Ok, people! I am pretty certain that you’ve never seen this take on Thanksgiving leftovers before, and I am super excited to let you in on our family tradition. For as long as I’ve known Bill and his family, which is almost 30 years now, Thanksgiving Turkey Congee has been and will always be our breakfast on the day after Thanksgiving.
This morning, like any other post-Thanksgiving morning, we had this congee for breakfast and re-photographed it!
Use Your Turkey Carcass!
Most people throw away the turkey carcass after all is said and done. Smarter people make stock with it. And the smartest people make congee. Yep. We said it!
If you don’t have any special plans for that turkey carcass, you need to make this rice congee, because it is insanely good. I look forward to it more than the turkey itself.
Don’t get me wrong. I love our turkey, and it is honestly the best-tasting turkey I’ve ever had. With that said, I love this turkey congee more. But that’s just me.
Did I also mention that this has to be the easiest congee recipe ever? It is.
Waste Not, Want Not!
The best part is, the only leftovers you need are the carcass, stripped of most of the meat, and the veggies at the bottom of your roasting pan.
You get to keep any leftover turkey meat you have for sandwiches, pot pies, and other leftover recipe ideas you have planned.
The point is, there will be absolutely no waste when all is said and done. You want to get all the goodness you can out of that bird!
Leftover Turkey Congee: Recipe Instructions
Now that you know my feelings on this matter, let me show you how easy it is to make. You’ll only need a few things:
- your leftover turkey carcass and all the vegetables at the bottom of your roasting pan (i.e. celery, carrots, onions)
- water
- white rice (you can also use brown rice)
- Salt, to taste
- white pepper, to taste
- chopped scallion
- chopped cilantro
In a very large stock pot, add the turkey carcass and all the veggies. Pour in the water and the rice, and bring everything to a boil.
Let it simmer for 90 minutes, until the rice has kind of bloomed and opened up.
Use tongs to remove any bones, etc.
You can control how thin or thick your congee is by adding more or less rice. I like mine a bit thinner, so I put in less rice (1 cup).
Season with salt, white pepper, and garnish with scallion and cilantro.
How easy was that, seriously?
Now, that’s the way we’ve always done it. Congee recipes vary and if you want a really smooth congee, you can do it a slightly different way.
See below!
Alternative Method for smoother congee
Rather than adding the rice to the pot at the beginning, simply add the carcass, vegetables, and water to the stock pot. Simmer for 2 hours until you have a rich stock.
Remove any large bones and then strain the stock into a clean pot. Add the rice, bring to a boil, and simmer for another 90 minutes. Stir in some leftover shredded turkey, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with scallions and cilantro.
It takes a bit longer, but if you prefer your congee smoother and (for lack of a better word) cleaner, it’s another way to go!
If you’re not into congee, which I highly doubt as you’re still reading this post, definitely at least make stock with the turkey carcass. Just don’t let it go to waste!
Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Congee
Ingredients
- your leftover turkey carcass and all the vegetables at the bottom of your roasting pan (celery, carrots, onions)
- 14 cups water
- 1 cup white rice (can add more if you like thicker congee)
- Salt (to taste)
- white pepper (to taste)
- chopped scallion
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a very large stock pot, add the turkey carcass and all the veggies. Pour in the water and the rice, and bring everything to a boil. Let it simmer for 90 minutes. Use tongs to remove any bones, etc. Season with salt, white pepper, and garnish with scallion and cilantro.
- Now, that's the way we've always done it. But if you want a really smooth congee, you can do it a slightly different way. Rather than adding the rice to the pot at the beginning, simply add the carcass, vegetables, and water to the stock pot. Simmer for 2 hours until you have a rich stock.
- Remove any large bones and then strain the stock into a clean pot. Add the rice, bring to a boil, and simmer for another 90 minutes. Stir in some leftover shredded turkey, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with scallions and cilantro.
This was so easy and so delicious. I didn’t measure the rice but it was about 1.5 cups with huge turkey carcass. I added the legs with all the meat (nobody likes the legs in my family). I threw in chopped carrots and frozen corn because we didn’t have any left over vegetables. Super delicious! Thanks Woks of Life!
You are so welcome!
My family has also made turkey xie fan for over 30 years. Thanksgiving night I gently boil the entire carcass, neck, wing and leg bones to make about 1 gallon of turkey stock. The key is the right ratio of rice to stock (about 2 to 2 1/2 cups depending upon the variety of rice), and be careful to cook the rice just util the gluten is released but you can still see rice grains. Soy sauce, leftover gravy and its done!
Thank you for sharing, Calvin.
I made this and it was wonderful! I enjoy every recipe I have tried so far. Thank you so much!
You are so welcome, Jody :-)
I want to try this but I would love to give it a go in my Instant Pot. Any idea on how I could do this?
You can try the porridge setting, although I have not tried it myself :-)
I am making this, this morning to enjoy for dinner! I’m doing the “cleaner” version, simply because I have the time. I also added my delicious last bits of gravy, because it has all of that yummy pan juices flavors etc. Already it smells soooo good! It is a brisk day, so it will be the perfect soup to enjoy by the fireplace, tonight! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you all for your wonderful life sharing stories and of course, your very delicious recipes!
Enjoy, Nanette :-)
Yum! I made the stock first because I also use it for other things. I used brown rice and added a few fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms and topped with sliced green onions and a drizzle of soy sauce and hot chili oil. So great and easy!
How wonderful is that!
My family makes turkey congee every year. We like to add a few extras such as bean curd and water chestnuts.
Very interesting to see that we all have our own take on a concept, May.
Well, as much as I love congee after 30 years of trips through Hong Kong, and as much as I appreciate a subtitle congee, a stripped turkey carcass for stock just doesn’t seem right. Throw a leg or two or a few wings into the stock pot and you might have an acceptable broth. Happy holidays to all.
I roasted my 5.5 lb turkey breast carcass and roasted some veg too before cooking down the stock w garlic, a dried hot pepper also adding some xiaoxing wine to deglaze the roasting pan before adding to a stockpot.
salted n white peppered the stock. PS there were pieces of turkey from my carcass added as well.
Came out as a great base for my congee!
Nicely done, Tracy.
That’s understandable, Fred.
It’s on the stove right now! I’m so happy to be able to make this, partly because it means I actually had a Thanksgiving dinner, unlike last year. Looking forward to having it for tomorrow’s breakfast, and the rest will go into the freezer, where I will have it to warm me up all winter. Oh, and speaking of the freezer – I’m using my pre-frozen rice, so step two should be quick!
Hahaha…love it.
just made this tonight with last night’s carcass. now i’m thinking about how to get another carcass without having to wait another year! my husband who ‘doesn’t like jook’ loved it. we followed your family’s way of making it and it was really delicious and couldn’t have been easier. had no veggies whatsoever and only added some cilantro i had frozen (plus white pepper and salt) and it was absolutely delicious. thanks for sharing your family’s recipes!
So glad you all enjoyed it, Katie :-)