Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini (30 Minutes)
The day-after dinner named for an opera star: spaghetti tossed with leftover turkey, peas, browned mushrooms and a quick sherry, cream and Parmesan sauce, all on the stove in about 30 minutes.
Tetrazzini is an Italian-American dish of poultry or seafood in a creamy, sherry-scented cheese sauce with pasta, named for the Florentine soprano Luisa Tetrazzini, who made her American debut at San Francisco's Tivoli on January 11, 1905 (Wikipedia:). Who first cooked it is widely disputed: credit goes to Ernest Arbogast, a chef at San Francisco's Palace Hotel, or to New York's Knickerbocker Hotel, and some accounts even name Auguste Escoffier (Wikipedia). Whoever started it, the dish moved from grand hotels into American homes: Sardi's in New York served it, and frozen tetrazzini dinners were popular in the 1960s (Wikipedia).
The classic is a casserole baked under breadcrumbs (America's Test Kitchen has one:). This weeknight version, from Cook's Country, skips the oven entirely.
🇺🇸 This one is American
The day-after dinner named for an opera star: spaghetti tossed with leftover turkey, peas, browned mushrooms and a quick sherry, cream and Parmesan sauce, all on the stove in about 30 minutes.
🇲🇽 The original
In Mexico, where the turkey was first domesticated, the classic is turkey pieces braised in mole poblano, a dark sauce of dried chiles, spices, nuts and a little chocolate. See the Mole Poblano with Turkey (Mole Poblano de Guajolote) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Pasta water
Its starch loosens the thick cream and cheese sauce and helps it cling to every strand.
Turkey goes in last
It is already cooked, so it only needs to heat through; a long simmer would make it stringy and dry.
Step by step
- Step 1
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms with the salt and pepper and cook, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
- Step 3
Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the cream and sherry and simmer about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, cover and keep warm.
- Step 4
Add 1 tbsp salt and the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 9 to 11 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Step 5
Add the mushroom sauce, turkey, peas and 1/2 cup of the saved pasta water. Toss over low heat about 2 minutes, until the turkey is hot (165°F) and the sauce coats the pasta, adding more pasta water if it looks dry.
- Step 6
Season with salt and pepper and serve right away.
Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini (30 Minutes)
Serves 4 · about 10 cups · 30 min total
Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 10 oz white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp dry sherry
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
Pasta and turkey
- 1 tbsp salt, for the pasta water
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 3 cups cooked turkey, cut into bite-size pieces (no more than 3 to 4 days old)
- 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
Method
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms with the salt and pepper and cook, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the cream and sherry and simmer about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, cover and keep warm.
- Add 1 tbsp salt and the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 9 to 11 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Add the mushroom sauce, turkey, peas and 1/2 cup of the saved pasta water. Toss over low heat about 2 minutes, until the turkey is hot (165°F) and the sauce coats the pasta, adding more pasta water if it looks dry.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve right away.
Adapted from Cook's Country's (America's Test Kitchen) "Turkey Tetrazzini Pasta". We follow its amounts. The spaghetti time (9 to 11 minutes, or the package time) and the 2 minutes of tossing over low heat to bring the turkey to 165°F are ours; the reheating temperature and the 3 to 4 day limit on leftovers are from UGA Extension. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Leftover turkey keeps 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator; if it is older, freeze it next time and thaw it in the fridge (UGA Extension).
- Chicken works exactly the same way.
- For the baked version, ATK's casserole uses a stock-based sauce, breadcrumbs and Parmesan, baked in a 450°F oven 13 to 15 minutes.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Tetrazzini was invented at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Disputed: Wikipedia names Ernest Arbogast of the Palace Hotel, the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York and Escoffier as rival claims.
- Tetrazzini is named for an opera singer. Documented: Luisa Tetrazzini (Wikipedia).
- Tetrazzini has to be baked. Folklore: America's Test Kitchen publishes both a baked casserole (Cook's Illustrated) and this stovetop version (Cook's Country).
Every other turkey
Mole Poblano with Turkey (Mole Poblano de Guajolote)
Poached turkey under Puebla's dark, glossy mole: three dried chiles, charred vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, spices and a little Mexican chocolate, simmered for two hours.
Yucatecan Turkey in Black Chile Broth (Pavo en Relleno Negro)
Yucatán's jet-black turkey stew: turkey simmered in a broth darkened with recado negro, a paste of chiles toasted until nearly burnt, served with slices of "but," a pork and beef roll with whole egg yolks in the middle.
British Christmas Roast Turkey with Pigs in Blankets
Britain's Christmas bird, the Delia Smith way: buttered, covered in streaky bacon, roasted inside a loose foil tent, then unwrapped for a hot finish, with chipolata sausages wrapped in more bacon on the side.
Portuguese Christmas Roast Turkey with Oven Rice (Peru Assado no Forno)
Maria de Lourdes Modesto's Christmas turkey: soaked overnight in salted water with lemon, stuffed with bread, eggs and cured ham, roasted without a drop of basting, and served with oven rice that soaks up the drippings.
Puerto Rican Pavochón (Turkey Seasoned Like Pernil)
A Thanksgiving turkey with the flavor of a Puerto Rican pork roast: garlic, oregano, olive oil and adobo spread under the skin, butter tucked in, two days in the fridge, then basted with dark beer.
Classic Roast Thanksgiving Turkey
The plain American centerpiece: a buttered, salted and peppered turkey roasted breast side down first, flipped, and finished breast side up until the thermometer reads 165°F. No basting, no fuss.
Dry-Brined Turkey (the Judy Bird)
The Los Angeles Times' famous no-bucket brine: a few tablespoons of salt rubbed on three days ahead, the bird kept in a bag in the refrigerator, then dried uncovered so the skin roasts crisp.
Spatchcocked Roast Turkey
Cut out the backbone, press the bird flat and roast it hot: a 12 to 14 lb turkey is done in about 80 minutes, with crisp skin all over and breast and legs finishing together.
Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey
Louisiana's outdoor turkey: injected overnight with butter, onion and garlic juice, hot sauce and beer, then lowered into a big pot of peanut oil at 350°F and fried in about 3 to 4 minutes a pound. Outdoors only, with a fire extinguisher.
Smoked Turkey with Vinegar Pepper Mop (Rodney Scott Style)
A Carolina pitmaster's holiday bird: spatchcocked, rubbed with a sweet-hot barbecue seasoning, smoked low over wood on a kettle grill and mopped with tangy pepper vinegar.
Roast Turkey Breast with Lemon and Thyme
For a small table: a bone-in turkey breast with garlic, thyme and lemon butter spread under the skin, roasted hot and then gently, ready in about 1 1/2 hours.
Turkey Giblet Pan Gravy
Real gravy from the bird: a giblet broth made while the turkey roasts, a nutty brown roux, and the roasting pan deglazed with white wine so every browned bit ends up in the sauce.
Kentucky Hot Brown, Inspired by The Brown Hotel
Inspired by, not official: Louisville's open-faced roast turkey sandwich, smothered in Pecorino Romano Mornay sauce, broiled until bubbling and topped with crossed strips of bacon.
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.