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.
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
Pho is a relatively young dish: Wikipedia says it first appears in written records in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam, with its modern form emerging between 1900 and 1907 in Nam Định Province, southeast of Hanoi, and that its origins (French, Chinese or both) are still debated. Beef came first. Chicken pho appeared in 1939, Wikipedia says, possibly because beef was not sold at the markets on Mondays and Fridays at the time. After 1975, refugees carried pho around the world. Turkey pho is the Vietnamese-American Thanksgiving extension of that idea: cookbook author Andrea Nguyen, whose family fled Vietnam in 1975 and settled in Southern California (NPR, 2014:), first developed a leftover turkey pho for a magazine's November issue, then published a stockpot version with ChefSteps in 2016 and a pressure-cooker version on her own site in 2017. The site's pho ga is the chicken version; this one uses nothing but the turkey frame.
🎬 The full story: 10 Leftover Turkey Recipes From Around the World (One Is a Sitcom Sandwich)
🇺🇸 This one is American
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.
🇺🇸 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.
Why it works the kitchen science
Toasted spices
A few minutes in a dry pot wakes up the star anise, clove and cinnamon, which Nguyen says balance the strong roast-turkey flavor of the bones.
A short simmer
Roasted bones already carry deep flavor, so about 75 minutes is enough; the apple and cabbage add a gentle sweetness that pho usually gets from charred onion and long-cooked beef.
🧰 You'll need 7 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Pans and pots
Tools
Step by step
- Step 1
Break the carcass and bones into pieces that fit an 8-quart stockpot and rinse them. Toast the star anise, cloves, coriander and cinnamon in the dry pot over medium heat, shaking now and then, 3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant.
- Step 2
Add the onion and ginger and stir 45 to 60 seconds. Pour in about 8 cups of the water to stop the cooking, then add the bones, cabbage, apple, carrot, celery, cilantro sprigs, salt and the remaining 8 cups water.
- Step 3
Partially cover and bring to a simmer over high heat, about 20 minutes. Uncover, skim off the foam and some of the fat, lower the heat and simmer gently 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 4
Lift out the bones and strain the broth through a muslin-lined or fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot; you should have about 12 cups. Season with the fish sauce and more salt to taste.
✓ What it should look like - Step 5
While the broth simmers, soak the noodles in hot water until pliable and opaque, about 20 minutes, then drain and rinse. Slice the onions and set out the garnishes.
✓ What it should look like - Step 6
Bring the broth to a boil and a separate pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the sliced turkey into the broth for 1 to 2 minutes, until it reads 165°F, then lift it out. For each bowl, dunk a portion of noodles in a strainer in the boiling water 15 to 60 seconds, until soft, shake dry and drop into a bowl.
- Step 7
Top the noodles with turkey, red onion, green onion, cilantro and pepper, ladle about 2 cups of boiling broth into each bowl, and serve with lime, chiles, bean sprouts and herbs.
Leftover Turkey Pho
Serves 6 · about 12 cups broth, 6 large bowls · 2 hr 20 min total
Broth
- About 3 lb leftover turkey carcass, wings, drumstick bones and other unwanted bits
- 4 whole star anise
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- One 2-inch piece cinnamon stick
- 1 1/4 cups thickly sliced yellow onion
- A 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, thickly sliced and bruised with the side of a knife
- 16 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups napa cabbage leaves, in large pieces
- 3/4 cup chopped Fuji apple, peeled and cored
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 1/3 cup chopped celery
- A small handful of cilantro sprigs
- 2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
Bowls
- 14 oz dried flat rice noodles (banh pho)
- About 1 lb leftover roast turkey, thinly sliced or torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp thinly sliced green onion tops
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Black pepper
To serve
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 2 Thai chiles or 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- Mint and Thai basil sprigs
Equipment: Large pot, Instant-read thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Mixing bowls, Ladle, Fine-mesh strainer
Method
- Break the carcass and bones into pieces that fit an 8-quart stockpot and rinse them. Toast the star anise, cloves, coriander and cinnamon in the dry pot over medium heat, shaking now and then, 3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the onion and ginger and stir 45 to 60 seconds. Pour in about 8 cups of the water to stop the cooking, then add the bones, cabbage, apple, carrot, celery, cilantro sprigs, salt and the remaining 8 cups water.
- Partially cover and bring to a simmer over high heat, about 20 minutes. Uncover, skim off the foam and some of the fat, lower the heat and simmer gently 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest 10 to 15 minutes.
- Lift out the bones and strain the broth through a muslin-lined or fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot; you should have about 12 cups. Season with the fish sauce and more salt to taste.
- While the broth simmers, soak the noodles in hot water until pliable and opaque, about 20 minutes, then drain and rinse. Slice the onions and set out the garnishes.
- Bring the broth to a boil and a separate pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the sliced turkey into the broth for 1 to 2 minutes, until it reads 165°F, then lift it out. For each bowl, dunk a portion of noodles in a strainer in the boiling water 15 to 60 seconds, until soft, shake dry and drop into a bowl.
- Top the noodles with turkey, red onion, green onion, cilantro and pepper, ladle about 2 cups of boiling broth into each bowl, and serve with lime, chiles, bean sprouts and herbs.
Adapted from Andrea Nguyen's "Leftover Turkey Pho" for ChefSteps, as reprinted by Food Republic (updated January 10, 2017), stockpot version, as written for 6. The noodle amount in that reprint is unclear, so the 14 oz is ours, scaled from the 10 oz for 4 in Nguyen's own pressure-cooker version, which also supplies the 2-inch cinnamon stick. Warming the sliced turkey in the simmering broth to 165°F is our addition, following UGA Extension's reheating rule. PBS also carries the ChefSteps introduction. Food Republic. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- The broth keeps, unseasoned, up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer (Nguyen); season it with fish sauce after reheating.
- Nguyen's own version serves the turkey with cranberry sauce stirred together with sriracha for dipping.
- Roasted bones make a cloudier broth than raw ones; Nguyen says that doesn't hurt the flavor.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Pho is French in origin. Disputed: Wikipedia says French, Chinese or both are credited, and that villagers in Vân Cù say they ate pho before the French period.
- Chicken pho started in 1939 because of a beef shortage. Disputed: Wikipedia gives 1939 and says "possibly" because beef was not sold on Mondays and Fridays; the reason is not proven.
- Turkey pho is a Vietnamese-American Thanksgiving tradition. Folklore: Andrea Nguyen published it and other Vietnamese-American cooks make it, but we found no history of how widespread it is.
- Pho broth must simmer all day. Folklore: beef broth often does; Nguyen's roasted turkey broth simmers 75 minutes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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