Thanksgiving is right around the corner and, given the large spread of food that your table is guaranteed to have, you can certainly expect to end up with leftovers. Of course, Thanksgiving leftovers are always welcome — who doesn't want to get to enjoy the delicious turkey for days to come? But before you can get to planning which tasty recipes to make with all of your Thanksgiving leftovers , you need to know how to store your turkey to keep it juicy and moist. To find out, Daily Meal spoke with an expert: Chef Ian Coogan, the Culinary Director at Motel Morris in New York City.
Coogan says, "Leave as much of the bird intact as possible (don't carve all the breast at once — only carve what you think you'll need). This helps preserve the moisture of the turkey." However, when it comes to storing turkey leftovers, one of the common Thanksgiving leftover mistakes is to store the turkey whole.
Rather, it's best to divide up the turkey into smaller portions, and then store each portion in an airtight container. Keeping Coogan's advice in mind, start by only carving out the amount of turkey that you think you'll need for you and your guests to have a first serving, as well as enough for seconds. Then, after eating, separate the turkey into sections — while still keeping as much intact as possible (such as keeping the breast meat together) — and store.
Gravy is key to enjoying leftover turkey As well as keeping the bird intact as long as possible, Chef Coogan also suggests .