How Top Chefs Use Up Christmas Leftovers

You know the scene: it’s Boxing Day and, somehow, despite yesterday’s spectacle of gluttony, the fridge is still full. Containers of turkey, an entire jug of bread sauce, quickly deteriorating cabbage – an overwhelming amount of food to use up and try to keep out of landfill.

To help in your mission to keep your Christmas leftovers out of the tip, Broadsheet asked a slate of top chefs to share what they do with the last of their turkey, panettone, roast potatoes and more. As Sino’s Euegene Korolev says, “Leftovers aren’t leftovers; they’re ingredients with a head start.”

“I love all leftovers, not just the remains of excessive Christmas feasting. Fried rice is a regular fridge-clear ritual in our household, so chopped-up turkey and veg with lots of minced ginger, spring onions, soy sauce and egg is a good way to give Christmas leftovers a different flavour profile. Shredded cold turkey mixed with a dollop of crème fraîche and a splash of Poon’s Chilli Vinegar Dressing makes for a delicious sandwich. “Shredded turkey can also be added to noodle soup, made from the turkey carcass, with some baby gem for freshness – I love cooked lettuce. We usually have goose at Christmas. Leftover goose is a superior substitute for duck pancakes, with julienned scallions, cucumber batons and hoisin sauce. It’s also great stir-fried with finely sliced ginger, spring onions and syut choi/xuěcài (Chinese preserved snow vegetable) with rice vermicelli.”

“My favourite way to eat turkey is the day after Christmas, in the form of a turkey bake. It’s a longstanding family tradition. Essentially, it’s turkey, rice and a vat of mayonnaise. I look forward to it more than Christmas Day lunch itself. Enriched with roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, Tabasco, lemon and basil, it’s easy to throw together. In my opinion, it’s the main reason to cook a turkey on Christmas Day at all.”

“I rarely make turkey these days, but when I do, I love to tear it up into big chunks and make a turkey and winter green savoury pie. It’s a nice thing to do slowly. Make a savoury pie dough, let it rest, slowly cook the filling, let it cool, then put it together for a meal with yesterday’s sides. For sweet, I always have about three panettones on the go in my house around Christmas: classic, chocolate and another third, mysterious flavour. So, for breakfast, I love to make a panettone French toast and for dessert, a panettone bread pudding. If I have left over Christmas pudding, I love to slice it and fry it in butter for a few minutes on each side to get it nice and crispy and caramelised. Serve it with double cream. Heaven.”

“I love using leftover roast turkey in a light Thai-style curry. I cook out some red curry paste first, then add coconut milk, lime leaf and a splash of fish sauce before gently warming through the shredded turkey with noodles and whatever greens are lingering in the fridge. It’s fragrant, comforting and ready in minutes. “A great way to use up leftover vegetables is in crisp spring rolls. I start by frying garlic, ginger, spring onions and shiitake mushrooms, then add any finely sliced veg along with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and a touch of brown sugar. Once wrapped, they go into the oven until golden and crunchy. Both dishes come together with very little effort, yet they feel a world away from the original roast.”

“Pre-Christmas: all those potatoes you need to peel for your roasties? Give them a really good scrub first, then keep the peels. Toss in some neutral oil and salt, then bake, in a single layer, in the oven at 165°C, stirring often. They make a delicious snack to have with a dip, or as a crispy garnish on just about anything.

“Post-Christmas: keep all the stripped turkey bones, put them in a pan and cover with water and a few aromats (garlic, thyme, bayleaf), perhaps a ham gristle or two, and boil for a couple of hours. Strain off, season well and then use as a delicious broth to pop all those leftover roast carrots, parsnips, sprouts and shredded turkey into. Enriching and nourishing, with a nutritious nod, too.”.”

“There’s so much you can do with Christmas leftovers: bubble and squeak the following morning, a quick turkey curry. Whatever I do, the main priority is making the most of the leftover bird meat and creating a really good stock, which can then become the base of a number of things. I roast down the turkey bones and get a stock on that has a deep caramelised flavour – you can add some bones from a roast ham, too, to give it a robust meatiness. My favourite thing is to make a phở, charring off any leftover vegetables to put in and adding lots of aromatics – ginger, star anise, a whole bunch of fresh herbs. It’s a nice way to offset all the rich food from the previous days and eat something comforting at the same time.

“There are so many fun ways to use up leftover turkey. My personal favourite is simply piling everything onto a good baguette the next day. But you can also make a pie by layering the meats, crushing leftover potatoes on top and grilling until golden. Then stir-fry your leftover veg and serve it on the side, with a bit of black pepper for a kick. For something a bit lighter after the big day, switch out your usual chicken for turkey and make a caesar salad, or shred leftover turkey, combine it with spices, lime zest and juice, warm it through and serve it with tacos and guacamole.”

