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.
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