Turkey à la King

By Sam Sifton

Turkey à la King
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(765)
Comments
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This is nursery food absolutely, soft and creamy, salty-sweet. It sits happily atop toast or biscuits, rice or waffles or noodles; in some households, it is wrapped within crepes: leftover turkey in gravy, essentially, with mushrooms and peas for heft. And as such it is comforting to eat, in much the same way that burrowing into a nest on the couch to watch football or a three-hankie movie is comforting. But it is also threadbare elegant with its whisper of sherry, vaguely French. You could of course make it with chicken instead of turkey, add diced ham or minced clams, shucked oysters or a handful of slivered pimiento. It's a very forgiving recipe. Make of it what you will.

Featured in: Turn Your Thanksgiving Leftovers Into a Meal Fit for a King

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 6tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1¾cups turkey or chicken stock, low-sodium if store-bought
  • 2cups sliced mushrooms, ideally wild, approximately 4-6 ounces
  • 1½cups chopped cooked turkey
  • ½cup heavy cream
  • 1cup frozen peas
  • 2tablespoons dry sherry
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Finely chopped parsley, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

437 calories; 32 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 679 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make a roux. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. When it begins to foam, sprinkle the flour over it, and whisk to combine, then continue whisking until it begins to turn the color of straw, approximately 7-10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Slowly add 1 cup of the turkey stock to this mixture, and stir to combine. Add more stock to thin the sauce. Keep warm.

  3. Step 3

    Set a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add to it the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When it begins to foam, add the mushrooms, and cook, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and begun to get glossy and soft, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add the turkey, then the warm sauce and cream, and stir to combine. Add the peas, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and has thickened slightly, approximately 7-10 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the sherry, adjust seasonings and serve over biscuits or toast, rice or buttered noodles, garnished with the parsley.

Ratings

4 out of 5
765 user ratings
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Comments

Chris S.

Here's an easy (but not elegant) response to Thanksgiving leftovers: Tear turkey into pieces along with any ungussied veggies (carrots, green beans etc) and combine with stirred cold gravy in a baking dish. If you have both mashed potatoes and stuffing left, mix the stuffing into the meat/veggie/gravy mixture and spread stirred cold mashed potatoes on top like a crust; if no mashed potatoes, use the stuffing as the crust. Bake until hot in the center. Called turkey pie in my family.

Chris S.

Dear Marilyn, here's to you and to the thousands (millions?) of us, like you, who are inspired by Sam Sifton's good heartedness and eloquence, not to mention his wizardry in the kitchen!

Grant

I thought I might just help with a bit of clarification: the roux used in Cajun cooking such as gumbo is usually made with oil, resembles dark brown gravy, and takes a long, slow process to make. A roux used in french cooking (as above) is usually made with butter, resembles a thick paste, and takes just a few minutes to make--just long enough for the flour to cook and release a nutty aroma.) It's a much simpler, faster thing to make.

shore cook

Made this with leftover rotisserie chicken, homemade stock. Added finely diced rib of severe and on fine,y diced shallot with the mushrooms. Skipped the heavy cream, added juice of one lemon. Lots of pepper. Served over egg noodles. So good!

Michelle

My sauce was thin at the end, although it looked good and creamy in the pot. Maybe because I cut corners to save the extra pan.... I sautéed the mushrooms at the outset, with all the butter, added the flour to that mixture. It thickened fine. I added the protein, let it heat up. Added the stock (used unsalted veggie stock) and the cream, peas, pimentos, and let cook for 7 minutes. At that point it looked creamy and thick. I added 1 tblspn of Port (no sherry), and ladled it out, thin!

Michelle

Great with puff pastry on top. I added a few fresh herbs, on hand, grated carrot, and a few pearl onions to the mix. This was a great inspiration.

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