Thanksgiving Leftovers: Asian BBQ Turkey
Spice up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving by making Asian BBQ Turkey to serve in lettuce wraps or as sliders!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! Still stuffed from yesterday? I am, but that won’t stop me from talking about food.
If you have any turkey leftover, this post is for you.
I’ve had a whole turkey chilling in my freezer since receiving it last year from work, and I finally worked up the courage to tackle cooking the extra-large bird. I don’t know why I felt so intimidated about roasting a whole turkey, but after doing my research and following this simple guide on how to cook a turkey, it really was quite easy! But I didn’t roast this turkey for Thanksgiving; I just finally decided it was time to make some room in the freezer the week BEFORE Thanksgiving. Maybe I should have thought that through more…
So basically, this is my way of using up turkey in a less than the traditional way. I also made a turkey corn chowder, turkey spinach omelets, and even gave some turkey to friends to help use up the 11-pound bird.
The Asian BBQ sauce takes less than 10 minutes to whip together, then you can add leftover shredded turkey to use any way you’d like. I love fresh, crunchy lettuce wraps, especially with the sweet and spicy turkey.
Note: Lettuce wraps are always messy, and the meat is so juicy and tender in this recipe that you DO NOT want to start eating these without a napkin close by.
[bctt tweet=”Lots of turkey leftover from #Thanksgiving? Time to make Asian BBQ Turkey!”]
Ingredients
Asian BBQ Sauce adapted from All Recipes
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chile-garlic suace
- 1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 tablespoon water
- 4 cups cooked shredded turkey breast
- 8 Boston lettuce leaves rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
Instructions
- 1. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, chile-garlic sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. In a separate bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Add cornstarch mixture to boiling mixture and stir well. Reduce heat to low and allow to sauce to cook for 5 minutes to thicken.
- 2. Add shredded turkey breast to sauce and stir to coat. Allow turkey to heat through on low heat.
- 3. Once heated, assemble lettuce wraps by adding 1/2 cup shredded turkey to each lettuce leaf and top with diced cucumber and carrots.
Oh, and if you have leftover rolls from Thanksgiving and prefer to turn this into a sandwich, this Asian BBQ Turkey is great as a slider too!
