Leftover Turkey Green Enchiladas (Crispy-Edge Style) (Patreon)

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

Some years the leftover turkey becomes sandwiches. Some years it becomes soup. Sometimes it gets incorporated into a salad. Some years (like this one), it's all of the above, plus more. I've roasted a half dozen turkeys so far to test Thanksgiving recipes, with a few of them intentionally overcooked to demonstrate exactly why a roasting pan is a bad choice for roasting. So what do you do with a big pile of overcooked, dry turkey breast? I wanted something forgiving—something saucy, cheesy, and bold enough that nobody would ever know this meat had seen better days.

Enter green enchiladas.

The filling is nothing more than shredded turkey tossed with roasted green enchilada sauce, cheese, and cilantro. The sauce is a riff on my charred salsa verde, just with fewer tomatillos and more roasted chiles for depth. The vegetables (a mix of poblanos, Anaheim, and Serrano chiles, some tomatillos, an onion, and some garlic) go under high heat in the toaster oven (air-fry or broil both work great) until blistered and softened, then straight into the blender with a handful of cilantro.

(You absolutely can use store-bought green enchilada sauce here. Just taste and season it—most commercial versions are severely undersalted.)

The real trick that makes these enchiladas work is frying the tortillas just briefly in hot oil. You’re not making chips—just giving the tortillas enough heat to bubble, soften, and pick up a little oil so they crisp beautifully in the oven. It also helps ensure that they don't get soggy and mushy as they bake with a moist filling. As I fry the tortillas, I stack them on a plate so that any slightly stiffened edges soften up. I then flip the stack upside down before stuffing and rolling them so that the first one I fried becomes the first one I stuff.

I spread a thin layer of the sauce into the bottom of a baking dish (I use the non-stick deep roast pan that comes with the my Pro Chef's Kit Wonder Oven Pro bundle), then nestle the stuffed enchiladas into the pan on top of it. To top them, by keeping the sauce and extra grated cheese concentrated down the center instead of covering the whole surface, you allow the exposed edges to brown and crisp, giving you a mix of textures: saucy bottoms, cheesy centers, and crunchy edges.

Top them with sliced white onion and cilantro after they bake and you’ve turned sad leftover turkey into something you’ll look forward to making every year.

Recipe: Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Green Enchiladas

Yield: 16 enchiladas (serves 4-6)Active Time: 45 minutesTotal Time: 1 hourNotes: You can use store-bought enchilada sauce for this recipe. Season it to taste with salt if using store-bought.

Ingredients

For the Roasted Green Chile Sauce

3 poblano peppers, split in half, seeds and stems removed

3 Anaheim peppers, split in half, seeds and stems removed

1-3 Serrano or Jalapeño peppers (depending on how hot you like it), split in half, seeds and stems removed

1 large white or yellow onion, 3/4 of it roughly chopped (for the sauce), the remaining quarter thinly slivered and stored in a bowl of cold water (to finish)

8 ounces (225g; about 4 medium) tomatillos, husks removed and split in half

3 medium garlic cloves

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and fine stems

Kosher salt, to taste

(Optional: 1/2–1 cup chicken stock or turkey stock to thin the sauce if needed.)

For the Enchiladas

1 pound (450g) leftover turkey or chicken (white or dark meat), shredded into bite-size pieces

8 ounces (225g) shredded Monterrey Jack or pepper Jack cheese, plus more as needed

16 soft corn tortillas

1 cup neutral oil

For Finishing

Thinly sliced white onion

Extra cilantro

Method

1. Roast the vegetables

Make the sauce: Preheat a broiler or air-fryer to high. Place all the peppers, the roughly chopped onion, the tomatillos, and the garlic on a sheet tray. Broil or air-fry until the vegetables are softened and deeply charred, 5-10 minutes depending on the strength of your broiler.

Transfer all the roasted vegetables to a blender. Add half the cilantro and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Add a splash of stock or water if the sauce is too thick. It should have the consistency of heavy paint. You should have about a quart of sauce. Any extra sauce can be stored in the fridge or frozen for future use.

Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the turkey (or chicken), half of the cheese, the remaining cilantro (reserving a bit for garnish), and 1 1/2 cups (325ml) of the sauce. Toss to combine and season to taste with salt.

Fry the tortillas: Heat the oil in a small skillet to around 375°F. A tortilla should immediately start bubbling when you dip an edge in. Fry the tortillas one at a time, using tongs to flip them and make sure the oil run over the top, until bubbling but not crisp, about 5 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate. Continue frying the tortillas, stacking as you go. When all the tortillas are fried, flip the stack over.

Assemble the enchiladas: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Working one tortilla at a time, add a few tablespoons of the filling mixture in a line down the center of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up into a tight cigar-shaped enchilada and nestle into the baking dish. Continue with all sixteen enchiladas (you can fit more or less depending on the exact dimensions of your pan.

Spoon a line of the remaining sauce in a line over the center of each row of enchiladas, leaving the ends exposed. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the sauce, then add another line of sauce on top of the cheese.

Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are browned and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with reserved sliced onions and cilantro, and serve.