Hearty, comforting Leftover Turkey Chili and Cornbread, packed with mega flavour and a little heat to warm up your winter tastebuds!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas dinner with family. Hopefully you took a timeout from overeating and unwrapping, to volunteer your time to those in need of a decent meal and a little companionship. It's such an important part of the holiday season.
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This was our turkey, just one of the meat dishes we prepared for dinner. As in most households, leftover turkey is inevitable. I am not fond of leftovers as-is, I like to repurpose them so that it feels like a whole new meal. The Dude loves to relive his childhood, by stuffing leftover turkey breast meat and cheese into bread slices and sealing them with the sandwich maker his mom gave us years ago.
They're not bad, but I prefer using the leftovers in soup, mac & cheese, or this good old Leftover Turkey Chili and Cornbread. The amazing flavours of the smoked, buttery-sage turkey meat, along with black beans, corn, tomatoes and a slice of cornbread, make for a satisfying bowl of comfort.
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It really doesn't require a recipe, per se, just go by your tastebuds and add what you like. What I normally do for maximum flavour, is add all parts of the turkey, including the bones to the chili. It's like making stock at the same time to flavour the chili and every shred of meat separates from the bone, so there is no waste. Remove the bones before serving and BOOM!
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The cornbread, made with coconut milk, is a childhood favourite. Any leftovers usually become croutons for soups and salads. With winter upon us, Leftover Turkey Chili and Cornbread makes for a hearty, comforting, quick mid-week dinner. You can use a whole chicken instead, homemade, or store-bought, if pressed for time.
Well, we're just a few exciting days away from pressing the reset button! How are you planning to celebrate?
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Ingredients
For the chili:
- leftover turkey bones included
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 each red and orange peppers or whatever is on hand chopped
- thyme, oregano, black pepper to taste
- chili powder to taste
- 1 can corn niblets drained
- 1 can black beans washed and drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes no added salt, preferable
- turkey broth, homemade or store-bought as needed
- tomato paste to taste
- paprika to taste
- salt to taste (I didn't need to add any)
For the buttermilk substitute:
- 365.5 grams coconut milk full fat
- 15 grams distilled white vinegar
For the cornbread:
- 170 grams cornmeal
- 94 grams all-purpose flour
- 6 grams baking powder
- 2 grams baking soda
- 1 gram salt
- 86 grams unsalted butter
- 367 grams buttermilk substitute or buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 21 grams honey
Instructions
Make the chili:
- Pull as much meat as possible off the bones of the leftover turkey and set aside.
- Heat a pot with a little olive oil and sautee the onions, garlic and peppers. Add the thyme, oregano, black pepper, chili powder and continue to cook. Add the corn and black beans and continue to cook, allowing the bottom of the pot to brown a little, without burning the ingredients.
- Add the turkey meat, bones, neck wings etc., this includes any garlic, herbs used to cook the turkey. In this case, the sage, parsley, thyme etc. Continue to brown without burning.
- Add the diced tomatoes and enough broth to cover the contents of the pot. Add a little tomato paste and seasoning and adjust as need, to your taste. Cover and allow to simmer on medium-low heat for 45-60 minutes. Remove bones from chili before serving.
Make buttermilk substitute:
- Add the coconut milk and vinegar to a measuring cup and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
Make cornbread:
- Preheat the oven to 435ºF and prepare a a baking pan with a generous brushing of butter. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a tall microwave-safe measuring cup and lightly whisk in the buttermilk substitute, eggs and honey. Fold into the dry ingredients, until combined, but still lumpy.
- Scrape into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean and the top begins to brown. My baking pan is deep, if using a shallow pan, check for doneness at 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool in pan for a few minutes and enjoy while still warm. Any leftovers can be dried in the oven or dehydrator to make croutons to top future soups and salads!
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