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Are you guys ready to eat A LOT of food??
Are you ready for the leftovers?!
I mean tomorrow is the day, it’s here! Do you have your game face on or what? Believe it or not I am so unprepared… but yet, I already have my leftovers planned? Wait, what?
Shouldn’t I have the dinner planned first? Probably, but I never have Thanksgiving planned. Probably because I am very traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving. I pretty much serve the same thing ever year and to be honest, up until this year my mom has always cooked the turkey. This year though, I am taking on the task of the turkeys! Yes, that’s plural, cause umm, I decided it would be a good idea to cook not one, but two turkeys.
Am I out of my mind?!
For sure.
The only reason I am cooking the turkeys is because I have some serious recipe testing to do for the book, and me being me, decided it would be a good idea to squeeze in just a little work on Thanksgiving. But hey, I figured I’ll have a lot of people to eat my two turkeys so at least the food will not be wasted!
Also, I do not recommend testing recipes for the first time on Thanksgiving, but since I never seem to listen to my own advice, I am doing just that.
Oh boy.
We’ll be lucky if I get everything on the table by seven. We’ll also be lucky if everything is edible. I hope I remember to remove all the nasty stuff inside the birds. I have heard horror stories.
Yikes.
Should be interesting. Good news is that I plan to make the most simple mashed potatoes in all the land. Meaning the brothers cannot be disappointed since the mashers are their favorite. Okay well, they’ll be pretty mad if the turkeys and gravy don’t turn out, but I am hopeful! Fingers crossed.
Ahh man, I totally just stressed myself out. All the sudden I am feeling the pressure here. Thanksgiving normally is not a pressure inducing meal for me. Normally I look forward to making it, but umm, the turkeys? A new recipe??
Ugh.
Tieghan, STOP thinking. STOP talking.
For real though, mom is so taking back turkey duty next year. Just sayin.
So anyway, do you remember back in the beginning of November when I made this Butter and Herb Roasted Turkey? Are any of you making it tomorrow?!? I really hope so cause it’s honestly one of the best and easiest turkey recipes. Like you’ll love it, you really should make it! <–DO IT.
BUT when I made that turkey, I obviously had leftovers. The best part of the turkey, right?! So I created these Enchiladas, and… THIS killer Thanksgiving Turkey Gumbo. Oh this gumbo, I love it. It’s kind of like the ultimate turkey day leftovers. It reinvents the turkey and creates a meal fit to feed all your lingering guests… or family. It’s also cozy, easy and full of so much great flavor!!
AND… I totally served my gumbo over leftover mashers. I know rice is traditional with gumbo, but this is a Thanksgiving Gumbo, and a Thanksgiving Gumbo needs mashers! You could obviously do rice if all your mashed potatoes get eaten, OR you could also use leftover wild rice. That would be delish as well!
Let’s see, what else. Oh yes, I also swapped the green bell pepper for shredded brussels sprouts, added leftover gravy for ample flavor and creaminess, and even stirred in just a little leftover cranberry sauce to balance out the spice a bit. It’s honestly the perfect stew.
Okay, so here’s the game plan.
Start the gumbo today while you have time. You can make it while you are prepping other things for Thanksgiving. If you start it today, this gives the gumbo ample time to sit and build its flavor. I swear, the longer it sits, the better.
Then on Friday, just stir in the turkey + gravy and eat!! Leaving you plenty of time to shop till you drop (anyone hitting up the Black Friday deals??) or to just chill on the couch with a good Christmas movie or maybe even to decorate your tree (this will be me!)!
Of course you can make it Friday too, if today is just not happening. Either way though, MAKE IT!
Finally, I feel like I have to add that this was one of my family’s favorite meals of the month, so that’s saying something.
Hope you all have an awesome Thanksgiving!! Don’t forget to take photos of the recipes you make and tag me on social media, OR just email me! I would really love to see what you guys make!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Happy Thanksgiving! See you Friday for some serious Christmas sweetness!
