Holiday meals for my family always included prime rib. Inevitably, there would be leftover pieces of steak from people who couldn’t finish and a nub of the roast that never needed to be cut. These two traditional “next day” meals made short work of any leftover prime rib but changed it into something that I always looked forward to.
Leftover hunks of steak became hash and the nubby end of the roast was a perfect size for a sandwich.
Prime Rib Hash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Half of a medium yellow onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
8 ounces prime rib, cubed
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
Ketchup
2 large eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste
Melt one tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet and sauté the onions until translucent. Then add the celery and prime rib and continue cooking until the meat is hot and softened.
In a mixing bowl, whisk 1 egg and then add the veggies, meat and potatoes. Stir in a little ketchup and then season it with salt and pepper. (If you aren’t sure how much to season the mixture, you can hold the egg back until you are happy with the taste and then fold it in)
Melt the last two tablespoons of butter in a nonstick skillet and add your mixture. You want to cover the bottom of the pan so choose a smaller nonstick. You can do one large batch or two smaller ones with this recipe.
On medium high heat, let the “pancake” brown on one side and then flip it. Continue cooking until it has browned on both sides. I like to finish mine in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes but it will depend on whether you have a plastic handle on the skillet you are using.
Slide in onto a plate and top it with a sunny side up egg.
This can be done with frozen, shredded hash browns if you don’t have leftover mashed potatoes.
Prime Rib Steak Sandwich
Crusty bread, sliced and toasted
Sliced prime rib, warm or cold. Warm is better
Tomato
Red Onion
Green bean casserole or just leftover green beans, warm
Leftover mashed potatoes, warm
Horseradish cream
I layer in the mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, tomato, and red onion first. Then I top it with a thick slice of reheated prime rib and finish it with plenty of horseradish cream
Basic Horseradish Cream – Use leftover horseradish and mix together about 5 times the amount of sour cream, a couple splashes of Worcestershire, a squeeze of lemon, a shot of tabasco and season it with salt and pepper. You can go as heavy as you want of the horseradish of course!
Turkey! For whatever reason, we would always have three kinds of turkey at our big holiday meals. One smoked, one roasted and one fried. Even though we would put a pretty big dent in the food on the table, there was always a lot of leftover bird. The following recipes are my favorites for getting the most out of the leftovers. Turkey gumbo being the king. I used to make a huge pot and then fill ziplock bags and stock the freezer for the coming months.
Turkey Gumbo
Turkey carcass, meat removed and shredded
2 quarts chicken stock
8 ounces vegetable oil
8 ounces all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup green bell pepper, diced
½ cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ pound andouille cut into half moons
Leftover rice(Optional)
Set the shredded meat to the side and put the turkey carcass in a large pot and add the chicken stock. Add water to cover the bones. Cover and simmer the carcass for at least an hour. The longer you do it, the easier it is the pull off any leftover meat. With a fine mesh strainer, separate the bones and liquid. Pick any remaining meat off the carcass and any meat that ended up in the strainer. Add this meat to the shredded turkey.
Heat your oil in a heavy bottomed pot until it barely starts to smoke, then add the flour and whisk constantly until you get a nice brown roux. Turn off the heat and then add your veggies. They will caramelize in the hot roux but keep stirring.
Return the pot to medium heat and start whisking in the chicken stock that you used to simmer the turkey carcass in. Only add about 6 cups to start. You can add more later. Then add the garlic, tomato paste, andouille and your spices. Simmer it for about 45 minutes and then add the turkey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use your reserve stock to thin out your gumbo as needed.
Serve hot over some leftover rice or just by itself
I used to add turkey necks to the gravy after I shredded it but seemed like a little bit of a waste for such delicious meat. I switched over to using them the next day with the leftover rice to make risotto and I may never go back.
Turkeys have a big neck but I like to buy extra when I cook them for risotto.
Turkey Neck Risotto
Turkey neck/necks
Chicken stock
Parmesan cheese, grated
Butter
Leftover peas
Leftover rice
Simmer your turkey necks in chicken stock until the meat is falling off the bone. Shred the meat and discard the bones. Reduce the stock to a third of the original volume.
In a pot, warm the rice with some of the reduced chicken stock and stir in the turkey meat and peas. Add a good bit of grated parmesan and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir in some softened butter to increase the richness of the dish and to help make it creamy. Serve hot with shaved parmesan and shredded turkey skin as a garnish.
Turkey Neck Arancini
I usually hold a little risotto back so I can make aranchini with it. It’s a common street food in Italy and it’s always been a favorite of mine. Aranchini (or little oranges) are balls of cold risotto that are breaded and fried. I just mix in some mozzarella and make little balls with it and pop them in the freezer while I get my breading ready.
In one bowl, season some all-purpose flour with salt and pepper. Whisk 2 eggs in a second bowl and pour Italian breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Take your risotto balls out and roll them in the flour, eggwash and then breadcrumbs. Drop them in 370 degree oil until golden brown. Let them cool for a few minutes on some paper towels but be sure to eat them while they are still warm.
Turkey Sandwich
Focaccia bread, toasted (any white bread will do though)
Mayonnaise
Leftover stuffing or dressing
Lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
Salad greens tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper
Sliced turkey breast
Crispy bacon
Turkey gravy, reheated
I start with mayonnaise and the stuffing/dressing as the first things on the bread. Try to pack it together a little so that it’s a little less messy. After that, it’s whatever order you like but I always put the gravy on last so that it can run down the sandwich. Leftover gravy is always too thick but don’t thin it out! It will stay on your sandwich much better if it’s thick.
Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Two slices of crusty bread
Stone ground mustard
Lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
Sliced leftover ham
Favorite cheese
Cranberry relish
Salad greens tossed in an Italian vinaigrette
A deviled egg
Pop your ham with your cheese of choice into a warm oven. Put stone ground mustard on both pieces of bread and layer the tomato and red onion on one side. Pull your warm ham(and cheese) from the oven and place it on the sandwich. Top it with a little cranberry relish and then add the salad greens. Make a little bit of a nest and the devilled egg should sit right on top. When you are done making everyone jealous, close the sandwich and give it a squeeze to flatten out the egg.
