The day after Thanksgiving, you probably make open-faced turkey sandwiches. Yum! And then maybe you eat some cold turkey straight out of the pan. Delicious!
Then, if you’re smart, you freeze your leftovers, so you can enjoy them again several days, or weeks, later.
The best approach to having a ton of leftovers is to keep them all in separate airtight containers and freeze them.
Then, when you’re ready to repeat Thanksgiving dinner, pull everything out, leave it on the counter for about an hour or two to allow the food to defrost a little. You need them defrosted just enough to remove them from their containers.
Now, you just have to reheat everything, so you can recreate the best Thanksgiving dinner since… well… Thanksgiving!
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Turkey
- To reheat turkey, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the turkey pieces out on a greased baking sheet.
- Heat the turkey pieces for about 30 minutes and check the internal temperature to be sure it has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can always heat for another 10-15 minutes if necessary.
Gravy
Ideally, you did not use all your turkey broth for gravy, and you can make gravy from your leftover broth.
- To do this, make a roux with butter and flour over medium heat.
- Add the broth to the roux and whisk until you get the consistency you want. Add salt to taste.
- If, instead, you have frozen gravy, simply add the gravy to a pan over medium heat.
- Add broth to the clumpy gravy and whisk to thin it out to the desired consistency.
Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing and mashed potatoes can be reheated the same way.
- Simply heat a pan over medium-low heat on the stove.
- Place either the mashed potatoes or the stuffing into the pan and stir constantly until the food is heated through.
- If the leftovers get too thick or clumpy, you can add a bit of broth to thin them out.
Greens
- To reheat your greens, you can place them in a sauce pan over medium heat on the stove.
- Stir the greens just until they are heated through.
Rolls
You can either eat your rolls cold, or you can place them on a greased baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet on a rack under the turkey in the oven when the turkey is about 15 minutes from being ready to take out.
- Everything should be ready about the same time.
- Make your heaping plate of Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy!
I hope you saved yourself some pumpkin pie!
What is your favorite way to reheat Thanksgiving leftovers? Let me know in the comments. I love to hear from my readers!
