There are a handful of dishes that I make that come from what some folks would call “leftovers” that really can’t be classified as leftovers at all. Did you really think I cooked a 14 pound turkey just to make a turkey sandwich?

Oh no no. The sandwich was there for the taking but what I really had in mind was today’s meal. The turkey enchilada. Actually this is a recipe for turkey, mushroom and bacon enchiladas. Oh yes I did.

Two main data points to address here, the first is the prevalence of Mexican themed food that I have presented on this very site. First you got your carnitas, we’ve also dabbled with some fish tacos, got down and fucking dirty making some grilled chipotle chicken and habanero salsa, we’ve dropped the grilled carne asada on your unsuspecting asses and my very first foray into posting on this site is my very own chile tepin.

“But yeah, right?” you inquire, “I’m pretty sure you’re not of Mexican heritage.” This is true but I have lived in California for a long fucking time and certain elements of the culture you just get through osmosis. Not to mention that this shit is delicious. It’s true that my primary cuisine of focus is Italian but that’s only due to the fact that I’ve been cooking Mexican food for so long that it seems pretty common day to me. I’m certain that some of our denizens who live in areas WAY outside of California don’t understand how critical Mexican food is to the culture and vibe of California. It’s so ingrained in us that we almost take it for granted that the rest of the world must have access to amazing Mexican food when I know from personal experience that that is not true.

Story time! I lived for a couple of years on the Jersey Shore in the mid ’80’s. Yo Belmar, how the fuck are yez?!? It was during this time when I came up with my internet nickname of “yeah, right.” If you were having any conversation with a Jersey local and they agreed with something you said they would always respond with “yeah, right?” Always. Every fucking time! Men, women, children it didn’t matter. And it was always treated as an inquisitive, “yeah right?” as if asking a question while confirming your obvious statement. “Jesus look at the ass on that girl!” “yeah, right?” “Fuck, it’s hot out today.” “yeah, right?” It got to be really annoying and as someone who had moved to Jersey from California I never used that response and actually was greatly annoyed by it’s use. So of course when given the chance to think up a lame nom de plume I came up with this one.

No I can’t really explain it any better but that’s how it came about.

Anyway!

During my time in Jersey I tended bar, ran a deli – actually a Wawa- and even helped out as a bouncer while I tended bar. At one of these bars, Jason’s in South Belmar, the owner and I got to talking one day about ways to increase his business. It was a couple of weeks away from the first Monday Night Football game of the season and he wanted to start bringing in some traffic. The Jersey shore has no problem with business in the summer since it’s population swells about ten fold due to the influx of people from “The City” but during the offseason it turns into a ghost town. So Mel, the owner – buddy of mine – asked what we had in California that brought in the foot traffic. I mentioned that one of the bars I used to visit in Cali had “Taco Night” for Monday Night Football and the turnout was always fantastic. His response was “That’s a great idea! I love it!”

“What’s a taco? Oh wait, that’s that thing where it’s rolled up like an envelope, right?”

Yes this was in the mid ’80’s and I think they know what Mexican food is now but I was floored by this lack of Mexican food awareness. Consequently I worked at the bar in the kitchen during Monday Night Football while making tacos for the entire game. I was paid in cash and there was a full refrigerator of beer that I was allowed to sample from while cooking. It was fun but I missed the damn games. After a couple of months I got recruited and dragged away by a bigger and more popular bar that had many more young ladies. I moved there and tended bar while I taught the kitchen staff the finer art of taco night. At the end of the day I acted as bouncer and cleared the place out. There were more nights than not that I don’t remember how I got home or what really happened after closing time. I woke up one morning with…

Those were the days.

Second data point: Your first iteration of a meal doesn’t have to be the main iteration. Vis-a-vis the turkey sandwich. While being a delicious sandwich and a glorious meal in its own right when I cooked that turkey everyone in the house said “When are we having enchiladas?”

After years of trying to figure out what to do with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving I stumbled across this dish. There were forays into other food items like the turkey taquito, good but greasy, cream turkey over mashed potatoes, so very fucking good, and other ventures but we finally settled on this as the perfect way to use up the leftover turkey. In this one case I’m going to allow some store bought shit. I’ve got no choice since I really need to stay off of my broken ass knee.