“One of my favourite post-Christmas rituals is turning turkey trimmings into fresh, handmade ravioli. It’s wonderfully hands-on, a little messy, and a lot of fun – perfect for getting everyone involved in the kitchen.

“The filling can be as playful as you like: silky bread sauce for richness, chopped chestnuts for texture, even a spoonful of cranberry sauce for a sweet, tangy twist. Fold it all into delicate pasta and you’ve got a dish that feels entirely new yet comfortingly familiar.”

“Instead of making sandwiches with leftover turkey meat, which can be a bit boring, I like to shred the meat very thinly and turn it into a Thai-style salad. I mix it with sesame seeds, chopped lemongrass, red onion, coriander, sesame oil, chilli and some shredded carrot. It makes a fresh, vibrant salad that’s a really nice change from the usual leftovers. For the vegetables, I usually take whatever’s left (potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrots, etc) and chop or mash them together until they’re well combined. Then I flatten the mixture and fry it in a pan until it forms a crisp little cake. After that, I dress it the way you’d top a Japanese takoyaki ball, with pickled ginger, a drizzle of mayo, and a sprinkle of furikake. If I have any leftover bread and butter pudding, or sticky toffee pudding, I chop it up and fold it into vanilla ice-cream before putting it back in the freezer. It turns into a sort of sticky-toffee vanilla ice-cream that you can take out and enjoy anytime.”

“For using up leftover turkey, we like to make turkey congee. In the congee we put julienned slices of ginger, spring onions and turkey stock made with the bones from leftovers. And we shred the leftover meat before dressing it with garlic, chilli oil, Chinese black vinegar and soy sauce and garnishing the hot congee with it. After a few days of traditional British fare, this dish is a nice way to take a break with slightly different ingredients. My wife (Sandia Chang) and kids are used to Asian flavours at home, so this comes as a great relief. Warm and comforting for dark winter days, the congee’s also easy to make with little effort.”

“For me, the best thing to do Christmas leftovers is turn the whole thing into a family-sized pie – but mine’s with a twist. I chop all the meat, vegetables, stuffing and potatoes into smaller pieces and set aside. Dice an onion and cook in some butter until translucent, then add mild curry powder and cook out for a few minutes, then add the leftover gravy and a splash of cream. Finally, fold in the leftover ingredients and check the seasoning.

“Put the pie mix into a large pie dish and line with a puff pastry lid (either shop-bought, or make your own if you fancy). Egg-wash the pastry and sprinkle with black onion seeds, bake for around 35 minutes until golden brown and serve with chips – highly recommended for a hungover Boxing Day feast.”

“After Christmas, I think of leftovers as ingredients that just need a plot twist. Turkey becomes the base for a smoky broth with charred lemon and chilli – nothing like its former self. Ham gets shaved thin and folded into a fermented-chilli butter, then melted over hot toast for the ultimate Boxing Day breakfast. Roast vegetables are my secret weapon: they get smashed, marinated in vinegar and herbs, and turned into a sort of day-after antipasto that’s better than the original. Potatoes are the easiest win: I grate them cold, mix in spring onion and parmesan, and fry them into little rösti that disappear instantly. Even Christmas pudding gets reborn: I crumble it into an ice-cream base with rum and burnt butter.”

“After Christmas, I like to take a slightly different approach to leftovers by using the turkey carcass to make a phở. I simmer the bones gently with roasted carrots, ginger and onions, letting the broth build a natural sweetness. A mix of star anise, cinnamon, cloves and black cardamom adds a warm aroma without overpowering the stock. After a few hours, I strain it and season it with salt and a touch of fish sauce.

“To serve, I add any leftover sliced turkey, rice noodles and plenty of fresh herbs and chilli. It’s light, satisfying and makes the most of what’s left from Christmas – and is a welcome change from the usual Boxing Day spread.”

Richard Corrigan uses excess bread sauce to make a savoury bread pudding. “Take half a pint of bread sauce, add two eggs and mix well. Pour the mixture into a terrine mould or loaf tin and bake it slowly in the oven. Chill and serve sliced, topped with turkey breast or cold ham.”

“In our house, we usually turn our Christmas leftovers into a pie or a tourte – my background is in pastry, and it’s the section I largely oversee at our restaurant Caractère in Notting Hill. It’s our favourite way to bring leftover meats back to life at home after Christmas. I’ll fold the leftover meat trimmings together with some Alpine cheese and a béchamel, then bake it until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling away. It’s a great way to minimise waste. There’s nothing more comforting, and it’s exactly the sort of cooking I enjoy after a busy Christmas period.

