The coping-with-Christmas-leftovers thread

[spinbaby]

Me, I've got a great bloody, fatty chunk of rib roast I've got to find something to do with. I decided to make a rib roast because my oldest son likes it. Turned out to be a mistake--too expensive, hard to carve, my husband hates fat on meat, and now I've got that hulking leftover in the fridge. Any suggestions for what to do with the remnants?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. slice and freeze

into managable chunks. I use that sort of thing in my French Onion soup. Maybe it would be good in a stir fry or some sort of casserole.

I solved my Christmas leftovers by simply unfreezing what was left of the Thanksgiving turkey.

[spinbaby]

3. Hiding it in the freezer seems like a good idea

Then I can decide what to do with it later. I'm not used to coping with meat that's quite so fatty. I was thinking that if I made soup or stew or something, I'd have to skim a lot of fat off the top.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. trick for getting fat from soup

cook up a big batch, then put in the refrigerator. Once it cools, the fat goes to the top, and you can take it off easily. I give it to my pets, and they love it!

[amazona]

9. yes, pets or wild birds

That fat is valuable calories for outdoor animals, where calories can be hard to find. I melt the skimmed fat with some peanut butter, let it cool, add enough cornmeal to make cakes and put it outside for the woodpeckers and mockingbirds. Chickadees like it too.

[demnan]

2. Trim the fat

take the bones to make vegetable soup and make a curry with the meat.

Gook (My father's left over curry) recipe

Take an onion, dice thin throw in the medium-hot skillet with a tablesoon of oil. Cook up until slightly browned. Add some diced garlic and ginger. Add leftover meat and curry powder, red pepper or hot sauce to taste.

Serve with rice.

[spinbaby]

4. Veggie soup sounds good

But I hate curry so that wouldn't do at all. You know, I have some cabbage and some barley...definite start to vegetable soup there.

[BlueHandDuo]

6. Trim off all the fat...

...and put it in a pan with a lid over very low heat until all the fat is rendered out of the tissue.

Pour off the liquid fat and chill it. You'll find that some watery broth has separated out. Rinse that off so that you have clean, white fat.

Now you can use that fat (once it's warmed back up to room temperature) as shortening in your cookie recipes. It makes the crispiest cookies!

Chop up the rest of the meat, and if you can't find recipes on the Internet that call for cooked beef, I don't know what to tell you.

[spinbaby]

7. You make cookies with beef fat?

Really?

[Lisa]

8. trim off fat and hang it up outside in a net bag for the birds?

Especially if you're in a cold, snowy place -- chickadees, woodpeckers, etc. love beef fat or suet. It helps keep them warm at this time of year. (The naturalist at a museum where I used to work would melt the suet, dunk pine cones in it, and roll the cones in birdseed before hanging them up where the nuthatches etc. could get at it.)


Leftover beef "mock teriyaki" recipe -- if you grate a clove of garlic and stir-fry it with ground black pepper and a spoonful of oil -- then put in small pieces of beef, with some soy sauce -- it's very good over rice, with some chopped green onions on top.



For those with leftover chicken or turkey -- try this gumbo recipe. (This is my Christmas dinner this year, since I'm on my own and don't feel like roasting a whole bird ... so I'm using chicken pieces and cooking them longer in the pot, until they're done.)

Dice an onion and saute in a bit of oil, in the bottom of a decent-sized pot or saucepan. Add turkey or chicken meat, in bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with black pepper and some chile powder. (You won't have to cook it long if it's already been cooked.)

When everything is sizzling nicely, pour in some canned tomatoes. Rinse out the can with water and add that as well. Also toss in a couple of spoonfuls of tapioca powder (if you don't have the powdered sassafras-based "file" mixture traditionally used for gumbo) or cornstarch, as a thickener. When it's simmered for awhile, and is just starting to thicken up, add okra pods (frozen is okay), and chopped celery and/or sweet peppers. Keep cooking until the vegetables are done but not too soft. Serve over rice or noodles, or just in a bowl with some bread on the side. (This also freezes well.)

[amazona]

10. ok and here is a turkey question ?

What is that casserole that is made with leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce?