The day after Thanksgiving is a wonderful day. Not because of Black Friday sales, but because the day after Thanksgiving is the day to make something new and exciting with all the leftovers in the fridge, like a good Turkey Ramen!
I’m kind of ridiculously militant about preparing enough food on Thursday, just so we’ll have leftovers for Friday. Which is why in the past, we have served a 20 pound turkey for a table of just 8 people. I know. Crazy.
I can’t help it. There’s something about having leftovers that extends the Thanksgiving awesomeness for a few days more, and I love it. I love coming up with new recipes to reinvigorate those leftovers every year, and this is one of them: Leftover Thanksgiving turkey ramen.
While we love making Thanksgiving turkey congee every year, this turkey ramen is an awesome alternative. Just take your turkey carcass, strip it of whatever meat is left, and throw it in a pot with a few other ingredients to make a stock. Serve the rich stock with ramen noodles, shredded turkey, crisp bacon, scallions, and a hard-boiled egg. It’s the easiest bowl of homemade ramen you’ll make, and it’s perfect for fall.
Turkey Ramen: Recipe Instructions
Remove most of the meat that’s left from your turkey carcass, shred, and set aside. Put the carcass and the leftover vegetables from your roasting pan in a large stockpot along with 3 scallions, ginger slices, dried shiitake mushrooms, and water.
Bring to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3 hours. Our turkey was about 13 lbs and we used 16 cups water to make this stock. Depending on the size of your bird, adjust the water accordingly.
Meanwhile, prepare your eggs and bacon. Put the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water (the water should cover the eggs by about an inch). Bring to a boil. Once the water’s boiling, immediately remove the pot from the heat and let sit for 4 minutes.
Transfer the eggs to an ice bath to cool. Cook the bacon in a pan until crisp. Drain on paper towels, chop, and set aside. Also take the time to chop the 3 remaining scallions.
Once the broth is done simmering, prepare the fresh ramen noodles according to the package directions. We prefer ramen noodles made by Sun Noodle Company.
Divide the noodles among 4 bowls and cover with broth. To each bowl, add some shredded turkey, chopped scallions, chopped bacon, and an egg. Serve.
