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Let’s Talk Turkey!

Turkey Dinner Croquettes

The star of Thanksgiving dinner can be finicky to make and a tad daunting. There’s nothing worse than serving guests a dry turkey. Prepare one of these mouthwatering recipes and you’ll present the perfect turkey your guests will love (and that’ll make delicious leftovers).

With instructions like set it and forget it, Joeyjoan K.’s (Clarkston, MI) Perfect Turkey is my kind of holiday turkey recipe. “The turkey comes out perfect every time,” explains Joeyjoan. “Juicy, tender, mouthwatering white meat and dark meat alike.”

Mayonnaise is used to cover the turkey and really holds in the juices. Simple seasoning is all the very moist turkey recipe needs. You’ll definitely hear ooh’s and ahh’s when the holiday guests take their first bite.

“I have been trying to find a good turkey recipe for years and over the past two years have tried several that had the potential, but still just not to our liking,” reveals Linda DeBenedittis (Falcon, CO).

“I took some very basic ideas for seasoning a turkey and keeping it moist and created a Tasty Thanksgiving Turkey – it ended up a major hit with no leftovers,” Linda went on to say.

If you’re looking to cook a turkey in a new way this holiday season, I suggest trying Linda’s recipe. It’s faster than roasting a whole bird and the turkey comes out very moist.

Linda spatchcocked the turkey. Spatchcocking meat refers to removing the backbone allowing the bird to be flattened. There are lots of tips out there for how to spatchcock a bird or ask your local butcher.

The oil/rub mix, along with the oranges, apples, celery, carrots, and onion the meat is cooked on, add amazing flavor and seasoning to this delicious holiday turkey.

If you’re like me when planning a holiday meal, inevitably there are leftovers. Maybe it’s a subconscious thing because I absolutely love turkey leftovers.

In my house, we do three things the day after Thanksgiving-go shopping, watch college football and eat leftovers.

Doreen Fish’s easy Leftover Turkey Nachos are a favorite. “Delicious and filling, they’re a great way to use up that Thanksgiving turkey,” says Doreen. These nachos are packed with so much flavor.

Not only is it a great way to use leftover turkey, it’s delicious. The dressing mix brings this dish to a whole new level of yumminess! During the holidays when everyone is tired of the typical turkey sandwich, give this a try for something new and different.

“I love [to make] this do-over recipe with leftover turkey,” shares Linda Keene about her Leftover Turkey Taquitos. This is a great trick without seeming like you are using leftovers.

Linda stuffs corn tortillas with turkey and onion then fries them until nice and crisp. Served with a creamy guacamole these are fantastic. I added jalapeno juice because I like things a bit spicy, but customize this recipe to what you like. This is great football food.

Dawn Whitted (Spearfish, ND) turns her Thanksgiving leftovers into Turkey Dinner Croquettes. “This recipe is designed to use up holiday leftovers,” explains Dawn. “You really can put virtually anything into it and they would be amazing.”

It really is a very tasty concoction Dawn created. Cheese-Its crumbs add a bit more flavor than traditional bread crumbs for binding. French fried onions as the coating add a bit of crunch and enhance the overall flavors.

What’s great is you can really use whatever you have left over – corn, green bean casserole, etc – to add to the stuffing and turkey mixture. You can serve with a dressing but, honestly, this turkey croquette was yummy all by itself.

Next week, I’ll be talking about fabulous Thanksgiving side dishes. So until then, add one of these tasty turkey recipes to your Thanksgiving menu. Happy Pinching!