Ok, maybe it’s not the day before, but if you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner there will be a day after and hopefully a whole weekend free. Leftover turkey in my house goes into the best turkey pies ever! I even plan for my turkey pies by buying the biggest, fattest turkey I can find just for pies.
Equipment:
Aluminum pie tins. Pick a size convenient for your family, and your freezer space. I usually buy some of the small round deep dish pie size, and a couple of larger for two casserole tins.
Once that turkey is roasted and carved and all the family feasts, it gets whisked away to a cool, quiet place to await its real purpose. On that quiet Friday after all the hullabaloo and a few slices of white meat are tucked in the fridge for sandwiches, the remaining meat is carefully plucked from the bones and separated into white and dark and set aside. Out comes that big soup pot. The lovely bones are placed in the pot where they will simmer along with any of the leavings not quite up to sandwich status, don’t forget that leftover skin!
Now, this big pot of bones and water is where you get to ditch the veggie leftovers that are wrapped in plastic in the fridge, one on top of the other, you know, the peas and onions and turnip and Brussels sprouts! Be Not Afraid, in this pot, magic will happen. No veggie leftovers, do not dismay. Add some carrots, celery and onions. Don’t bother chopping or peeling. Just wash thoroughly and dump in the pot.
Oh, I see a casserole of leftover stuffing, here you must make a choice. You can slice it up to put in your pie, or dump it in the pot to meld with the rest of Thanksgiving dinner. Reserve any leftover mashed potatoes for the next step. By the way, add water or chicken stock or even a bit of white wine (no more than half cup) if the water level gets too low.
Now that it is Friday night or Saturday morning (better still) and this pot has been simmering away forever, strain the pot mess into a clean pan and toss all the leavings. This is the point you want to add any leftover mashed potatoes and gravy to the wonderful broth you’ve created. Don’t have any, that’s fine, we will be thickening the broth soon.
Set the pan of broth in a cold place. Once it has solidified and the fat has risen to the top, place several good size spoons of the fat in a skillet. Warm up the rest of the broth. Let the fat in the skillet melt then add an equal amount of flour. Whisk to keep smooth. Slowly pour in a couple of cups of broth, then stir this all back into broth. Let gravy/broth cool.
Now, I buy packaged pie crust for this, they are easy to work with and I can cut them easily into my pan shapes. Make your own favorite crust recipe if you desire.
Now, load each pie tin with chunks of meat. I like to make a few pies all white meat, and some a mix of white and dark. Sprinkle on some frozen peas and carrots, optional for sure. I like all meat pies and any the last few I will add vegetable to. Top each with crust. Cut a slit in each pie top. Pop into ziplock bags and freeze.

These pies will be wonderful on a snowy February night! Pop into a 350 degree oven and bake until nicely golden and bubbly.
This sounds like a lot of work, but honestly, most of the working time is spent waiting.
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