The day after Thanksgiving, the sandwich you make with all of your treasured leftovers might even surpass the main course. Assembling this leftover Thanksgiving sandwich is easy, but the details matter. The dark and white turkey meats receive different treatment: the dark meat is shredded and then warmed in gravy, while the breast is reheated in butter. This club ditches the usual third slice of bread for a slab of crisp, fried stuffing instead. Make sure your pan is very hot when heating the stuffing so it fries quickly without crumbling in the skillet. A generous swipe of cranberry mayo brings the whole thing together.
Ah Thanksgiving. A time for family friends, and of course, an abundance of delicious food. But what happens to all those leftovers? Fear not, for the humble Thanksgiving sandwich awaits, ready to transform your post-holiday feast into a culinary masterpiece.
The Best Thanksgiving Sandwich Recipe: A Culinary Journey
Forget those dry, sad sandwiches of yore. This recipe elevates the Thanksgiving leftover experience to new heights, with a symphony of flavors and textures that will have your taste buds singing.
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of your favorite bread (sourdough, ciabatta, or a crusty baguette are all excellent choices)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup leftover roasted turkey, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup leftover stuffing
- 1/4 cup leftover gravy
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Spread the love: Begin by spreading the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard evenly on one slice of bread. This creamy base will provide a delightful contrast to the other ingredients.
- Cranberry delight: Next, dollop the cranberry sauce on top of the mustard, creating a tangy and sweet layer.
- Turkey time: Arrange the thinly sliced turkey over the cranberry sauce, ensuring each bite is filled with juicy, flavorful turkey.
- Stuffing sensation: Top the turkey with a generous helping of stuffing, adding a warm and comforting element to the sandwich.
- Gravy magic: Drizzle the gravy over the stuffing, creating a rich and savory sauce that ties all the flavors together.
- Freshness boost: Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the gravy, adding a touch of freshness and vibrancy.
- Season to perfection: Season the sandwich with salt and pepper to taste, enhancing the overall flavor profile.
- The grand finale: Top with the remaining slice of bread, and prepare to embark on a culinary journey.
Tips for the perfect Thanksgiving sandwich:
- Bread matters: Choose a bread that can hold its own against the abundance of fillings. Sourdough, ciabatta, or a crusty baguette are all excellent choices.
- Toast it up: Toasting the bread adds a delightful crunch and prevents it from becoming soggy.
- Warm it up: For an extra burst of flavor, warm the turkey and stuffing in the oven before assembling the sandwich.
- Get creative: Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ingredients. Add a layer of mashed potatoes, a slice of cheese, or even some leftover green beans for a truly unique experience.
The Best Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich: A Culinary Legacy
This Thanksgiving sandwich is more than just a meal; it’s a culinary legacy. It’s a testament to the power of leftovers, a celebration of the Thanksgiving spirit, and a delicious reminder that the best things in life are often found in the simplest of pleasures.
So, gather your leftover bounty, grab a slice of bread, and get ready to create your own Thanksgiving sandwich masterpiece. With each bite, you’ll be transported back to the warmth and joy of Thanksgiving, and you’ll discover that the best things in life are often found in the simplest of pleasures.
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Thus, serve the gravy and poached egg instead of the bread and mayo and cranberries. At our house we look forward to breakfast the next day with eggs “mcStuffin” off the griddle. Using the remaining dressing, we shape it into patties, adding beaten eggs, milk, or stock as necessary to help it bind and take shape. Stufing patties are grilled until golden brown on the outside and then covered with a generous portion of gravy and a poached egg.
I’m seventy, and there has never been leftover stuffing at my house.
Delicious, no doubt. But too much trouble. I’ve been making leftover sandwiches with a schmear of mayo, a layer of cranberry sauce, a layer of squooshed down stuffing, and sliced white meat turkey for decades. The weekend following Thanksgiving should be spent lounging around! Then lettuce, for cool crunch and a brief nod to healthy eating. Dont neglect salt and pepper. And you have a huge mouth and feeling ambitious, add bacon and tomato for a leftover BLT. Then wallow happily in ongoing excess.
Instead of using bread, why not use the stuffing? You could even add some beaten egg to it and cook it in a waffle maker. Sandwich the turkey, sides, and cranberry mayo inside the stuffing waffles.
all works good together, but its too big for the mouth and goes sideways when compressed. It became a mess upon use. No Kudos.
Shades of Dagwood Bumstead
Rather than putting the pressed stuffing in the refrigerator overnight, give it a good chill by placing it in the freezer for up to 10 minutes. This is the perfect sandwich for someone who didnt cook and took leftovers home. Texas toast is the right kind of bread for the hearty build. This is also a sandwich you need to eat with a fork. Its perfect and I love it.
how can this sandwich possibly get 4 stars??too complicated, too heavy, too messy. All the delicious components of leftover Thanksgiving dinner are available for use (and creation). There’s no need to add butter, extra effort, or anything extra to a traditional turkey, mayo, and cranberry sandwich served on ciabatta, a fresh baguette, or toasty whole wheat.
