter built its reputation on. Warm it gently and spoon it over the turkey before the fries go on, so the roll does not go soggy from underneath.
Can I skip the shoestring fries?
You can, but they are doing a job. The fries are the texture against soft bread and soft turkey, and they soak up the gravy that escapes. If you do not want to run a pot of oil, use plain salted crisps straight from the packet. Nobody at the table will complain on Boxing Day.
Ask us
Not sure how much turkey to order so you have enough left for this? Ask us in store. Our butchers at Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Prahran Market, South Melbourne Market, Queen Victoria Market and East Brunswick Village will talk you through sizing for your table, and what to do with what is left. More in Festive Recipes, or browse Christmas Turkey and Christmas Condiments.
