This recipe has been passed down through our family for several generations. It reminds me of the holidays because every day or two after Thanksgiving, my grandfather would make up a huge batch of this with the leftover turkey. I loved it as a kid and would happily devour this morning, noon, and night until the leftovers were gone. I hope you enjoy it too! Be sure to check out my note section below the recipe for additional ideas on how to prepare this recipe. Ingredients and instructions with alternative methods are marked with (*) with the corresponding (*) found in the notes section.
- Prep time: 10-15 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes – 4/8 hours depending on your cooking method
- Makes about 6-8 cups
Ingredients
- 4+ cups of chopped turkey (rotisserie chicken works well as a replacement*)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- In a medium sized (3 quart) cooking pot**, begin heating chicken broth on medium high heat and add in vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ketchup. Stir to dissolve and mix ingredients.
- As ingredients start to bubble and steam, add in cornstarch mix*** and stir briskly with a whisk. Continue to stir until ingredients begin to thicken.
- Reduce heat to low and allow ingredients to simmer together for about 10 minutes. Make sure to check and stir sauce every few minutes to prevent burning or congealing on the bottom of the pan.
- Once sauce is thickened, add in chopped meat and stir to evenly mix ingredients together. Let this mix simmer on low heat for about 15-20 minutes to allow the meat to absorb some of the sauce flavors.
- Serve over leftover mashed potatoes, on top of leftover rolls, on buns with coleslaw, or by itself!****
Notes
*As I mentioned, rotisserie chicken can be used as a substitution for turkey. You could also make this recipe in a crock pot and start with raw chicken breasts along with the sauce ingredients. If you choose to do this method, I suggest you cook it on low for 8 hours to allow the chicken breasts to fully cook. After they cook you could shred the chicken right in the sauce and then mix the ingredients together.
**You can also make this recipe in a crockpot. Using this method allows for better flavor absorption by the meat but you want to make sure to cook it on low to keep the meat from over cooking if you are using pre-cooked leftovers. If you choose the crock pot method, just place all your sauce ingredients in and mix well before adding the meat (raw or cooked).
***The cornstarch mix will only slightly thicken up the sauce and it may appear more runny than you expect. You’re welcome to play around with the cornstarch mix ratio but this recipe allows for the sauce to be thin but not watery.
****There are so many ways to enjoy this recipe. Aside from using it for leftovers, it’s great on top of rice or veggies too. The sauce is very versatile so I’d love to hear how you’ve used it. Leave a comment here on the recipe page and let me know what you did with it. Thanks!
Nutrition
- Serving size: 1 cup of meat and sauce
- 1 serving is approximately 193 Calories; 1.6g Fat; 0.3g Sat. Fat; 37.5mg Cholest.; 755mg Sodium; 29.9g Carbs; 0.1g Fiber; 26g Sugar; 14.4g Protein.