“Any leftover roast means potential for pie, which is very thrilling! And at Christmas you may have the added bonus of being able to sneak a little ham into the mix as well. A pie is the perfect user-upper, as you can utilise all the leftover meat on the carcass (especially the brown meat from the turkey, which my family seems to malign) and any leftover ends of ham. The carcass itself gets turned into stock, so nothing is wasted. The dream. And what’s more, everyone loves pie so what is a meal of leftovers is actually a real treat.”

“January is the perfect month to prepare immune-boosters such as bak kut the [pork broth], chongqing noodles, tortellini en brodo and phở. I often use the leftover cuts of meat and bones to make broth, and leftover vegetables to bulk out the bowls. It really does lift me during the dark January nights.”

“To make the most of festive leftovers, I’d always recommend buying a selection of chutneys and mustards ahead of Boxing Day, as these will really help intensify the flavour of your leftovers – think Dijon mustard, mango chutney, apple and fig chutney, spicy lime pickle and piccalilli.

“One of my favourite ways to use leftovers is to chop up roast potatoes from the day before in half and place them in the oven with cheese on top so it melts all over, then serving alongside a delicious chutney. You can also cut your pigs in blankets in half and roast with some mustard to intensify the flavour.

“And of course, you can’t go wrong with a bubble and squeak hash on Boxing Day to use up all those veggies, which can be split up into smaller portions once cooked. Combine shredded turkey with onion, garlic, potatoes, cabbage (and any other veg from the day before) plus Tabasco, vinegar, mustard and soy sauce and top with a fried egg once cooked.”

“I always start with the veg, fry everything in a hot pan until it catches and goes a bit crispy, then top it with a fried egg to create a leftover bubble and squeak. Simple, hearty, and better than half the things we stress about cooking on the day itself.

“If there’s meat knocking about, shred it into a quick broth with any herbs you’ve got left, or tuck it into a pie with mustard and a splash of cream. We also should never forget the power of the cheese board: grate whatever’s lingering and bake it into little fritters or stir it through mash for something comforting.

“The trick is not to overthink it. Keep it unfussy. Leftovers aren’t the afterthought, they’re the part where you finally get to cook for yourself.”

“Growing up in a large family meant nearly every meal’s leftovers were reinvented the next day. Our traditional Boxing Day brunch is a version of a naughty beef hash. Sauté potatoes, onions and any remaining vegetables in a pan, fold through shredded beef, and top with a runny fried egg. Alternatively, thinly slice the beef for a luxurious cold meat sandwich layered with mustard, pickles and a spoonful of leftover gravy warmed to dipping consistency.”

“Christmas dinner leftovers work super well for a festive take on a classic and bubble and squeak. Just mash up the roast potatoes and chop up any other leftovers, and form into patties, flour them and pan fry. Finish with butter or for an extra decadent take, add a poached egg and some hollandaise.”

Chef-owners Will Murray and Jack Croft make a sourdough loaf using last night’s roast potatoes. “Just blitz any leftover roast potatoes with a little salt and leave to ferment. After five days, add flour, a little fresh yeast and a sourdough starter, then treat the mixture like a typical sourdough bread dough and bake in the oven with a little humidity.”

“One of our favourite ways to use Christmas leftovers is to make proper hash browns on Boxing Day morning. In Russia, we grew up doing this without ever calling it zero-waste cooking. You grate the leftover boiled potatoes, mix them with a little egg and flour, fry them until they are crisp and golden, and suddenly yesterday’s sides become the best breakfast of the year.

“At Noisy Oyster, we serve a version on our brunch menu topped with egg gribiche, which is a classic cold sauce of hard-boiled eggs, mustard, capers, olive oil and dill, finished with a good spoon of red caviar. It is simple, comforting and just a little luxurious, which feels exactly right for the holidays.”

“After Christmas there is always plenty of jamón ibérico left and honestly that is a joy because it just keeps on giving. I use the little trimmings for croquetas which turn beautifully creamy with that deep salty flavour. But the real magic is the bone. Please never throw it away. Let it simmer gently and you will have the most wonderful stock with a smell that takes you straight back home. Use that stock for a simple pot of lentils and finish with tiny pieces of jamón. Nothing fancy. Just proper comfort for those quiet days after the big feast.”

“Leftovers are the best bit of Christmas – I think gravy is the most important bit, so I make gallons. Loads of gravy is the secret to the best leftover sandwich. Sourdough, salted butter, a dollop of thick gravy, turkey, and then whatever else is in the fridge. It might actually be my peak sandwich moment of the year. It’s also great to make a hot sandwich: chop up whatever roasted leftovers you have – meat and veg – and heat them all together in the gravy, then just spoon the whole thing over soft white bread (ideally challah).

“I also use my gravy as the base for soups and stews, for pasta sauces, or to dunk chips into. If my leftovers aren’t inspiring, it’s always because I don’t have enough gravy.”