In the days before refrigeration and convenience food, wasting Christmas leftovers was not an option. On Monday 27 December 1926, the Belfast Newsletter published practical advice on how to use up scraps from the Christmas dinner, offering a range of recipes for its thrifty readers, with the resulting dishes to be consumed in the days after Christmas. The section of that article dealing with leftover turkey is reproduced below.
Using up scraps from the Christmas dinner
The turkey
Turkey mince – 1lb cold scraps of turkey, ¼lb cooked ham, ½ pint milk, ½ pint turkey stock, 3ozs fine crumbs, 2 slices onion, slice lemon rind, sprig of parsley, good pinch of powdered mace, 2ozs butter or margarine, salt and pepper, a little cooked celery.
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Method – Put the milk and stock into a saucepan, add the onion, lemon rind and parsley, and simmer for 10 minutes, then strain. Return the milk to the saucepan, add the butter and crumbs, and stir over the fire until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper, and the cooked celery chopped finely. If the celery bas been used as the vegetable accompanying the turkey there is sure to be a little left, and this can be used in this dish, or indeed in any dish made with turkey. Any leftover bread sauce may be used in the same way. Cool the sauce a little, then stir in the minced turkey, ham and the pinch of mace. Leave at the side of the fire to heat thoroughly without boiling, then dish in a border of creamed potatoes.
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Note – To make turkey stock simmer the neck and scald feet in water for a couple of hours or after the flesh has been removed from the bones, break these up and simmer in water for several hours.
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Turkey mould
1lb cold scraps turkey, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, 1½ pints turkey stock, 2ozs cooked ham, 1⅓ozs gelatine, 2 hard boiled eggs, pepper and salt.
Method – Make the stock from the bones of the turkey, flavouring it well with onion, the outside stalks of celery, lemon rind, parsley, mixed herbs, mace and peppercorns. Strain the stock … Put it into a saucepan, add the gelatine and stir over the fire until the gelatine is dissolved, then add seasoning. Strain a little of this into a wet mould and leave until set. Then decorate with a piece of hard-boiled egg. Chop the rest of the eggs up, and cut the turkey and ham into small neat dice. Mix the turkey, ham, chopped parsley and egg together, and when the stock is cold and just beginning to set, stir this mixture into it and pour all into the mould. Leave until set, then turn out into a glass dish and garnish with parsley or lettuce, tomato, &c.
Turkey and ham pie
Raised pie crust – ¾lb flour, 2ozs lard, 2ozs margarine, pinch of salt, 1 gill milk and water or milk. Filling – ¾lb cold scraps of turkey, ¼lb cooked ham, 1 hard-boiled egg, ⅓ pint good jellied turkey stock, seasoning, 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.
Method – Prepare the filling; chop the turkey and ham and hard-boiled egg roughly, mix with the stock, seasoning and parsley. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt together and cut and rub in the lard. Put the milk and water or the milk into a saucepan, add the margarine and just bring to the boil. Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour in the hot liquid and stir with a wooden spoon, making the mixture into a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth. Work quickly or the dough will get cold and become hard. If this happens, warm the dough at the fire before proceeding. Cut a small piece off for a cap. Form the dough into a raised pie by setting a 2lb jam-jar on it and working it up the sides for 4 or 5 inches. Then remove the jar and pack in the filling. Roll the piece of dough for the cap into a round to cover the top of the pie. Press it into position and make a hole on top. Decorate with a tiny rose and leaves, and brush over with beaten egg. Bake in a fairly hot oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. Leave until cold, then serve with salad.
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Turkey patties
Some puff or flakey pastry – 6ozs minced turkey, 2ozs minced cooked ham, ¼ pint turkey stock or milk, ½oz butter or margarine, ½oz flour, grated lemon rind, pinch of mace, pepper and salt.
Method – Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour then gradually stir in the stock or milk. Stir until boiling, and boil three minutes; add the seasoning, mace and lemon rind. When cool stir it into the turkey and ham, and leave until cold. Roll out the pastry to about ¼ inch thick, cut out the 1 dozen rounds for the tops of the patties. Then roll out the scraps of pastry left and cut 1 dozen rounds for the bottoms. Use these to line 1 dozen patty tins. Put some of the mixture in each and cover with the top rounds, after wetting the edges with egg or water. Brush over with beaten egg, make two little holes on the top of each, and bake in a hot oven until the pastry is nicely browned – 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
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Our food hygiene note: These recipes are reproduced exactly as they appeared in 1926. Modern food safety standards have changed, so please ensure that any leftover food is properly refrigerated, thoroughly reheated and handled according to current hygiene guidelines before consumption.
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