Turkey Craft

3 Delicious Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Your fridge is probably stuffed full of Thanksgiving leftovers. Lucky you! But maybe you’re looking at all that extra turkey, and you’re wondering how to eat it all up. If that’s you, then keep reading to find out delicious ways to use up those leftovers! I love having lots of Thanksgiving leftovers. But if you’re like our family, we have TONS of leftovers we are eating up for days after the holiday. And people can get tired of nothing but roasted turkey for dinner. So I like to get creative and find fun, delicious ways the whole family will enjoy to use up that extra turkey. Today, we have these fun recipes to share with you! Turkey Brie SandwichesTurkey Chorizo SoupBiscuits and Turkey Gravy These recipes are a few of my favorites. A sandwich bursting with sweet and savory flavors…a hearty, cozy soup for the end of a chilly day…or a comfort food with a twist that reminds me of grandma’s kitchen. Click on the link below and give these a try, and let us know which one is your favorite! 3 Delicious Recipes for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey! And if you want to try all of them but don’t have enough turkey leftover (or maybe no turkey at all), not to worry! We still have turkey available. Grab some turkey HERE and give these recipes a try! After all, who said turkey is just for Thanksgiving? Do you have a favorite recipe you like to use up your leftover turkey? Comment below and inspire the rest of us! Your farmer, ~Jesse

What to do with those turkey giblets…

If you’re like me, you didn’t grow up eating animal organs like heart or liver. Maybe you’re a little grossed out by the idea. I completely understand the feeling! But I’m here to tell you they’re not as gross as they’ve been made out to be! What are Giblets? First off, what are turkey giblets? They are the heart, liver, and gizzard. If you purchased a Whiffletree whole turkey, you found all three of those in the cavity of the turkey. Health Benefits Poultry organs (and all animal organs) have amazing health benefits. They’re very high in protein, which is essential for our bodies to get enough of for everyday functions. You’ll also get the benefits of vitamins A and B, iron, and CoQ10. In a nutshell, giblets are a health powerhouse! Flavor What about the flavor, you may ask? I personally don’t love the flavor of organs alone, but once you add in garlic and butter, they taste amazing! So, here’s how to make a delicious, nutrient-dense giblet gravy. Nutrient-Dense Giblet Gravy Recipe What you’ll need: Turkey neck3.5 cups waterTurkey giblets 2 garlic cloves, minced⅓ c. flourDrippings from roasted turkey6 Tbsp butterSalt to taste If you’re looking at the giblet gravy recipe from one of our previous blog posts, you’ll notice the way I do it here is a little bit different. Both are great ways of making it, so it’s up to you which way you prefer! You’ll also notice the recipe says to sear the neck along with the giblets. If you already have chicken or turkey bone broth made and on hand, definitely go ahead and do that! I didn’t have any already handy, so here’s what I did. I reserved the turkey neck from my whole turkey and put it in a medium saucepan with 3.5 cups of water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I brought it to a boil over medium high heat before turning to low, letting it simmer for about an hour. (Or you can put all this in a small crock pot and cook it overnight before making the gravy, but maybe add a little more water so too much doesn’t simmer away. You want to end up with 3 cups of broth). Once the turkey broth was complete, I melted 2 Tbsp butter in another saucepan over medium heat, and then I added the turkey giblets, searing for a few minutes on each side before adding in the turkey broth. I brought the broth to a boil before turning the heat down to low and letting it simmer for about 30-40 minutes. After simmering, I drained the broth into a bowl and took out the giblets and finely diced them, removing any gristle. Next, I melted 4 Tbsp of butter over medium low heat, then tossed in the minced garlic and cooked until fragrant. Then I added in the ⅓ cup of flour and whisked to make a roux. I let that cook until browned for a couple minutes, constantly stirring, then slowly poured in the broth and reserved roasted turkey drippings, whisking the entire time to keep any clumps from forming. I reduced the heat to low and stirred for a few minutes while it thickened to my desired consistency. I took it immediately off the heat, added in salt to taste, and stirred in the diced giblets. And there you have it! A delicious giblet gravy. Trust me, no one will complain about the fact that there are chopped up giblets in there! It tastes amazing and adds so much flavor to the roasted turkey. And you can feel good that you’re getting a bunch of amazing nutrition into your loved ones! If you missed the original recipe from one of our previous blog posts, click HERE to see it. Shop Whiffletree's Pasture-Raised Turkeys With Giblets Grab a pasture-raised, nutrient dense turkey with giblets HERE and give this a try! Trust me, you won’t regret it! How do you like to make your gravy? Do you love giblets, or are you new to it? We want to hear from you! Comment below and tell us what you do! Cheers to you and your health! ~Bethany

