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Smoked Turkey Cajun Gumbo

This is one of my go-to recipes that I make all the time, so when I was looking for stuff to make with my left-over smoked turkey, this recipe was a no brainer. It’s simple to make and the results are always delicious, I promise you won’t need to worry about leftovers here. I made my own turkey stock to use with this recipe, but you can use chicken stock to save time. My wife said she hoped I wrote down how I made this because it was the best gumbo she’s had. Of course, she’s not from Louisiana, so I don’t know if you can trust her judgement, but she is a cook.

I usually smoke several turkeys every year for Thanksgiving and while they are good, we do end up with some leftover meat. That’s not a problem because left-over turkey meat is my favorite. I’ll usually go to the store after Thanksgiving and buy several more Turkeys to smoke before Christmas. I love to take the leftover turkey and shred it, add it to a pan with some butter and Cajun seasoning, then fry it until its sort crispy on the edges. I literally eat it out of the pan while it cooks. You don’t need any bread or sauce, just dump it on a plate and eat it. But occasionally you have to find something different to do with it. So far this year I’ve made this Smoked Turkey Gumbo, a Turkey Enchiladas Casserole, some Turkey Quesadillas, Turkey BQQ Sandwich, plus Turkey Pot Pie.

I wanted to get these leftover turkey recipes posted before the holidays and it’s now Christmas eve, so it looks like I made it. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ingredients

Turkey Stock

Turkey Gumbo

Instructions

Turkey Stock

Step #1 Add turkey carcass to large stock pot and pour in enough water to cover the bird.

Step #2 Break celery and carrots in half and add to stock. Cut onion into large quarters and add to pot. Add bay leaves and thyme. Bring stock to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 3-4 hours.

Step #3 Pour stock through colander lined with cheese cloth. Use fat skimmer spoon to remove fat from surface. Can freeze up to 3 months.

Turkey Gumbo

Step #1 Dice Celery

Step #2 Cut the sides of peppers and wash away any seeds.

Step #3 Cut peppers into match type sticks then dice.

Step #4 Dice onion

Step #5 Add diced celery, peppers and onions to small bowl so they are ready to dump into pot when ready.

Step #6 Add 3/4 cups oil to large stock pot and set heat to medium high.

Step #7 Add one cup of all-purpose flour and use a spatula to combine.

Step #8 Your roux will start to brown and give off a nutty smell. It's important to keep stirring, you want to brown the flour not burn it.

Step #9 Roux should start to turn a dark brown.

Step #10 Once your comfortable with the color of your roux, add in diced onions, peppers and celery.

Step #11 While vegetables cook, add one tablespoon of oil and diced up smoked sausage to a frying pan. Cook on medium heat until browned.

Step #12 Use a spatula to combine ingredients. Add in Salt and Pepper. Allow vegetables to cook for about 7 minutes.

Step #13 Add in tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.

Step #14 Add in some chopped garlic

Step #15 Add shredded turkey meat and browned smoked sausage.

Step #16 And combine.

Step #17 Add in 8 cups of turkey or chicken stock.

Step #18 Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add additional salt and cajun seasoning, to taste. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Step #19 Add in one cup of cooked white rice. Gumbo may look loose or soupy, but rice will absorb some of the liquid and thicken up.

White Rice

Step #1 Add two cups of water to small pot. Add in dash of salt and bring to a boil. Pour in one cup of rice, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Recipe Card

Smoked Turkey Cajun Gumbo

Written by Jeff Davis Visit : Visit authors website

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Prep Time: 10 min - Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients

Turkey Stock

1 Leftover Turkey carcass

2 gallon(s) Water

4 Celery Stalks

4 Carrots

1 Large Yellow Onion

2 Bay Leaves

1 bunch Thyme

Turkey Gumbo

4 cup(s) Shredded Smoked Turkey

1 lbs Andouille Sausage, sliced

3/4 cup(s) Canola Oil

1 cup(s) All-purpose Flour

1 Yellow Onion

2 Bell Peppers

2 Stalks of Celery

5 Garlic cloves

8 cup(s) Turkey Stock or Chicken Stock

1 cup(s) Cooked White Rice

Green Onions for Garnish

Cajun Seasoning, like Tony Chachere’s

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Instructions

Turkey Stock

Step #1 - Add turkey carcass to large stock pot and pour in enough water to cover the bird.

Step #2 - Break celery and carrots in half and add to stock. Cut onion into large quarters and add to pot. Add bay leaves and thyme. Bring stock to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and allow to cook for 3-4 hours.

Step #3 - Pour stock through colander lined with cheese cloth. Use fat skimmer spoon to remove fat from surface. Can freeze up to 3 months.

Turkey Gumbo

Step #1 - Dice Celery

Step #2 - Cut the sides of peppers and wash away any seeds.

Step #3 - Cut peppers into match type sticks then dice.

Step #4 - Dice onion

Step #5 - Add diced celery, peppers and onions to small bowl so they are ready to dump into pot when ready.

Step #6 - Add 3/4 cups oil to large stock pot and set heat to medium high.

Step #7 - Add one cup of all-purpose flour and use a spatula to combine.

Step #8 - Your roux will start to brown and give off a nutty smell. It's important to keep stirring, you want to brown the flour not burn it.

Step #9 - Roux should start to turn a dark brown.

Step #10 - Once your comfortable with the color of your roux, add in diced onions, peppers and celery.

Step #11 - While vegetables cook, add one tablespoon of oil and diced up smoked sausage to a frying pan. Cook on medium heat until browned.

Step #12 - Use a spatula to combine ingredients. Add in Salt and Pepper. Allow vegetables to cook for about 7 minutes.

Step #13 - Add in tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.

Step #14 - Add in some chopped garlic

Step #15 - Add shredded turkey meat and browned smoked sausage.

Step #16 - And combine.

Step #17 - Add in 8 cups of turkey or chicken stock.

Step #18 - Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add additional salt and cajun seasoning, to taste. Allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Step #19 - Add in one cup of cooked white rice. Gumbo may look loose or soupy, but rice will absorb some of the liquid and thicken up.

White Rice

Step #1 - Add two cups of water to small pot. Add in dash of salt and bring to a boil. Pour in one cup of rice, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

About the Author

Jeff Davis

You may think cooking and recipes don’t have much to do with a website dedicated to hunting dogs ... but really, why do we hunt? Sure, we enjoy watching our dogs work in the field and being outdoors, but ultimately, hunting is about survival and feeding our families. We might as well try to do it well. I'm not a chef and definitely no food authority ... but I do like to eat and enjoy cooking. After searching for people willing to share their recipes on Gundog Central, without much success, I decided to try to do a few on my own, with my wife Tami's help. The recipes I share here are things I like to eat and have made here at home. I've tried to include step-by-step instructions with each meal describing exactly how I did it, but my method may not be best, if you decide to try a recipe posted here, please use whatever technique you think works best, I'm simply sharing how I did it. You'll see a lot of recipes where I've tried to make things from starch, when I could have just used store bought ingredients, simply because I wanted to learn how something was done. My goal is to continually update these recipes as I learn new things and techniques. These are my attempts at creating good, home cooked food, that I would like to eat! If I'm sharing it here, my family and I enjoyed it and I believe you will too.