What to do with leftover turkey? Make Turkey Jook (aka congee)! Delicious and nourishing, this simple dish is our favorite part of Thanksgiving. We usually make it the same night or for breakfast the next morning. Complete the jook with tasty toppings like green onions, youtiao, and more!
Figuring out what to do with turkey leftovers easy ^_^ The answer is always turkey jook (also called congee or porridge).
We've been making turkey jook for as long as I can remember. We roast a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, but everyone knows the best part comes the morning after.
Turkey jook is a family favorite dish. It is very popular in Hawaii as a day after Thanksgiving tradition. Nourishing, flavorful, and easy to make. What's not to love? It's the perfect way to use up the entire turkey. Nothing goes to waste!
We use the entire carcass to make turkey stock. Then we remove the bones and add uncooked rice to the stock. Season and cook (either on the stove or in an Instant Pot) and you have turkey jook!
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
For the turkey jook:
- Turkey carcass
- Rice - uncooked
- Ginger - julienned
- Fish sauce - if you don't have fish sauce you can leave it out (though not recommend). It really makes the jook extra special.
For the turkey jook toppings (optional, though we like to include them all):
- Green onions - chopped
- Cilantro - chopped
- Ginger - julienned
- White pepper
- Bean sprouts
- Youtiao / Chinese Fried Dough / Chinese Doughnut - cut into bite sized pieces. We keep frozen youtiao in the freezer for last minute meals (you can heat them in the oven), but we always try to get fresh fried youtiao from Lam's Kitchen...the tastiest youtiao ever!
- Maggi seasoning - placed in a small sauce dish to dip the youtiao in. Add chopped chili peppers if you like it spicy.
- Leftover turkey meat - shredded, preferably dark meat.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let's get cooking:
Stovetop Instructions for Turkey Jook
Make the turkey stock.
Put the turkey carcass in a very large soup pot. Add 20 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer (with lid on) for 2 hours. Then the turkey stock is ready.
Use tongs to remove all the bones. Then a strainer to get out any small bones / meat pieces. And then use a spoon to skim off any cloudy bits.
Cook rice with the turkey stock.
In a large bowl, rinse the uncooked rice under running water. Do this several times until the water is almost clear.
Place the rinsed rice into the turkey stock. Season with fish sauce and add the julienned ginger.
Bring to a boil and then simmer (with lid on) for 90 minutes. Stir every once in awhile to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Then the turkey jook is ready to eat!
Add toppings and eat.
Spoon the jook into individual bowls and let everyone add their own toppings.
We like to top with: green onions, cilantro, julienned ginger, bean sprouts, white pepper, shredded leftover turkey meat (preferably dark meat), and youtiao (with a side of Maggi seasoning for dipping). Enjoy ^_^
Instant Pot Instructions for Turkey Jook
Make the turkey stock.
Put the turkey carcass in the pot, add water to the max fill line of a big Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let natural release.
Use tongs to remove all the bones. Then a strainer to get out any small bones / meat pieces. And then use a spoon to skim off any cloudy bits.
Cook rice with the turkey stock.
In a large bowl, rinse the uncooked rice under running water. Do this several times until the water is almost clear.
Place the rice into the turkey stock. Season with fish sauce and add the julienned ginger.
Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Let natural release. Then the turkey jook is ready to eat!
Add toppings and eat.
Spoon the jook into individual bowls and let everyone add their own toppings.
We top with: green onions, cilantro, julienned ginger, bean sprouts, white pepper, shredded leftover turkey meat (preferably dark meat), and youtiao (with a side of Maggi seasoning for dipping). Enjoy ^_^
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few popular ideas:
- Roasted vegetables - If you roasted vegetables with the turkey, include them with the turkey carcass when making the soup stock. You can also add garlic and onions. It will be extra flavorful.
- Different meat - You can also make this recipe with duck or chicken instead of turkey!
- Change the rice - We used short grain Japanese rice (from our favorite rice shop in Hawaii) for this recipe, but sometimes we make it with long grain Jasmine rice. It's fun to make the jook with different types of rice. You can even mix and do half-half of two different types.
Enjoy ^_^
Equipment
All you need is a big pot to cook the jook on the stove. You can also make this recipe in one of the big Instant Pots.
Storage
Leftover jook will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat over medium-low heat in a small pot.
You can also reheat in the microwave (30 second increments, make sure to stir), but it tastes better heated on the stove.
Top Tip
Even if you don't want jook, you should definitely make the turkey stock with the carcass. You already have the carcass, it would be a waste not to use it for this beautiful stock!
You can use the stock to make so many things. We often make homemade noodle soups with turkey stock or just drink the stock straight with a little white pepper. So delicious.
FAQ
Yes! If you're in a rush (or just don't have the patience), just put the turkey carcass and the rice (uncooked, rinsed) in the pot at the same time. Bring it to a boil, then simmer (with lid on) for 90 minutes. Use tongs to remove the carcass. Season the jook and then its ready to eat.
Note: this faster way is more "rustic" looking as there might be turkey bits and pieces and maybe tiny bones here and there, but it's worth the trade off if you want something faster. Either way is super onolicious.
The toppings are the pairings! When you add the toppings, this turkey jook dish is a very complete meal.
Like thicker jook? Use more rice. Like thinner jook? Use less rice.
If the jook is already made but you want to thin it out, just add more hot water or stock and stir well to thin it out.
If the jook is already made but you want it thicker, cook it on the stove (low heat) for longer until it thickens up. Make sure to stir so that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
Turkey Jook Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Turkey Jook
Ingredients
Turkey Jook
- 1 turkey carcass from a 15-20 pound turkey
- 3 cups rice uncooked
- ¼ cup ginger julienned
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
Turkey Jook Toppings
- green onions optional, chopped
- cilantro optional, chopped
- ginger optional, julienned
- bean sprouts optional
- white pepper optional
- leftover turkey meat optional, shredded
- youtiao / Chinese fried dough optional but delicious
- Maggi seasoning optional, but so good to dip the youtiao
Instructions
- Stovetop instructions:Put the turkey carcass in a very large soup pot. Add 20 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer (with lid on) for 2 hours. Then the turkey stock is ready.Use tongs to remove all the bones. Use a strainer to get out any small bones / meat pieces. Use a spoon to skim off any cloudy bits. In a large bowl, rinse the uncooked rice under running water. Do this several times until the water is almost clear. Place the rinsed rice into the turkey stock. Season with fish sauce and add the julienned ginger.Bring to a boil and then simmer (with lid on) for 90 minutes. Stir every once in awhile to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot.Then the turkey jook is ready to eat! Spoon the jook into individual bowls and let everyone add their own toppings. We like to add all of these toppings: green onions, cilantro, julienned ginger, white pepper, shredded leftover turkey meat (preferably dark meat), and you tiao (with a side of Maggi seasoning for dipping). Enjoy ^_^
- Instant Pot instructions:Put the turkey carcass in the pot, add water to the max fill line. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let natural release. Use tongs to remove all the bones. Use a strainer to get out any small bones / meat pieces. Use a spoon to skim off any cloudy bits. In a large bowl, rinse the uncooked rice under running water. Do this several times until the water is almost clear. Place the rice into the turkey stock. Season with the fish sauce and add the julienned ginger.Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Let natural release. Then the turkey jook is ready to eat! Spoon the jook into individual bowls and let everyone add their own toppings. We like to add green onions, cilantro, julienned ginger, white pepper, shredded leftover turkey meat (preferably dark meat), and you tiao (with a side of Maggi seasoning for dipping). Enjoy ^_^
Notes
Nutrition
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Mahalo for Reading!