Turkey and Stuffing Dumplings

A very close-up shot of a spoon with a bite of turkey and a flat dumpling made of stuffing held over an out-of-focus bowl of more turkey and dumplings.

One of the most comforting ways to repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers, these turkey and dumplings utilize leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy to make a cozy, Thanksgiving version of Southern Chicken and tender Flat Dumplings.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Servings servings

Calories 274kcal

Author Jennifer Field

Ingredients

For the Turkey

3-4 cups leftover turkey white and/or dark meat

For the Stock and Gravy

bones/carcass from leftover turkey
1 large sweet onion peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery roughly chopped
fresh Italian parsley and/or thyme stems 3-5 of each
leftover gravy at least a cup or so
1 box low-salt chicken or vegetable stock
water if needed, enough to cover the bones by an inch
2 Tablespoons butter, turkey fat, lard, oil, or bacon fat
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste

To Enrich the Stock, Optional

1 Tablespoon plain powdered gelatin 15 grams
2 Tablespoons cold water

For the Dumplings

4.5 oz all-purpose flour about 1 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
heavy pinch kosher salt
several grindings black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1.5 Tablespoons butter, turkey fat, lard, oil, or bacon fat solid, not melted
4.5 oz leftover plain stuffing about 1 cup, preferably without any fruit/sausage/nuts, etc. Chopped up finely if it's a very chunky stuffing
2-3 oz milk 1/4 cup-1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons

To Thicken up the Gravy After Cooking the Dumplings (If Needed)

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch kosher salt
2 oz milk or water 1/4 cup

Instructions

For the Turkey

Cut as much of the turkey meat off the bones as you can. Shred it into bite sized pieces.
Cover and refrigerate until needed.

For the Stock

Place turkey carcass, onions, celery, fresh herbs (if using), leftover gravy, stock, and water (if needed) into a 5 quart Dutch oven (or similar).
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-ish, and simmer until the carcass is completely falling apart, about 90 minutes or so. Speed this step up by using an electric pressure cooker, if you like.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl or other pot.

To Enrich the Stock, Optional

Bloom powdered gelatin in cold water for five minutes. Stir into the hot stock. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or continue with the recipe.

To Make the Gravy

Wipe out the Dutch oven, and place over medium heat.
Add your fat of choice, and melt completely.
Whisk in the flour and let sizzle, whisking almost constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the stock mixture, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste, and bring to a hard boil.
Drop dumplings (Instructions Below) into the vigorously boiling stock, and boil for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the dumplings cook/steam for another 15 minutes. Stuffing dumplings are fairly delicate, and smaller ones may dissolve into the stock. That's what we want, though, because it will help to thicken and flavor the sauce.
Add the refrigerated turkey meat and cook an additional 5-10 minutes to heat through. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

For Extra Thickening, If Necessary

If you think your sauce still needs to be thicker, make a slurry of 2 Tablespoons flour, a pinch of salt, and 2 oz (1/4 cup) of milk or water, and add to the pot. Bring to a boil to cook out the raw starch flavor, and you're ready to eat. Serve in bowls or plates depending on how thick your gravy is. Enjoy!

For the Dumplings

In a large glass bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Whisk well.
Add in the solid fat and, using your fingertips, blend it into the flour mixture completely.
Add the stuffing, tossing it together with the flour mixture until it's pretty evenly distributed.
Add 2 oz (1/4 cup) of cold milk, and gently stir into the flour/stuffing mixture. If there is still loose flour in the bottom of the bowl, add additional milk, a little at a time, until all flour is moistened. Knead in the bowl 2-3 times to bring the dough together.
Generously flour a large work surface, and then dump the dumpling dough into the middle. Flour the top of the dough.
Roll out as you would pie crust, until the dumplings are roughly 1/8" (3-ish millimeters) thick. If the dough sticks at all, work your bench knife underneath and dust with a bit more flour.
Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut dough into approximately 2" strips, then cut across so your dumplings are roughly 2" x 3" long. Cover with a towel until you're ready to cook. If you're not cooking them within an hour or so, transfer to a parchment-lined half sheet or cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to cook.

Notes

You may use chicken, vegetable, or even roasted garlic base (like Better Than Bouillon) and water in place of boxed stock.
For a super rich, lip-smacking stock, bloom 1 Tablespoon plain powdered gelatin (like Knox) in some cold water, let sit for about 5 minutes, and then stir it into the hot stock right before you strain out the bones.
If you need to split the work over two days, once you strain the stock, cool and then refrigerate it. Finish making the dish within 3 days.
If you love dumplings, feel free to increase the ingredients by 1.5 to even 2x so you'll have PLENTY of dumplings.
Make this into more of a soup than a stew by skipping the roux and adding some lightly sauteed mirepoix (chopped onion, celery, and carrot) when you add the turkey back in to reheat. Then you'll end up with a nice, brothy turkey and dumpling soup.

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