Happy almost Thanksgiving! If you’ve read my post highlighting the Thanksgiving specials available in NYC, then you’ve seen Mimi Cheng’s November special Thanksgiving dumplings made with organic turkey, homemade stuffing and turkey gravy with fresh cranberry sauce. Since I’m spending this Thanksgiving in Hong Kong and sadly can’t get to Mimi Cheng’s, I wanted to recreate their dumplings but had the idea to arrange them in the shape of a turkey. While Mimi’s dumplings are more perfectly pan-fried, I’m still super happy with the results! Turns out jellied cranberry sauce shapes into a turkey’s body quite well, and the dumplings themselves wrap up those delicious Thanksgiving flavors in one crispy yet chewy package – even my dog Crosby tried to steal one 😂 You could also easily make these with your Thanksgiving leftovers for a fun way to repurpose them!
The dumplings themselves stay juicy by first soaking the stuffing mixture in chicken stock, and then adding turkey gravy so they don’t dry out. I just used store-bought ingredients to make things easy, but you could also prepare them fresh or use Thanksgiving leftovers to make these dumplings. I ended up making double the recipe called for to use up some ground turkey I had before it went bad, which left me with a ton of extra filling. If you have leftover filling, you can fold extra dumplings to increase the amount of turkey feathers or you can also just roll the filling into meatballs and bake them in the oven or your air fryer since the stuffing acts as a great binding agent.
Thanksgiving Dumplings with Turkey, Stuffing, and Gravy
Ingredients
For the dumpling filling:*
- 1 cup dry stuffing mix, crushed
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- 2/3 cup turkey gravy
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
For the dumplings:
- 21 dumpling wrappers
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- Cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Crush the dry stuffing mix into large breadcrumb-like pieces, then combine with the chicken stock so the stuffing is no longer dry. Combine with the remaining ingredients for the dumpling filling in a bowl, mixing well.
- Add 1 tbsp. of filling to the center of a dumpling wrapper (or less if you’re still practicing folding the dumplings).
- To make a braided pleat, follow the instructions in the video above, otherwise you can pleat them the more simple way: use your finger to wet the outer edges of the dumpling, then fold the dumpling in half like a taco and pinch the center where the two ends of the wrapper meet. Use your thumb and forefinger to create small pleats along the right side, then the other side, switching direction of the pleats if desired.
- Fold all of your dumplings, setting the finished ones aside on a baking tray or cutting board and keeping the wrappers and folded dumplings under a clean wet cloth or wet paper towels as you’re working to prevent them from drying out.
- Heat the cooking oil over medium heat in a non-stick, heavy bottomed pan that has a lid. Carefully place each dumpling in the pan, pressing and swirling each dumpling in the oil to evenly coat the bottom then arranging them in a ring inside your pan. Cook for 2 minutes so the bottom starts to get crispy.
- Add the water and quickly cover with the lid, cooking until almost all of the water evaporates (usually 5-7 min). Remove the lid and continue to cook until water has evaporated.
- While your dumplings are cooking, prepare your cranberry sauce by either using a spoon to carve out the shape of a turkey’s body or filling two small bowls with heated cranberry sauce. Cut out legs, eyes and a beak out of a dumpling wrapper and gently place onto cranberry sauce.
- Once dumplings are cooked, arrange the dumplings around the cranberry sauce turkey body and serve immediately.
- To freeze leftover dumplings, freeze them separated on a baking tray and transfer to a freezer bag after the dumplings are frozen solid.
Notes
*Replace the dumpling filling with your Thanksgiving leftovers! Chop up any leftover turkey and roasted veggies, then combine well with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and anything else you have leftover
If you make my Thanksgiving dumplings, I’d love to see the final product. Tag your photos and stories on Instagram with @indulgenteats and #indulgentrecipes so I can see them!
If my Thanksgiving dumplings aren’t enough, try my Pumpkin Mac & Cheese with Italian Sausage or turn your leftovers into my Thanksgiving Breakfast Stuffing. Save this recipe by pinning the image below!