Roasting a Turkey

It’s Thanksgiving Day! Guests are showing up soon, excitement is in the air, and the kitchen becomes alive with activity. You may be wondering what to do with that turkey sitting in the fridge… when, at what temp, and how long to ROAST it for… I (Bethany here!) started cooking our family Thanksgiving turkey when I was seventeen years old. Yeah, that first time was a little rough! But my family, as amazing as they all are, ate it anyway and let me try again the next year. Now, eight years later, there isn’t much turkey left from our Thanksgivings because everyone loves the moist, flavorful turkey! (Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with those dry turkeys and letting me keep trying!) Last week, we looked at brining a turkey. (If you didn’t see that post, click HERE to learn how to brine your Thanksgiving turkey!) This week, I’ll walk you through the process of roasting the turkey. What you’ll need: -1 whole turkey, brined or not (18.5 lb turkey was used for this post)-Salt-Seasonings of your choice (optional)-Onions, carrots, and celery cut into large chunks (optional)-Roasting pan-2 Tbsp butter-Meat thermometer For a quick run-down on the steps, from frozen to roast: TUESDAY: pulled turkey out of the freezer to thawWEDNESDAY: thawed turkey the rest of the way in cold waterTHURSDAY: brined the turkeyFRIDAY:8:00am -- Pulled the turkey from the fridge, drained the brine juices, placed into roasting pan8:15am -- Let the turkey sit out for half hour to keep drying, set over to 325F8:30am -- Melted the butter in a saucepan, brushed the butter onto the turkey skin, and sprinkled salt and/or seasonings on the turkey and inside its cavity9:00am -- Popped the turkey into the preheated oven9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am -- Basted turkey with juices11:30am -- Stuck thermometer into breast and leg to ensure it was at 165F, removed the turkey from the oven, and let it cool12:15pm -- We ate the turkey! Here's those same steps with more detail: I pulled it out of the freezer on Tuesday, let it thaw for a day, and then thawed it the rest of the way in cold water on Wednesday. I then brined it on Thursday so it was ready for Friday (I made it for one of our team lunches on the farm, so I pulled it out of the fridge at 8:00 Friday morning). After draining all the juices from the brine, I placed it into the roasting pan and patted it dry with a paper towel. I also reserved the rosemary, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns from the brine and put those into the cavity. Then, I let the turkey sit out for a half hour to keep drying so I’d get a nice crispy skin while roasting. While the turkey was drying, I set the oven temp to 325F. Then, I melted the butter in a small saucepan. After the turkey finished drying, I spread it on the turkey skin with a pastry brush. This step helped it brown nicely while roasting and added some yummy flavor! Then, I sprinkled some salt on the skin and inside the cavity. (Don’t use too much here if you brined the turkey as the skin will already have absorbed some saltiness…you could even skip the salt if you brined.) Then if you wish, you could sprinkle seasonings of your choice on the turkey. I usually would do garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and pepper, but some of our team had different allergies so I stuck with just salt for this time. I also didn’t add any vegetables to the cavity for the same reason, but that definitely adds a nice touch! At 9:00am, I popped the turkey into the preheated oven. Every half hour, I used the pastry brush to baste the turkey with the juices, but otherwise, I was free to work on prepping the other food for our team lunch. I allowed for 8-10 minutes per lb of turkey, and it was finished around 11:30 (about 8 minutes per lb). I stuck the thermometer into both the breast and the leg…I needed it to be 165F for a safe level of doneness, but no more as I didn’t want a dry turkey! All parts of the turkey were at that temp when I inserted the thermometer. If the legs happen to not be quite done yet for you, you can carve those off to keep roasting, but make sure to remove the rest of the turkey to avoid drying it out by overcooking. I let the turkey cool off for a bit before removing it to a serving platter and reserving the drippings from the pan for my gravy. And ta-da! We had an amazing roasted turkey that the team devoured. Want to try this out for yourself? Grab one of our pasture-raised turkeys HERE for the best Thanksgiving turkey you’ve ever had! If you want to see the full recipe in case you missed one of our previous blog posts, click HERE! Next week, I’ll show you how exactly to use those turkey giblets. Maybe you’re a bit hesitant to use them - trust me, I was too! But I’ll show you just how delicious and healthy of a giblet gravy you can make, so stay tuned! Cheers to you and your health! ~Bethany Click HERE to browse our store! Click HERE to browse our Thanksgiving store!

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3 Delicious Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers

What to do with those turkey giblets…

Roasting a Turkey

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