Leftover Turkey Sandwiches with Homemade Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

One of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner is that there are always plenty of leftovers for the next day or two. This means that all the time and effort that went into cooking and cleaning on Thursday makes up for the fact that there is no need to spend much time in the kitchen for at least a day or two. Aside from heating up the leftovers, of course.

It can be a bit boring to just eat plates of the same dinner items over and over again, so I try to repurpose them a little bit. This year, I’m doing Leftover Turkey Sandwiches with Homemade Cranberry Barbecue Sauce. The turkey obviously comes from the bird and you can use either white or dark meat. The cranberry bbq sauce starts out with whole cranberries that are made into a quick sauce (you can substitute 1 1/4 cups leftover cranberry sauce for the first three ingredients in the recipe below), to which some classic barbecue sauce flavors are added. The finished sauce has a nice tang to it and a good amount of sweetness from the cranberry sauce.

The sauce, like the turkey, will keep well in the fridge so feel free to make it in advance and just pull it out when you’re ready to dig in to leftovers.

Homemade Cranberry Barbecue Sauce
1 1/4 cups whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, water and sugar over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until cranberries pop, sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling. Reduce heat to low.
Stir in ketchup, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and salt and pepper. Mix well and cook on low for 2-3 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.