Expert Tips For Keeping Leftover Turkey Moist And Juicy

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.

As well as keeping the bird intact as long as possible, Chef Coogan also suggests utilizing other Thanksgiving ingredients — including gravy — to make your leftover turkey taste as delicious as possible. Coogan says, "I try to reheat everything with a bit of stock or thinned-out gravy. Beyond adding flavor, this allows the dishes to steam slightly as they warm up."

With this tip in mind, what's the best way to store leftover gravy? Coogan suggests storing it in pint containers, although any airtight containers that you have should work just fine. When it comes to reheating the gravy, Coogan says to reheat it with other items (such as drizzled over leftover turkey) or to bring it to a simmer in a saucepan over the stove.

So, when it comes time to plan out your Thanksgiving dinner, you may want to make a bit of extra homemade gravy to make sure that there's plenty to go around for leftovers. And, if you're looking for a way to make your gravy stand out, you can check out our list of unexpected ingredients that will upgrade your Thanksgiving gravy, such as soy sauce and chili paste.