Your Guide to Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers (The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 5) (Patreon)

The Alt-Weekly, Issue No. 5, Friday, November 21, 2025

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving (or happy month-after-thanksgiving to my Frienjis up north). I know you’ve got a lot of cooking to get to this week, and I’m here to help! In this newsletter you’ll find a slew or recipes to help you take care of the leftover turkey you have.

And if you still need help with menu-planning or cooking for the big day, here’s my 2025 guide to Thanksgiving, with dozens and dozens of recipes for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and sides that are all time-tested, technique-driven, and guaranteed to wow your family.

What I’m Cooking

This week was all about Thanksgiving leftovers. I dropped five new recipes for your post-holiday pleasure. See them all in my recent posts on Patreon or get individual links below:

Bang Bang Ji Si (A.K.A. Mysterious or Strange-Flavor Chicken) is my favorite chicken salad, but you can make it with turkey, too.

Break away from the traditional Thanksgiving palate with the Ragin’ Roman, a hot sandwich flavored with Calabrian chile mayo and broiled radicchio.

Enjoy this turk-ified version of Tom Yum Nam Khon. Complex flavors that are quick and simple to achieve (once you’ve got the ingredients)

This green enchilada recipe is forgiving of whatever state your leftover turkey might be in. Smother it in sauce and give it a try. 

The bacon and mornay-slathered Kentucky Hot Brown is not for the faint of heart, but it’ll sure give your hangover a fight for its survival.

What I’m Eating

You can find a running list of over 100 of my favorite spots in Seattle over on my Apple Maps Let’s Eat guide. This week:

Production Manager Lena and I went to Dick’s Burgers in Wallingford to order 24 plain burgers and make a big batch of Dick’s Stuffing, a fundraiser for Farestart that I’m launching this week. Stay tuned for the recipe and to make a donation that both Dick’s and I will be personally matching.

My first meal when landing back in New York is typically pizza. This time, after a delayed flight and a two-kid haul from Seattle to JFK, Tessa and Chen were waiting for us in Brooklyn with a couple whole pies from Carmine & Sons, a classic joint in East Williamsburg.

The fellow dad friends from my daughter’s third grade class all had birthdays last week, so we had a very special meal at https://www.instagram.com/p/DRAn45mk5wm/?img_index=1, one of the finest sushi spots in town where my fishing buddy Chef Taichi Kitamura pulls together an omakase that balances imported Japanese fish with local catch from the pristine waters of the Pacific Northwest.

My friend Zoe Kahn and I went on a mini smashburger crawl, stopping at Smash That in Fremont and Saint Bread on Portage Bay. Stay tuned for the video

Other Things That Happened This Week:

My friend Padma Lakshmi was in town promoting her new book, Padma’s All American, based on the travels she’s done for her Emmy-winning show, Taste the Nation. She stopped by my apartment before her talk at Benaroya hall to teach me how to make her sesame chutney noodles, a simple and strikingly delicious recipe from the book. Stay tuned for the video and recipe (and definitely check out her show and book)

Leftover prep starts now!

Hosting Thanksgiving can take a toll. Dry brining the turkey days ahead of time, planning the timing down to the minute, and more—but hey, at least you get first dibs at the leftovers. Here are some creative ways to use up what’s left after Turkey Day.

Waffle Your Leftovers!

I’ve been banging this drum for years. A waffle iron is the perfect tool for revamping your leftovers—especially leftover stuffing. This will maximize the crispy edges and provide little pools for gravy. 

Or take it a step further with this Turkey and Stuffing Waffle Croque-Madame Sandwich Recipe. This is the stuff morning-after-Thanksgiving dreams are made of.

More of a pancake person? Sweet potatoes (with their always-delicious high sugar content) make the perfect base for your batter. See the full recipe here. 

Turkey on Tortillas

Did you know that there were fully domesticated turkeys in Mexico well before the 16th century? There’s a reason turkey goes so well with this cuisine! To start, try this quick, 15-minute enchilada recipe with a rich, complex mole sauce.

These quesadillas combine turkey and black beans. These quesadillas introduce charred, nutty brussels sprouts to gooey melted cheese. And these cheese-free “quesadillas” center the sweet potato, but are just as delicious. 

Did you know: You can transform your leftover turkey meat into wonderfully crispy and juicy shreds that are a dead ringer for carnitas, minus all the lard and time involved. Give it a try with this recipe!

Turkey and chiles go remarkably well together. See how well they blend in this warming bowl of tortilla soup.

Takes With a Twist

Bread. Butter. Cheese. Grill. Simple as that. Give it a try following this recipe. 

This hot pocket recipe will take all of your leftovers but the kitchen sink. Wrap them in some store-bought pizza dough and voilà! (NYT Paywall)

A recipe as American as, well, Thanksgiving! Try this variation on the classic chicken and dumplings. 

Turkey soup is a classic. But this ramen with paitan-style broth, topped with a soft-cooked egg and some seared Brussels sprouts leaves, is where it’s really at. 

Thank You, Frienjis!

Thank you again for joining me as a Frienji of Kenji here on Patreon. I want my content here to serve you and your needs in the kitchen. Comment down below what recipes, techniques, or topics you’d like to see me cover!