Turkey Croquettes on Greens with Cranberry Vinaigrette

There's a host of things to be made with leftover turkey as you'll see if you hit "Turkey" on the index to your right. Soups, salads, sandwiches, pot pies, enchiladas, bread pudding - we've kinda' run the gamut but one thing we'd never tried before was a turkey croquette until last night.

Thanks to Fine Cooking, these beauties are smaller and shaped more like rissole than a larger croquette, but then again the difference is only in the name, right? Afterall, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck it must be a duck right or in this case, a crispy, golden fried hunk of leftover turkey.

Simply minced bird spiced up with rosemary, thyme and poultry seasoning, moistened with leftover mashed potatoes and a thick bechamel sauce loaded with minced onion, shallots and garlic, our version of the recipe is of course slightly different from the original but no less delicious, I'm sure.

The fact that I used leftover mashed potatoes instead of cooking spuds and left out the step of coating the patties in egg wash before they hit the crumbs, panko in this instance meant they were much easier to put together than Fine Cooking's version. Hey the patties were moist enough and panko will stick to darn near anything anyway. Allowed to sit for 40 minutes in the refrigerator before cooking meant the croquettes firmed up nicely and were less delicate to handle. After a quick browning on both sides, I put them into the oven for 10 minutes so they had a chance to heat all the way through.

Served on a bed of mixed greens with a tart cranberry balsamic vinaigrette, it was a rather welcome light and delicious change of pace after so much excess. I don't know about you, but there's only so much stuffing, gravy, mayonnaise loaded turkey sandwiches on white bread I can handle. 

Turkey Croquettes with Mixed Greens and Cranberry Vinaigrette (from JBug’s Kitchen, adapted from Fine Cooking)

Croquettes:

1 pound leftover turkey, cut into pieces

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Small handful fresh parsley, chopped

2 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped (stems removed)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon dried poultry seasoning

Zest of 1 lemon

Salt and course ground black pepper

12 ounces prepared mashed potatoes (I used leftovers)

1/4 cup butter

1 shallot, minced

1/2 medium onion, minced

3 cloves garlic (small) minced

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup panko crumbs

Vegetable Oil for frying

Place turkey into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Move to a large bowl and add parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add mashed potatoes and combine well.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, onion and garlic and cook until softened. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk, and cook sauce stirring constantly until very thick – about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then pour sauce over minced turkey mixture and mix well. Using a 4 ounce ice cream scoop, form mixture into balls then flatten into discs about a half inch thick. Coat both sides with panko crumbs and set onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil to a depth of approx. ¼ inch in bottom of large skillet. When hot, fry croquettes on both sides until nicely browned. Move to a sheet pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until warmed through. Serve with mixed greens and Cranberry Vinaigrette. (Serves 6. …I froze half the croquettes uncooked for future use).

Cranberry Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup minced onion or shallot

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 tablespoons balsamic

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and course ground black pepper

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients into a jar with a tight sealing lid and shake until emulsified. Allow to sit at room temperature until serving. 

A year ago - Ginger Creme Brulee

Two year's ago - Clam and Corn Chowder

Comments

[Lea]

Bravo - you have done it again - another fabulous used for leftover turkey!!!! Nice - and pretty to boot - GO Junebug!

[June]

Thanks my friend. They are delicious and I daresay could be made from almost any leftover meat. We really liked them - soft and moist inside and crispy outside.

[Lorraine]

These sound wonderful, and what a great use of not only leftover turkey, but the mashed potatoes too. Tied altogether with the cranberry vinaigrette and you have one nice post-turkey day sensation.

[June]

Thanks Lorraine. We really enjoyed them and I daresay they'd be great served in a sandwich with a little turkey gravy too.