Turkey Sandwich Trio

Hello Friends! Welcome to Djalali Cooks. We’re taking a diversion from Pizza and a Movie today to talk turkey leftovers. Alex and I particularly love sandwiches. And while there may be millions of recipes other than sandwiches for your Thanksgiving leftovers, I want to focus on a few turkey sandwiches that go way beyond the typical sliced turkey with mayo. I have a Turkey Sandwich Trio that might just change how you feel about that regular ol’ leftover turkey sandwich.

Turkey Reuben

First on the list is a Turkey Reuben. This has everything you expect a Reuben to have with a couple twists: we have rye bread, sauerkraut and I am using Thousand Island dressing instead of Russian. And I have a couple slices of provolone instead of Swiss. The turkey breast is thinly sliced and lightly browned in a skillet with a little olive oil.

Toast the bread on both sides in a skillet with butter and then load one side with the browned turkey and one slice of cheese, the other slice of cheese goes on the second slice of bread. Then, those go under the broiler to melt the cheese. Meanwhile, I warm the sauerkraut in the skillet I toasted the bread and the turkey in. Pull out the bread, pile on the sauerkraut and pour on the dressing. Get yourself a dill pickle spear, and grab a few napkins because it’s gonna be messy!

The Italian: Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato

Next up is an Italian-inspired combination: Pesto, fresh mozzarella and tomato on a toasted ciabatta roll. Slice the ciabatta roll and toast the cut sides in a hot skillet with butter.

I have lightly browned thick-cut turkey breast in some olive oil. Smear pesto on one side of the ciabatta roll, lay the the turkey slices on and add more pesto.

Add the tomato slices and season with flaky salt and cracked pepper. Then lay on the fresh Mozz and drizzle with olive oil.

Top with ciabatta and buon appetito!

Super Special Grilled Cheese

I have saved my favorite for last. Grilled Cheese with Turkey, Gruyere, Caramelized Onions and Cranberry Sauce on crusty Italian bread. First, I lightly browned thinly sliced turkey, transferred it to a plate and then wiped out my skillet. Add a pat of butter to the warm skillet. You may have heard this before, but the trick to getting beautifully toasted bread is to put a thin layer of mayonnaise on the outside of your bread slices.

I build this in the skillet and you want to keep the flame very low so as not to burn the bread as you build. So, I very lightly toast one side (this will be inside). Then flip them over to the mayo-coated side and add the grated gruyere. I like to grate the cheese so it melts easily and quickly.

Then add your turkey, caramelized onions and cranberry sauce.

Top with the other slice of bread and voila!

I hope this Turkey Sandwich Trio has inspired you to take the humble turkey sandwich to the next level! They are definitely more involved than a typical turkey sandwich, but so worth the extra effort. The perfect sustenance for all the Black Friday shopping! I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. Take care and be well everyone, see you Sunday. xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Turkey Sandwich Trio

(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)

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Lunch, Main Course, Sandwich – American-ish

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 1

Prep Time: Varies – Cooking Time: Varies – Total Time: Variable

Three takes on Leftover Turkey Sandwiches: The Reuben, The Italian, and the Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

• Turkey Reuben
• 2 Slices Rye Bread
• Thinly Sliced Turkey, lightly browned in skillet with olive oil
• 2 Slices Provolone
• Sauerkraut
• Thousand island Dressing
• The Italian
• 1 Ciabatta Roll, sliced in half
• Thickly Sliced Turkey, lightly browned in skillet with olive oil
• Pesto
• 2 Tomato Slices
• Flaky Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
• 2 Slices Fresh Mozzarella
• Olive Oil for drizzling
• The Super Special Grilled Cheese
• 2 Slices Crusty Italian Bread
• Thinly Sliced Turkey, lightly browned in skillet with olive oil
• Grated Gruyere Cheese
• Caramelized Onions
• Cranberry Sauce

Instructions

Turkey Reuben

1

Lightly brown thin-sliced turkey in a skillet and set aside.

2

Toast both sides of rye bread in a skillet with butter.

3

Add turkey and cheese to bread and broil until cheese is melted.

4

Warm sauerkraut in skillet and add on top of cheese.

5

Pour on thousand island dressing.

6

Top with other slice of rye.

The Italian

7

Lightly brown thick-sliced turkey in a skillet and set aside.

8

Toast cut side of ciabatta bread in a skillet with butter.

9

Top one side of ciabatta roll with pesto and add turkey.

10

Add tomato and sprinkle with flaky salt and cracked pepper.

11

Add fresh mozzarella and drizzle with olive oil.

12

Top with other ciabatta half.

Super Special Grilled Cheese

13

Lightly brown thin-sliced turkey in a skillet and set aside.

14

Lightly coat one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise.

15

In a buttered skillet, lightly toast the side of bread without the mayo.

16

Flip bread to mayo side down and add grated gruyere to each slice of bread.

17

Add turkey to one side, add caramelized onion on top of turkey, add cranberry sauce on top of onions.

18

Top with the other slice of bread.