How to Transform Leftover Turkey into a Gourmet Dish

The holiday feast is over. But what to do with the partially gnawed turkey carcass? It looks unappealing after the fun, and you simply cannot face another plate of (yawn) sliced turkey. Well, with a little effort and some choice spices, you can create something anyone would love--turkey curry. Delicious over steamed rice, turkey curry creates excitement, and is yummy enough to serve guests (they'll never know they're getting leftovers). Here is how to make a real homemade curry.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A meat-safe cutting board that has a trough to catch juices
• A sharp knife

Rousing the Roux

1. Peel the onions and cut them coarsely into large chunks.

2. Peel the cloves of garlic if using fresh garlic.

3. Chop the peeled ginger root coarsely.

4. Add the onion, garlic and ginger root to the blender and pour in about a half cup of water—just enough to help puree the veggies.

5. Blend the veggie mixture in the blender on high until the roux is pureed into a slushy consistency—like that of a snow cone (this is cheat #1—-pureeing the roux in the blender saves time over chopping small and grating the ingredients). Pour the roux into a large sturdy stew pot (a four- or five-quart pot). You are now finished with "Rousing the Roux."

Spicing It Up

6. In the stewpot, place the turkey carcass and any stray pieces of sliced turkey meat you have. If the turkey is too large for the pot, crack it around the ribs and break it into two large pieces.

7. Add a few cups of water—-enough to provide a base for the curry (about one or two inches in the pot) but not too much. Pour in the slushy roux you just made, and add the butter (butter is essential too—there's not much fat in turkey).

8. 
   Curry Powder with Turmeric

   Add in your curry spices, as listed above. Out of all the curry spices you can use, the two essential ones are cumin and coriander—-these are necessary to make your stew taste like curry. Others are simply good to add (like turmeric) or fun but not crucial (like cardamom, fennel and cinnamon). Cheat #2 is using ground curry spices rather that toasting and grinding your own.

9. Simmer (a low boil) the turkey, spices, roux, and butter with the top off the pot so you can watch the curry and make sure it doesn't stick; so you can stir it occasionally to mix the bones around; and so you can add water, if necessary. Let simmer for about one hour. Sure, your turkey meat has already been cooked. You won't be cooking the meat, you will be cooking the roux (cheat #3), and you are simmering to maximize the flavor from the bones. When the turkey is ready, the meat will be falling off the bones.
   
   Taste the sauce and add enough salt to make it delicious—expect to use about a tablespoon or so. You are now finished with "Spicing It Up."

Picking the Bones

10. Remove the pot of curry from the stove. Scoop out some of the large pieces of turkey carcass and transfer them to a large cutting board. Allow to cool until you can safely touch them.

11. Pick off any desirable pieces of meat that still cling to the bones and add that meat back to the pot, while discarding the bones, skin, and inedible portions.

12. Continue scooping, cooling and then picking until all the bones and stray inedibles are removed, and all the good meat is back in the pot. While working, chop up the large pieces of meat so they will be easy to eat—nothing should be larger than an inch or so. You are now finished with "Picking the Bones."

Tips & Warnings

• Your turkey curry should have the consistency of a light slush—-not too thick, not too thin. There should be plenty of bite-sized turkey bits. If for some reason, your sauce is too watery, you can thicken it by adding in a tablespoon of corn starch thinned with a little water (to get the lumps out). Stir this thickener into the pot while heating on medium. If that does not thicken it enough, repeat.
• Serve with white steamed jasmine or basmati rice, allowing guests to scoop up lots of the delicious sauce and douse their rice with it
• Serve with terrines of toppings: chopped unsweetened coconut, raisins or currants, chopped dates, fresh cilantro, chopped pistachios and seeded, chopped fresh hot chili peppers.
• Because of the loose sauce, be sure to serve curry on plates with a lip--pasta plates are perfect because they curve up along the rims, trapping the juices
• If you are using ready-made curry powder, add up to about 3 tablespoons or more to taste, substituting for all the curry spices, but be careful: commercially prepared curry powder, which I do not recommend, can err too much on the hot side. What you are doing by adding your own individual spices is crafting your own curry powder.