A culinary tradition in many Quebec households, the Christmas (or holiday) turkey can be dressed or garnished in many different ways to keep the tradition fresh year after year. Here we present a few recipes for preparing this holiday classic a little differently, as well as what to do with the leftovers after the main event (and don’t worry, we haven’t left out the cranberries!).
Original Christmas turkey recipe ideas
- Feel like reinventing your classic roast turkey? How about this recipe with fresh rosemary, lemon, and garlic and featuring layers of prosciutto and provolone sandwiched under the skin to pack in even more flavour?
- Bacon-lovers will be thrilled with this crispy bacon-larded turkey with sage and maple syrup, or even with this version featuring bacon, thyme, and apple, which has a slightly sweet and acidic flavour.
- For something midway between classic and more edgy, there’s this Christmas turkey, stuffed with cranberry sauce, pecans, thyme, and orange juice and zest. A sure-fire hit around a multi-generational family table!
Ricardo roast turkey: ready-made Christmas!
To save precious time, try a Ricardo roast turkey, which can be transferred from the freezer directly into the oven. Stuffed with pear and cranberry or even apple, bacon, and caramelized onion, these are great options and sure to complement any table.
How about a purée with that?
To complement your juicy turkey, what could be better than a rich, creamy vegetable purée? The ready-to-eat versions from Épurée will really impress you with their complex flavours and originality!
What about leftovers?
It’s usually pretty hard, if not impossible, to completely finish every last morsel of such an immense bird in a single meal. So here are a few ideas for giving your leftover turkey a second life.
Hot chicken
We dare you to try this improved version of the classic hot chicken by swapping out the chicken for turkey leftovers. Replace the sliced white bread with cheese bread or even rosemary or caramelized onion bread and top it with a mix of green peas, olive oil, fresh parsley, and chives. Pour over the traditional sauce for an unrivalled day-after feast!
Vol-au-vent
For an amazing turkey vol-au-vent, use more vegetables by adding mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, peppers, and kernels of corn. Make your own vol-au-vent by pressing slices of bread into muffin tins. Lightly baste with butter or vegetable oil and bake them in the oven until the bread starts to turn golden brown.
Chili con carne
Make your favourite chili con carne recipe with shredded turkey. Season it with garlic, onions, and chili powder and garnish your bowl with a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro.
Tacos, burritos, and quesadillas
Transform your leftover turkey into delicious tacos or burritos. In a frying pan with olive oil on medium heat, brown some cumin, ground coriander, and your leftover turkey. Serve with your choice of dressings!
This recipe for quesadillas even includes the infamous cranberry sauce, which you may also have left over. A delicious Mexican-accented dinner ready in 30 minutes, and far removed from the roast turkey you had at Christmas!
Croquettes
Another perfectly delicious recipe for leftover turkey: these croquettes. Chop up the turkey and mix it with grated cheddar, breadcrumbs, an egg, onion, parsley, lemon zest, and seasonings to taste.
Salads
Combine your leftover turkey with spinach, clementine segments, mushrooms, bean sprouts, green onion, and sliced almonds. Top with a homemade vinaigrette made from olive and sesame oils, soy sauce, and garlic.
Or you might prefer this salad with arugula pesto, which you can either make yourself or buy ready-made. The bitterness of the radicchio is set off wonderfully by the sweetness of the dried apricots and the pleasing crunch of pine nuts. A veritable explosion of flavour!
Stir-fry
No time? This quick sauté that’s ready in 15 minutes has few ingredients, but definitely doesn’t lack flavour. Just add vegetables, rice noodles, coconut milk, and cooked turkey strips and voilà! Dinner is served!
For a Spanish-tinged meal, consider this quick paella made with cooked turkey, sautéed chorizo, shrimp, and basmati rice with a hint of saffron.
Pâtés
Why not use your leftover Christmas turkey to make pâté for New Year’s? Kill two birds with one stone with this turkey pâté, in which parsnip, celery, green peas, and corn add a certain light freshness.
Psst! Don’t be in such a hurry to throw away the bones! They make for a great homemade stock to be used in soups, for concentrated broths, and in risotto.
Is turkey always a healthy choice?
Be careful! Some whole turkeys are sold already “prepared.” This means they’ve been injected with stock or a fatty substance to tenderize them and stop them from drying out in the oven. Read the list of ingredients carefully, since these additives may not always be healthy.
As far as sliced turkey or roast turkey breast from the deli counter is concerned, in addition to usually being very salty, these products may contain a number of food additives, including nitrates. To be enjoyed only in moderation!
How long does turkey keep?
To keep a turkey fresh for a few days in its original packaging, place it in the bottom of the refrigerator. Once cooked, it will keep for three or four days. In the freezer, the bird can be preserved for one year if raw or three or four months if cooked.
Cranberries, a turkey’s faithful companion... and a lot more!
A must for the holidays beside the star of the show, cranberries can appear in various forms. You can of course try them in a sauce (such as this one that accompanies a recipe for duck but which will dress your turkey equally well), but also in a chutney with pear and ginger.
Fresh cranberries will keep for a few months in the refrigerator. That’s more than enough time to make:
Dried cranberries are also very versatile: add them to salads, for example with apples and celeriac, with endive and nuts, or even in this creamy cabbage and apple salad. They can also replace the raisins in your couscous salads. Throw them into your favourite recipes for muffins, breads, cookies, etc. Compliments dried unsweetened cranberries will quickly become a staple in your kitchen!
Finally, try using cranberry juice to deglaze your pans or make a vinaigrette!
The benefits of cranberries
Cranberries are best described as a superfood due to their high levels of antioxidants. Cranberries and cranberry juice can help prevent cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and other illnesses related to aging, not to mention their effectiveness against urinary tract infections.
To get the most benefits out of cranberries, we recommend drinking between 60 and 170 mL of pure juice every day between meals (or 250 to 500 mL if it’s a mix containing 26 to 33% cranberry juice). If you don’t like the juice because of its acidity and bitterness, you can try mixing it with other naturally sweet juices, such as apple, grape, orange, etc.