Best ever cranberry sauce to add to this – Mama Stamberg’s – from NPR’s Susan Stamberg. Great story too. Don’t let the ‘Pepto Bismal’ color put you off. It’s delicious!.
I would just choose cheese for a sandwich if I had to make this much effort.
A little cheese would also help the mashed potato layer hold together. Just sayin.
Turkey sandwiches are incomplete without dressing, and my personal favorite is Stonewall Kitchens’ Cranberry Horseradish Sauce. or just make your own with combo of mayo, horseradish sauce, and whole cranberry sauce. delish and divine!.
For at least four generations, my family has been enjoying toasted white bread with a smear of mayo, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and leftover turkey. Add some salt and pepper and you’ve good to go. As a kid, I enjoyed that sandwich much more than the meal on the big day.
Thanks. I have my own take on the Sunday dinner sandwich, which I have been preparing for 40 years. Had to save this recipe though, because the comments are just to rich to pass up. Keep em coming. Ill check in with you all in 2022.
This sandwich, which I modified, was the best I’ve ever had after Thanksgiving. It was so good! I just smashed down stuffing right before cooking (didn’t chill overnight) and crisped it up as directed. Using the same pan, prepare the white and dark meats, shredding them and basting them in butter and gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Used cranberry sauce mixed with Durkeys (Mayo/mustard combo) on lightly toasted sour dough. Did not take that much time and was tasty!!.
Skip the turkey – stuffing sandwiches with mayo and salt are the bomb. Better than the whole meal the day before!.
This sounds utterly ridiculous and heavy. I’m having a “Blue Plate Special” from a diner, which consists of warmed turkey slices in gravy served with peas and diagonally sliced white bread (or leftover mashed potatoes). End of sentence and end of leftovers today!.
Our traditional leftover sandwich forgoes the stuffing, greens etc. and is what I look forward to more than the main meal. I make sure to buy what’s needed for the sandwich the day I shop for the dinner. A layer of Swiss or Jarlsberg cheese, two slices of fresh sourdough, a smear of mayo, sliced turkey, and a large amount of raw cranberry orange chutney Top with a spoonful of gravy, Bess it with salt and pepper and you have achieved divinity……….
This sounds really delicious, but after spending eight hours in the kitchen preparing everything, my guest hardly touched her meal. Instead, I’m serving them two slices of excellent white bread slathered with mayo, sprinkled with salt, and topped with thinly sliced cooked turkey breast.
Have noticed that, the time invested vs time spent enjoying is way out of whack. It takes hours upon hours of preparation, and yet, how long do guests stay? It’s more akin to a gobble and dash than a leisurely three-course meal. For some of us this traditional feast needs a rework.
toasted sourdough roll, slices of turkey, avocado, and micro greens
Wow what a great sandwich! I prepared each of the components as the recipe instructs,. However, I ran out of room for the “assorted leftovers” when I went to assemble the sandwiches, making it impossible to eat. The whole point of a sandwich is to have different flavors as you bite into it, right? Nevertheless, even without the additional leftover layers, the fried stuffing, cranberry mayo, and white and dark meat were delicious – this is our new go-to leftover sandwich.
Love the idea of fried stuffing. Will have to add to my repertoire. I was surprised that no one had mentioned my “go-to” ingredients, which are cranberries and mayo with a generous amount of Dijon on one slice and a good smear of cream cheese (sharped after 10 seconds in the microwave) on the other slice. The combination of turkey, cream cheese, and cranberries, along with the Dijon mixture, is a hit with everyone I’ve served it to.
Nine fussy steps to build a T-giving leftover sandwich? Come on. Imagine heating everything on a single plate in a convection oven or microwave (or not—it works just fine cold!), spreading mayonnaise and cranberry sauce on the bread, adding everything, and pressing the mixture into a panini or enjoying the sandwich just the way it is.
Buttering the parchment paper after it’s in the pan makes more sense, so why grease the pan before placing the paper down?
The grease helps the paper stick to it.
I need someone to make this for me because I’m too exhausted from Thanksgiving to handle it. But it sounds delicious. Also, I agree with GG – the comments are the best part!.
Great recipe. The cranberry Mayo is delicious. Since I didn’t prepare the stuffing the night before, I fried the stuffing and mashed potatoes exactly as directed. No leftover green vegetables so I just used salad greens. Will make again!.
I’m seventy, and there is always leftover stuffing.
No. It’s an idea. This isn’t the sandwich to make.
how can this sandwich possibly get 4 stars??too complicated, too heavy, too messy. All the delicious components of leftover Thanksgiving dinner are available for use (and creation). There’s no need to add butter, extra effort, or anything extra to a traditional turkey, mayo, and cranberry sandwich served on ciabatta, a fresh baguette, or toasty whole wheat.
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Upgrading Your Thanksgiving Leftovers (4 Ways)
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