Diner Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy
The diner classic, open-faced: toasted white bread, leftover turkey warmed in stock, a scoop of mashed potatoes and a peppery, egg-enriched gravy ladled over everything.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
The open-faced hot turkey sandwich is a lunch-counter standby across the country, and Minnesota has a name for it. Wikipedia's article on the hot beef commercial, an open-faced sandwich of white bread, pot roast, mashed potatoes and brown gravy that it calls popular café food in rural western Minnesota, says its most notable variation is the hot turkey commercial, made with roast turkey and turkey gravy and typically eaten after Thanksgiving to use up leftovers. Nobody knows where "commercial" comes from: one theory points to traveling salesmen, called commercial men, who needed a quick hot meal; another to commercial-grade meat or bread. Wikipedia flags that article's sources as possibly unreliable, so treat the Minnesota claim gently. The Kentucky Hot Brown, the open-faced turkey sandwich under Mornay sauce, is already on the site in the turkey hub.
🎬 The full story: 10 Leftover Turkey Recipes From Around the World (One Is a Sitcom Sandwich)
🇺🇸 This one is American
The diner classic, open-faced: toasted white bread, leftover turkey warmed in stock, a scoop of mashed potatoes and a peppery, egg-enriched gravy ladled over everything.
🇺🇸 The original
The oldest American leftover recipe here is 1896 scalloped turkey: cold turkey layered with buttered crumbs and gravy and baked. See the Scalloped Turkey (Fannie Farmer, 1896) recipe.
📖 : How Long Do Thanksgiving Leftovers Last? → 📖 Origin story: What Is the Moist Maker Sandwich? →
Why it works the kitchen science
Warm the turkey in stock, not the oven
Thin slices heated in simmering liquid reach 165°F in a couple of minutes without drying out.
An egg yolk in the gravy
Tempered in and simmered, it makes a plain flour gravy richer and silkier, a trick from Ray's recipe.
🧰 You'll need 8 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Pans and pots
Tools
Step by step
- Step 1
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the pepper. Whisk in the flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until light golden.
- Step 2
Whisk in the 3 cups stock and the Worcestershire and simmer at a low boil 8 to 10 minutes, whisking now and then, until the gravy coats the back of a spoon.
✓ What it should look like - Step 3
Whisk a ladle of hot gravy into the egg yolk in a small bowl, then stir the mixture back into the skillet and simmer 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in the mustard if using, season with salt and keep warm over low heat.
- Step 4
Reheat the mashed potatoes in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat with a splash of milk, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes, until they read 165°F.
- Step 5
Bring the 1 cup stock to a simmer in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey slices in batches and heat 2 to 3 minutes, until they read 165°F.
✓ What it should look like - Step 6
Toast the bread and set each slice on a dinner plate. Top with stuffing if using, then the turkey and a scoop of mashed potatoes. Ladle the gravy generously over everything, sprinkle with parsley and serve right away with a knife and fork.
Diner Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy
Serves 4 · 4 open-faced sandwiches · 30 min total
Gravy
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups turkey or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (optional)
- Salt to taste
Sandwiches
- 1 cup stock, for warming the turkey
- 1 lb leftover roast turkey, sliced
- 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 4 thick slices white sandwich bread
- 2 cups leftover stuffing, warmed (optional)
- Chopped parsley
Equipment: Saucepan, Large skillet, Instant-read thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Mixing bowls, Whisk, Ladle
Method
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the pepper. Whisk in the flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until light golden.
- Whisk in the 3 cups stock and the Worcestershire and simmer at a low boil 8 to 10 minutes, whisking now and then, until the gravy coats the back of a spoon.
- Whisk a ladle of hot gravy into the egg yolk in a small bowl, then stir the mixture back into the skillet and simmer 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in the mustard if using, season with salt and keep warm over low heat.
- Reheat the mashed potatoes in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat with a splash of milk, stirring often, 6 to 8 minutes, until they read 165°F.
- Bring the 1 cup stock to a simmer in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey slices in batches and heat 2 to 3 minutes, until they read 165°F.
- Toast the bread and set each slice on a dinner plate. Top with stuffing if using, then the turkey and a scoop of mashed potatoes. Ladle the gravy generously over everything, sprinkle with parsley and serve right away with a knife and fork.
