Of turkey leftovers and sandwiches
Friday, 16 December 2011 00:00
Once the dust of Thanksgiving dinner has settled, the average American family confronts a mound of leftovers, not the least of which is turkey. Inevitably it must be eaten, and warmed over isn't great. And there's only so many ways in which you can eat cold turkey with salads.
Enter the turkey sandwich, which has achieved virtual art-form status in America, so much so, that it is the subject of TV advertisements in the lead up to Thanksgiving, exhorting the consumer to buy an array of condiments, toppings and breads with which to make said turkey sandwiches.
Mindful of the need to consume cold turkey after our Thanksgiving dinner when I was visiting my family in Utah, son-in-law Adam and I crafted a cranberry chutney for the occasion.
With Christmas looming, I imagine many South Africans will wake up on Family Day morning to the prospect of a significant amount of cold turkey, so introducing the turkey sandwich makes sense.
Since we do not get fresh cranberries in South Africa, I had to resort to the dried version, available from the health food section in that store where you have to pay for what you pick off the shelves.
They’re fairly pricy, but you only need a 125g packet.
The other de rigeur ingredient for a turkey sandwich is, of course, mayonnaise, preferably homemade, rather than store-bought.
Bread choices are personal, but I prefer a French-style cob bread with a light crumb and crisp crust, freely available from your local supermarket bakery.
Ingredients, selection and preparation
- 1 loaf of bread of your choice
- Butter
- Mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper
- (Cranberry chutney)
- 125g dried cranberries: rehydrated in a bowl of boiling water for about 15 minutes then drained. They'll bulk to about 250g in weight.
- 250g tart apples: this is the peeled, chopped weight. We used Granny Smith apples, but any other tart variety will do, such as Pink Lady, Fuji or Royal Gala.
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 90ml apple cider vinegar
- 1tsp each salt, ground ginger and ground cinnamon
- ½tsp each ground cloves, chilli powder
- 50g finely chopped red onion
- 50g raisins: rehydrated in a bowl of boiling water for about 15 minutes. (You can do them with the cranberries.)
Method
Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
The chutney is ready when the apple chunks have cooked away, and the mixture begins to thicken.
Sterilise a 375ml bottle and lid in boiling water, and fill it with the hot chutney. Screw on and secure the lid, taking care not to burn yourself.
Allow the leftovers that did not fit into the bottle (about 15ml) to cool down and build your first turkey sandwich as follows:
Cut two slices of bread about 1cm thick. Butter both generously.
Spread mayonnaise on the one slice, and cranberry chutney on the other. Lay a slab of cold turkey on the one slice, and season with salt and pepper.
Build, eat and tuck into your sandwich. Enjoy!
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Yield: one jar of chutney
Written by Norman McFarlane You are reading Of turkey leftovers and sandwiches articles
