Recipes

Joy of Cooking Recipe: Becker Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Hash

22 November 2011

by Irma S. Rombauer, author of Joy of Cooking

Thanksgiving leftovers are a blessing and a curse. You may coast for the better part of a week on the turkey taking up room in your refrigerator. Not to mention the guilt-factor: Who among us feels comfortable throwing away the result of so much expense, time, and effort? Roast turkey sandwiches, tetrazzini, and reheated stuffing are dependable and easy, but very few of these options taste “fresh” or actually add something desirable to the plump, plastic storage bags staring at you from their chilly abode. You can always try turning them into gumbo or enchiladas out of sheer desperation, but we advise a less drastic approach: accentuate the flavors of Thanksgiving with a complementary addition of crisply sautéed vegetables, bright, fresh herbs, and rich mushroom flavor.

Becker Turkey Hash is a simple and delicious way of serving your excess turkey without desecrating it. Of course, our family hash would not be truly complete without our other must-have holiday recipe, Thanksgiving Duxelles Gravy. Find a versatile, make-ahead recipe for this savory, wine-infused reduction of browned mushrooms, onions, garlic, and pan juices on our blog. You may find yourself yearning for this delicious leftover-friendly hash before you even start roasting next year’s bird. From Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition.

Becker Thanksgiving Hash
6-8 servings

Melt in a large skillet over medium-high heat:
2 tablespoons butter

Add:
3 medium carrots, diced
1 large onion, chopped

Cook, stirring, until the carrots are crisp-tender and the onion translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add:
1⁄4 cup sherry or port

Whisk in, blending well:
3 cups of Duxelles Thanksgiving Gravy
or, substitute:
(Two 10 3⁄4-ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
(1 1⁄2 cups turkey stock or chicken broth)

Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Add and heat through, without simmering:
2 to 3 cups cooked turkey, picked over and roughly chopped
One 10-ounce package frozen petite peas

Season to taste with:
Black pepper

Serve over:
Buttered egg noodles

Garnish each serving with:
Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Fresh thyme leaves

Photo courtesy John Becker

Recipe excerpted from Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. Copyright © 2006 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Excerpted with permission by Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Joy of Cooking
by Irma S. Rombauer

Canning hopefuls will find plenty of guidance in this trove of culinary wisdom including chapters on canning, salting, smoking and drying; jellies and preserves; and pickles and relishes. There are also useful tables for processing times, boiling temperatures and moderating the levels of sugar in the preserving syrup.

This classic baking book is chock full of delightful dessert recipes that are perfect for the holidays, including Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting and Chocolate Dipped Bananas.

Seventy-five years ago, a St. Louis widow named Irma Rombauer took her life savings and self-published a book called The Joy of Cooking. Her daughter Marion tested recipes and made the illustrations, and they sold their mother-daughter project from Irma's apartment. Today, nine revisions later, the Joy of Cooking—selected by The New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century—has taught tens of millions of people to cook, helped feed and delight millions beyond that, answered countless kitchen and food questions, and averted many a cooking crisis.

JOY remains the greatest teaching cookbook ever written. Reference material gives cooks the precise information they need for success. New illustrations focus on techniques, including everything from knife skills to splitting cake layers, setting a table, and making tamales.

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