We keep her gravy (butter, flour, stock, Worcestershire, an egg yolk and optional Dijon) at her 4 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp flour and 3 cups stock, but use 1 tbsp Worcestershire where she calls for about 1/4 cup. Ray puts stuffing under the turkey; we make it optional and add the mashed potatoes the Minnesota version calls for (Wikipedia). The 165°F checks are ours, from UGA Extension. Food Network. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Short on gravy? Leftover gravy works too; bring it to a rolling boil before using, and use it within 1 to 2 days of the holiday meal.
- Thick bread holds up better under the gravy than thin slices.
- Serve with peas or cranberry sauce on the side, diner style.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Minnesota invented it. Disputed: Wikipedia places the hot beef commercial in Minnesota, but flags its sources as possibly unreliable, and open-faced turkey sandwiches with gravy are served across the country.
- "Commercial" means traveling salesmen. Disputed: Wikipedia gives two theories (salesmen who needed a quick meal, or commercial-grade beef or bread) and says the origin is unclear.
- It is a Thanksgiving leftover dish. Documented for the hot turkey commercial (Wikipedia: typically eaten after Thanksgiving).
- Use leftover gravy for 3 to 4 days. Disputed: UGA Extension says 3 to 4 days; the Minnesota Department of Health says 1 to 2. We use 1 to 2.
Every other leftover turkey recipe
Scalloped Turkey (Fannie Farmer, 1896)
The oldest American leftover-turkey casserole we found in print: cold roast turkey in a simple white sauce made with stock from the bones, between layers of buttered cracker crumbs, baked in a hot oven until brown.
The Moist Maker Leftover Turkey Sandwich
A double-decker of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce with an extra slice of bread soaked in hot gravy hidden in the middle. Inspired by a 1998 sitcom episode, not official.
Leftover Turkey Pho
The day-after carcass becomes pho: toasted star anise, cloves, coriander and cinnamon, charred-sweet onion and ginger, a little apple and cabbage, simmered into a clear broth and ladled over rice noodles, sliced turkey and fresh herbs.
Turkey Pot Pie with a Stuffing Crust
A creamy skillet filling of leftover turkey, onion, celery, peas and carrots, topped with wedges of leftover stuffing bound with an egg and baked crisp at 475°F, in about half an hour and one pan.
Croquetas de Pavo (Spanish Turkey Croquettes)
Spain's favorite way to stretch leftover meat: finely chopped turkey cooked into a very thick bechamel of milk and turkey broth, chilled, shaped into little logs, coated in egg and crumbs and fried until crisp outside and creamy inside.
Turkey Korokke (Japanese Potato Croquettes)
Japan's home-style croquette with Thanksgiving leftovers inside: fluffy mashed russet potatoes folded with leftover turkey and slowly cooked onion, shaped into ovals, rolled in flour, egg and panko and fried golden, with tonkatsu sauce.
Stuffing Waffles with Turkey and Gravy
Leftover stuffing bound with egg and parsley, pressed into a hot waffle iron until crisp in every square, then topped with turkey warmed right in the iron, hot gravy and cranberry sauce.
Turkey Chilaquiles Verdes
Mexico's own leftover rescue with turkey: a broiled tomatillo and serrano salsa simmered with broth and shredded turkey, tortilla chips stirred in and softened for 4 minutes, finished with crema, aged cheese, onion, cilantro and a fried egg.
Turkey Carcass Noodle Soup
The last thing the bird gives you: the roast turkey carcass simmered four hours with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, white wine and herbs into a rich stock, then made into soup with fresh vegetables, pasta shells and the meat picked from the bones.
Turkey Cobb Salad
Cubed leftover turkey breast in neat rows with chopped egg, avocado, crisp bacon, grape tomatoes, blue cheese and chives on romaine and watercress, every part tossed in its own share of a mustardy red wine vinaigrette.
Leftover Turkey Banh Mi
Twenty minutes to a Vietnamese-American holiday snack: crisp warm baguette spread with mayo and a splash of Maggi or soy, filled with peppery reheated turkey, tangy daikon and carrot pickle, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño.
Turkey Bubble and Squeak
Britain's day-after fry-up with turkey: leftover mashed potatoes, chopped Brussels sprouts and shredded turkey bound with egg yolk, pan-fried in oil and butter until browned on both sides and finished in the oven.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.