Ready kids?

Turkey, mushroom and bacon enchiladas!

Some rationale first: turkey, as you all know is a very lean meat, especially after it’s been de-carcassed and frozen for a week or two. The idea behind the mushrooms and the bacon is to reintroduce moisture and fat, yes FAT, back into a fairly dry protein. We’re going to combine these things, give a quick saute and let the fucking magic happen.

Leftover turkey – what about 3 cups or so worth? Mixed white and dark meat or whatever you have on hand.

3-4 slices of bacon cut into lardons or cubes

16 oz fresh mushrooms

1 small can of diced green chilies

1 small onion diced

4-5 cloves of garlic minced

1 package of corn tortillas

1 small can of red enchilada sauce (sorry, just ain’t up to standing to make my own sauce)

1 small can of green enchilada sauce

1 cup of shredded cheese. I prefer jack cheese or a 4 cheese blend

2-3 tablespoons of yeah right’s proprietary seasoning mix ( recipe to follow)

You’re going to season the turkey with some sprinkling of the seasoning mix and set aside for a minute or two. Cook your bacon down until the fat has been rendered and the bacon is almost cooked then remove the bacon from the pan and dry on some paper towels. Cook the onion in the bacon fat. Oh shit yes! Cook and sweat down for about 6-8 minutes then add in the mushrooms. You don’t want to cook the mushrooms too long maybe 3-5 minutes. Throw in your garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. Add the seasoned turkey, the green chilies and the bacon back into the pan and get them all familiar like. It should look something like this.

Cook for just a few minutes. Now mix together the red and green enchilada sauces. Take out about 12 tortillas and wrap them in a moist paper towel and nuke in the microwave for about 20 seconds, just enough to make them pliable. Dip a tortilla in the sauce mix and add some of the turkey, mushroom, bacon mixture along with a little cheese and roll up into a tube. Place each tube on to a baking dish. A 13×9″ dish should handle about 10-12 enchiladas. Once the pan is full ladle the remaining sauce over the enchiladas (there will be extra sauce! Sauce at your own discretion!) Cover the whole thing with cheese. Lots of cheese and cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Let rest for 5 minutes then serve alongside some refried beans, rice if you want and plenty of cold cervezas.

Yeah right’s proprietary seasoning mix:

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.

Mix all ingredients well. Can be stored in a Tupperware container in a cool dry place for months. This is a versatile spice mix that can be used in any number of applications.

Bonus recipe!

The chicken burrito!

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-2 tablespoons of the seasoning mix

Season the breasts (oh yeah!) with enough seasoning mix to make the chicken reddish in hue.

Cook in a 350 oven for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Take a warm flour tortilla and put some sliced chicken breast inside, top with your choice of cheese, sharp cheddar works really well and add a couple of teaspoons of my previously linked chile tepin. Roll up into a burrito shape and warm in a microwave for about 50 seconds. I’m not fucking kidding around when I say I have lived off of these things for over 15 years. They are so fucking good you can eat them every day. My girl, the crazy red-head, will come out to visit me for occasional conjugal visits but I really think the primary reason is because she loves the chicken burrito. Every person who has ever had this says it’s one of the best bites they have ever had. If challenged to a “best of” throwdown this would probably be my meal of choice. The chicken can also be used in salads, it makes a glorious chicken sandwich (little mayo some cheese and you’re good to go.) It’s versatile as fuck and one of the leaner and healthier proteins you can get. Seriously I have this same chicken in various forms 4-5 times every week. It helps to alleviate the fabulous and calorie-laden dishes I drop on you each week.

We were talking about enchiladas.

You can use this primary concept with the seasoning, the spice and the savory. Every application. Just because that looks like some dry ass turkey doesn’t mean it can’t be a tasty ass enchilada. Don’t be afraid to reintroduce the fat to your life. Bacon solves everything.

Embrace your local atmosphere, hug your fellow man and use your leftover turkey to make some motherfucking enchiladas.

Did you see that photo?

So, thanks for reading, experiment in the kitchen and use fresh ingredients when you can.

I’m going to limp off upstairs to bed.

Peace!