A slice of turkey breast, corralled onto a plate with dressing and gravy, brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, and the rest of the Thanksgiving gang is a masterpiece. You won’t find me knocking it. But, undeniably, a post-Thanksgiving sandwich is better.
Test kitchen director Chris Morocco agrees. In fact, he told me that he could easily do without the marathon of cooking that generally accompanies the holiday, but for the lack of leftovers. This year he’s not compromising. Meet the Turkey Day dinner sandwich: a veritable stack of roasted white meat dressed with cranberry sauce (or cranberry relish if your vibe leans that way), crisp lettuce, pickled red onions, and mayo on soft buns. It’s the midnight dream realized promptly at 8 p.m. Or 2 p.m. if you’re a Thanksgiving-dinner-happens-at-2-p.m. kind of family. (Hi, it’s me!)
Of course, Chris being Chris, this is no ordinary turkey breast. When I asked him about his method, he got very analytical: “Roasting a whole turkey averages out what would be best practices for various parts of the bird,” he says. “What the breast really wants is a long, low temp.” The cooking method ensures the breast is cooked through to the center while retaining a bit of succulence (i.e., no dry birds allowed).
To up the ante even further, Chris “wanted to bring in as much flavor as possible.” To that end his boneless turkey breast luxuriates in a peppery “overnight cure with stealthy but effective amounts of garlic powder and smoked paprika.” It’s a spice rub inspired by pastrami and—just like it does for that other meat—it lends a warming, robust flavor to this cheeky holiday main.
If you’re still keeping Thanksgiving small in 2021, one breast will feed two to four people for a couple of days. If your gathering is larger and you also want leftovers, go ahead and roast two or more breasts side-by-side.
If you want a fully realized Thanksgiving menu that revolves around a turkey sandwich, you could consider a pile of gussied-up potato chips (who needs mashed potatoes?) or a crunchy deli-style salad (kale who?). Or you could make all the same stuff you normally would. You’ll catch most of my relatives in their respective corners on most Thanksgivings building little turkey sandwiches out of dinner rolls and side dishes. This recipe beats them to the punch. Still, the question remains, what are you supposed to eat at actual midnight? Another slice of pie would be nice, wouldn’t it?
