Your Turkey Sandwich

Almost as central to the big turkey dinner for American families is the turkey sandwich, the favorite use of turkey leftovers in the days after Thanksgiving. But just how to make a turkey sandwich seems to be as personal as one's DNA. When I was first married, I thought that a turkey sandwich was white bread (hey, I grew up when whole grain wasn't cool!) slathered with lots of mayo, and sliced turkey, very minimalist. After all, the turkey was the star, no need for distractions. So imagine my surprise when my husband asked me for a turkey sandwich after our first Thanksgiving together, and I found that he had a completely different and more complex expectation for what would be included.

My favorite: one slice of bread or leftover rolls split, small slathering of leftover stuffing, sliced turkey topped with warmed leftover gravy (My name is Deborah and I am gravy-holic...)


My husband's turkey sandwich: White bread spread with a thin layer of butter (or lately, Smart Balance), a light sprinkle of salt, a layer of stuffing, sliced turkey, thin slices of canned jellied cranberry sauce, topped with another slice of white bread.


In our house, some children have followed his lead- Andrew likes the Dowd Full Monty turkey sandwich like his dad, with Bridget simplifying by taking off the cranberry sauce. Young Gavin tends towards my minimalist approach, but with a very large helping of mayo (it has to be Duke's)


In looking around the blogosphere, I can see that there are as many versions of the turkey sandwiches as there are individuals, so tell me- what is your favorite formula for a knock -out turkey sandwich?

Comments

OhioMom said…
Not sure this qualifies as a sandwich, since you need a fork and knife :)

Slice of bread (growing up it would have been white), followed by thinly sliced turkey ... topped with dressing ... another slice of bread, pour gravy over all.

This is a "sloppy sandwich" ?
Yumm. If I wasn't on a diet this year--a grilled sourdough turkey, dark meat please, with yummy melted Jack cheese, a fresh roasted green chili, and avocado. Just a touch of chipotle mayo,too.
Anonymous said…
If the only thing I'm lamenting is my lack of leftover turkey to make sandwiches, I'll take it, and happily....Regrettably I left my turkey on the west coast. (The bird, too.) LOL See, we took the kids to San Diego to visit the husband for Thanksgiving. I did not have the forethought to throw together some turkey, cranberry sauce and mayo sandwiches for the plane ride. I was too worried I'd lose my 5 year old in an airport...he tends to wander, and I'm not used to looking on monitors for flights, gates and times, and concourse trains, whilst keeping track of my children...so I had the husband fashion a 550 cord leash instead of sandwiches(just incase I felt the need) ...luckily my 10 year old did most of the multi tasking so I could keep track of his little brother. I'll have to try Moon's recipe next year, sounds refreshing...
Deborah Dowd said…
ohiomom- I, too, am all about the gravy...

moon- Your turkey sandwich sounds delicious... but I am already out of leftover turkey!

c'tina- Sounds like you had an eventful Thanksgiving. I do not envy you trveling at holiday time with children. I have a hard enough time keping track of myself when I was on business travel last week!
s'kat said…
I like a demi-baguette, torn into pieces bit by bit, dunked into a cup of piping hot gravy, and topped with shreds of turkey.

Alas- there were no leftovers for me this year! Hope you Thanksgiving was a happy one.
Katie Zeller said…
For me there are 2 seperate but equal sandwiches:
Hot - bread and turkey with dressing on the side, with the whole lot absolutely buried under hot gravy with hot gravy on the side...and maybe some gravy...
Cold - turkey and lots of mayo on any kind of bread or roll.
I guess I like adding fat to my turkey...
Deborah Dowd said…
s'kat- Ah! Someone who shares my gravy addiction- Maybe we could start a chapter of Gravy-Eater's Anonymous!

Katiez- There is nothing like a hot turkey sandwich, is there?
s'kat said…
Deb- oh, no! I am brazen in my appreciation of such things. ;)
Sara said…
Chop up some leftover roast potatos and some turkey. Heat in a pan with some gravy and stuffing until warm. Season with pepper. Make a piece of toast and butter it. Pour the gravy-stuffing-potato-turkey goo over the toast. Let sit for a few minutes to soak into the toast. Eat.
Deborah Dowd said…
S'kat-You're right- let's not apologize- it's a relatively small vice!

Sara- OMG! This sounds like a post-Thanksgiving carb dream! I am all for it!
Kevin Kossowan said…
Today I had turkey-salad-sandwich: turkey wing meat, salt, pepper [key], mayo, grainy french dijon, celery, minced shallot. When I was a kid, turkey, mayo, and pepper did just fine. Classic.