Kitchen Creations with Roasted Turkey
You might think that turkey is only for the Thanksgiving holiday; but such a wonderful, protein-filled meat ought to be available year-round, as it has many advantages over some of the other meats in your freezer. Turkey is a great source of lean protein, for example, which means you can get the muscle-repairing nutrient into your system without the added calories and fats that often come with red meat.
If there’s a problem with turkey, is that it takes a long time to cook; however, this needn’t be the case at all! A deep-fried turkey can be ready in minutes with the right equipment and the right techniques. Then, you can slice it up, place the pieces in Ziplock bags and have turkey sandwiches mostly pre-made for a week or more.
In the following, we’ll take a look at several other recipes you can use to make the most of lean turkey meat, and fortify your body with this excellent source of protein.
- Turkey Vegetable Soup
Turkey thighs are notoriously difficult to chew – unless you’re a Grade A chef or have your technique down pat as a result of cooking many Thanksgiving dinners. It is precisely this quality that makes turkey thigh the choice for turkey stew and soups.
The method involves chopping the legs off before you roast the whole turkey for other means; these legs will form the base of a soup that also includes onions, carrots. Garlic cloves, diced tomatoes, celery stalks and a colorful assortment of spices. That’s what’s so great about soup – if you’re a fan of zucchini, cheese and pasta, feel free to substitute these for any of the listed ingredients.
- Turkey Tacos and Tamales
Anyone who’s ever had either of these staple Mexican foods can attest to their deliciousness. Take the basic taco and substitute the chicken that would normally form the base meat. Roasted turkey is best; the vegetables and toppings can stay the same for a unique and fulfilling taste.
Turkey tamales, on the other hand, take a bit more to make. You need dried corn husks and quartered tomatillos. Mix with chile powder, ground cumin, several cloves of garlic and jalapeno pepper. Combine using vegetable oil, and add several cups of wild turkey breast at the end – they should, of course, already be cooked.
- Turkey Stir-Fry
If you’ve ever been to a high-quality Chinese restaurant, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better stir-fry. Using similar principles, you can stir fry your very own turkey with the leftover lean meat from the holidays – or simply if the spirit moves you.
You’ll require boneless turkey breasts; take the skin off before you begin. Gather sesame and vegetable oil. Soy sauce, dry sherry and cornstarch. The rest of the ingredients really depend on your personal sense of taste; but ginger, garlic, peanut oil is essential. Brown sugar, snow peas, chestnuts and green onions are standard for turkey stir fry. Make several cups of rice so you can eat it with your stir fry topping once you’ve fried everything to taste.
- Turkey Sandwiches
Generally-speaking, the kind of roasted turkey that you’d have on Thanksgiving isn’t used in day-to-day sandwiches. However, once you’ve actually tasted it in sourdough or wheat bread – you’ll wonder why the heck not! Add some hummus, mustard and mayonnaise to really super-charge the taste, and you probably won’t be able to return to chicken for a while.
In addition to the high quantities of lean protein a turkey sandwich provides, you’ll get several more grams of the muscle-building macronutrient from the wheat bread and the hummus you use. For low-activity women in particular, two solid turkey sandwiches can provide your entire daily recommended dose of protein.
Add Your Comment