Leftover Turkey "Carnitas" Recipe (2024)

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Transform your leftover Thanksgiving turkey into wonderfully crispy and juicy taco filling

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

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Updated August 31, 2023

Why It Works

Boiling the already-cooked turkey meat first makes it extra tender.
Pan-frying shredded, cooked meat adds crisp texture and complex flavors.

I’m writing this after four solid days of roasting and smoking turkeys by sunlight and painting the walls in my house by moonlight. The last thing I want to do right now is write a long article. It's also going to be published the morning of Thanksgiving, which means that the last thing you'll want to do is dig into a long article. I think we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement here, so I'll keep it snappy, and you'll have the chance to dig into a tasty taco that much faster tomorrow.

Here's what you need to know: You can transform your leftover turkey meat into wonderfully crispy and juicy shreds that are a dead ringer for carnitas, minus all the lard and time involved. This is a technique I discovered by accident a few years back, when I decided to see what would happen if I fried up the shredded meat I'd picked off the turkey carcass that I'd just used to make stock.

Extreme deliciousness is what happened.

The technique works best with leftover dark meat from the thighs, drumsticks, wings, and scraps picked from the carcass, which I simmer until it's falling-apart tender. I pretty much always use my turkey carcasses to make soup or stock, which means that I always have plenty of that boiled meat available. If you don't typically make soup or stock yourself, you can simply simmer your leftover dark meat in nearly enough water to cover, along with a few traditional carnitas flavors: sour orange, onion, and bay leaf.

After that is the easy part. Take that tender double-cooked turkey, shred it up as finely as you'd like, then fry it. You want a good amount of oil in the pan—at least a couple of tablespoons—in order to give the turkey some extra succulence. If you have access to some duck, turkey, or chicken fat, all the better.

Make sure to season the turkey with salt while it's in the pan. Not only will the salt cling to it better, but when you inevitably start stealing pieces of crispy turkey out of the skillet, those stolen bites will at least be seasoned properly.

The real keys here are to use a nonstick or cast iron skillet (you want all the brown, sticky bits to cling to the turkey, not the pan) and to cook the turkey longer than you think is necessary. As bits start to crisp up, fold them over and gently stir them back into the rest of the meat. Continue doing this until the turkey is as crisp as you'd like (I like mine quite crisp).

And that's about it. A super simple technique that creates delicious carnitas for any dish that calls for them, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and nachos.

Of course, I won't blame you if it all disappears from the pan before it ever even gets to the table. Pro tip: Blame it on the dog.

Recipe Details

Leftover Turkey "Carnitas"

Prep5 mins

Cook75 mins

Active20 mins

Total80 mins

Ingredients

Any amount leftover cooked dark-meat turkey (thighs and drumsticks) (see note)
1 orange, preferably sour, per pound (450 grams) of leftover turkey meat, quartered (see note)
1 medium onion (about 6 ounces; 175 grams) per pound (450 grams) of leftover turkey meat, quartered
2 bay leaves per pound (450 grams) of leftover turkey meat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, chicken fat, turkey fat, or duck fat per pound (450 grams) of leftover turkey meat
Kosher salt

Directions

Combine turkey meat (with bones if available), orange, onion, and bay leaf in a pot that fits them snugly. Add enough water to cover halfway. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook until turkey is fall-off-the-bone tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Discard orange, onion, and bay leaves and drain turkey well. Shred turkey and discard bones.
Heat oil or fat in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add turkey and spread into an even layer. Cook, without moving, until meat is well browned and crisp on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Stir turkey to incorporate the crisp bits and introduce new soft bits to the bottom. Continue this process until the turkey is as crisp as you like it (I like mine quite crisp). Season with salt.

Notes

You can make this recipe from scratch by roasting turkey legs in a 400°F (200°C) oven until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) (45 minutes to 1 hour), then proceeding as directed. Meat picked from the scraps of turkey used to make stock can also be crisped in a skillet and deliver delicious results. After making turkey stock or soup, remove some dark meat, shred it, and proceed as directed in step 2. Sour oranges can be purchased in a Latin market or well-stocked supermarket.

Turkey Mains
Tacos
Thanksgiving Turkeys

Leftover Turkey "Carnitas" Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with leftover turkey fat? ›

Left over pan drippings from your roast turkey can be poured off into a separate container and used later to flavour a host of dishes such as soups, stews and mashed potatoes. You can freeze them in ice cube size quantities and store them for months, adding a few to a casserole to lift the flavour.

Does baking soda tenderize turkey? ›

Whether hosting a holiday cookout, serving up some stir-fry or tackling game meats, baking soda is the go-to meat tenderizer to help make your steak, chicken or turkey silkier, juicier and yummier.

Know More ›

Can you eat 8 day old turkey? ›

Turkey: 3-4 days.

Eat turkey within three to four days of cooking. If you use the turkey in a new dish like a soup or casserole, only consume within those initial four days. Another option is freezing the cooked turkey. Turkey can last up to four more months if frozen.

Keep Reading ›

Is a 3 year old frozen turkey still good? ›

Frozen Turkey

Turkeys can be kept in the freezer indefinitely. However, cook turkeys within 1 year for the best quality.

Read The Full Story ›

Can I eat cooked turkey after 10 days? ›

Snyder points to the USDA FoodKeeper app for best guidance: The tool notes that refrigerated, cooked turkey should be eaten within 4 days. Eat frozen turkey leftovers within 6 months for premier quality.

Learn More Now ›

How to grind leftover turkey? ›

You can grind up cooked turkey in a food processor with a little bit of water and egg to make a “raw ground beef/meat” type substitute. You can also marinate cooked turkey and stir fry it with leftover veggies for a simple Asian style dish to serve over rice.