I would love to make this for Thanksgiving this year (2023) and wanted to know can you freeze it? Make it the Sunday before Thanksgiving and put into vacuum seal bags and freeze then thaw and reheat on stove top? I would serve with potatoes the day of Thanksgiving. I also wanted to know if I could swap the canola oil for turkey dripping/fat or maybe even Ghee? Thank you.
Hi Monique,
Sure, this would be just fine for you to freeze and any other oil that you enjoy will work here! Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
In Louisiana this is often referred to as Graveyard Gumbo.
Tomatoes absolutely do not belong in a gumbo.
Hello,
I was wondering could I use Avocado oil instead of Canola oil? We’re making this tomorrow for dinner.
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for posting the recipe.
Hey Monique,
Yes that will work. I hope you love the recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions and Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I want to start by saying this made a fantastic meal. It’s definitely more than 6 servings though! More like 10-12, so FYI readers. I was nervous about all that oil. My roux stayed quite liquidy because the flour didn’t absorb much oil at all. Can you clarify what the roux should be like before adding veggies? I was happy to see it turn pasty once they were added & felt I was on the right track. However, the finished product has a pool of oil over top, which is unpleasant, so I will likely reduce the amount in the future.
Hey Jen! The roux should thicken up once the veggies have been added and turn into a paste. Sounds like you are doing it perfectly!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Can this be made without gluten?
HI! You can use your favorite GF flour blend. I like cup4cup.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Gumbo without file is a no go IMHO.
To each their own! ?
This was an unusual year for us, as we celebrated Thanksgiving with my immediate family on Sunday. Just due to everyone’s work schedules it worked out better instead of rushing around. So turkey day will be just be me, the kids, hubby and a few of hubby’s relatives and my mom & dad will probably swing by. I swiped the turkey carcus from mom
to make stock yesterday (Tuesday), intending to use it for turkey soup on Thursday. But while that was going, I stumbled across this recipe and I was like..hmmm turkey gumbo might be better. So I told hubby and he was all in. Had everything on hand to prep, just a quick run to the store this morning for the andouille. My mom makes seafood gumbo and I’ve helped her make the roux when I was younger. Except I think either I had a tad too much oil or not enough flour. The roux wasn’t quite thick enough like I remembered it, but the color was absolutely gorgeous! and didn’t want to start over (though maybe I should have?). So hubby and I proceeded to add in the veggies, which did turn the roux pasty. The only thing I added that wasn’t in the recipe, were several bay leaves. I think it simmered about 5 hrs before I turned off the fire to let it cool down. The gumbo looks fabulous with it’s dark brown color, but has a slight sheen. Again, could be b/c I had too much oil in the beginning? But the flavor… Oh MY. Amazing. And that’s without the turkey in it! I had to slap hubby’s hand away b/c he kept pouring small ladles in his bowl (like I wouldn’t see lol) I cannot wait to serve this tomorrow for dinner. I’m sure overnight the flavors will merry even more! I plan on making a loaf of dutch oven bread to serve with it. (sorry for the novel! I was just super excited at how it turned out!)
Hi Mel! I am so glad you decided to try this recipe and you loved it! Thank you so much for making it and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This was delicious! Made it tonight with all our leftover turkey and I am loving it over rice! I didn’t have time to make the roux the way you suggested so I just sautéed the veggies in a bit of olive oil and added the flour, let that cook and then deglazed with the broth and tomatoes. Otherwise, I followed the instructions and it is DIVINE!!! Thank you for sharing!
I am so happy that you loved this Kristin! Thank you so much!
Do you saute or cook the andouille sausage in any way before adding it to the gumbo?
I did cook mine in a pan a bit before I added it. It turned out great!
Hi! I do not cook the sausage before adding to the gumbo. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Could you ase post a link to the original recipe you used for this? I’m sure you tweaked it but I would love to see the OG haha! Thank you for another wonderful recipe, I finally made turkey this year and can make this leftover recipe!!
Hey Jessica! Of course! Link below, thank you!
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/mrs-mooneys-secret-gumbo/
Good idea for leftovers ?
Thanks! Hope you love it!
Now this is the way to do leftovers! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! 🙂