Making Full Use of the Thanksgiving Turkey

This year's Thanksgiving meal was a feast for two.  We cooked up a 15 pound turkey with all of our favorite sides, including an apple pie and a pumpkin pie made from scratch.  The turkey was by far my favorite part of the whole meal.  The first bite was well worth the wait.

The turkey was thawed for several days in the fridge.  The night before I cooked it, I set it in a pot of brine which helped flavor and add moisture to the meat.  The brine was a mix of chicken stock, water, salt and herbs.  The next morning it was rinsed and dried before I put it in the pan.  I smeared herb butter on the meat under the skin to help the skin get nice and crispy.  Inside the cavity of the turkey I stuffed chopped vegetables to help add more moisture and flavor to the meat as it roasted.  When it was done it, looked, smelled and tasted delicious.

We each ate a leg with our main course.  The breasts were carved into slices for sandwiches and all the other meat was picked from the bones and set aside for future soups, stews and pies.  The roasted bones went into the stockpot along with the leftover roasted vegetables.  I topped the pot off with water and then put the whole thing over low heat.  The stock simmered for at least 24 hours before I let it cool down and strained the solids from the broth.  I picked through what was left of the turkey and managed to find two more cups worth of meat scraps that would be a tasty addition to soup or sandwiches.  The leftover veggie scraps went to the chickens for a tasty treat.  The stock went back on the stove to reduce a bit further.  I was left with 12 cups of gelatinous savory turkey stock and 8 cups of shredded turkey meat when the whole thing was finished.

Some of the meat and stock then became the filling of turkey pot pie.  I used potatoes, carrots, onions and celery from my garden to round out the filling, as well as part of a bag of frozen peas.  I precooked the filling while we made the crusts for the pies.  The delicious smell that filled the kitchen once again was a testament to the tastiness of this turkey.  Once the crusts were ready, they were filled with the yummy stew.

Each pie was covered with the top layer of crust and then baked at 350 F until they were golden brown.  This round of pie making resulted in two 9 inch pies and two 6 inch pies.  Another round of savory meals from this very productive turkey.

When I finally get around to using the frozen left overs from this turkey, I think I will have gotten more than twenty meals from a single bird.  It seems to me that as long as one can make efficient use of every part of the turkey, it can be a very cost effective way to have many delicious meals from one small investment.  It just takes some time, patience and a little effort to make a little food go a long way.