Everything You Need to Know for Delicious Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls
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If you’re looking for something new and different to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers, I’ve got you covered. Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls have been such a hit with us that we get more excited for those than the Turkey Day meal.
Experimenting with Thanksgiving Leftovers
Back in 2015, I found a recipe for Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls with Sweet and Sour Cranberry Sauce Tasty on Facebook. It was my first year blogging, so we thought we’d make them and put our own spin on it.
In previous years, we’d been all about the Thanksgiving Leftover Shepherd’s Pie. Egg rolls seemed way more fun, and it’s a good way to spend some time playing together in the kitchen.
Although, honestly, they’re really quick to put together, so the quality time we spent was mostly in framing up shots of every step of the process, and trying to get enough light in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls are Unbelievable!
In the end, we were greeted, first, with a crisp egg roll wrapper which never fails to please. Yes, we fried them… REALLY fried them in vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet (and you know how much I hate deep-frying things).
We have, indeed, tried doing these in the air fryer, and they turn out fine. However, I do have to say that it’s just not the same thing.
The interior is highly variable, but the key is texture. We’ve done these on years where our only leftovers were turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Admittedly, those egg rolls turned out claggy and heavy. They just weren’t the best.
But, over the years we’ve saved up some fresh carrot and cabbage to add in for more crunch. That is actually the key to making my Thanksgiving egg rolls so dang good.
Let’s Talk More About Texture
As with anything, start with a focus. We do turkey because there’s always so much of it, and who doesn’t love a good Chicken Egg Roll from Panda Express? So, we choose to focus on turkey first. Because turkey is a soft texture that means we need a different texture to play off.
The next thing is crunch. Do you have a nutty sweet potato casserole or some leftover veggies? Throw those in the bowl with your turkey. They’ll vastly improve your egg roll experience.
If you don’t have crunchy leftovers, cut up fresh baby carrots and cabbage. Trust me! It makes such a difference.
What about stuffing? Well, frankly, Hubs makes the best stuffing I’ve ever had. My man makes stuffing with homemade focaccia, red grapes, green apples, celery, onion, and a magic herb blend. Basically, we’d be insane if we didn’t put leftover stuffing in the egg rolls. INSANE.
Dips for Your Thanksgiving Eggrolls
Do you have left over gravy? That’s a really easy place to start. Pour a little into a microwavable glass dish, and heat it up.
What about that Sweet and Sour Cranberry Sauce dip mentioned in the Tasty recipe? Yeah, we definitely need to talk about that. The recipe is leftover cranberry sauce, apple cider vinegar, and sugar.
If you are using a chunky cranberry sauce like we were, you might want to run it through a food processor to make it more of a dip. We’ve tried it with the whole berry sauce, and it’s a little harder to dip, but still really good.
The benefit of the cranberry sauce, though, is that its sharpness will cut through the heaviness of your mashed potato and stuffing filled egg rolls (if that’s all you put in there).
How to Roll Your Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
I recommend watching the Tasty video if you’re more of a visual learner. Otherwise, the process for rolling an egg roll is very simple.
Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out your filling onto the center of your wrapper. With your hand, scoop that filling into a log shape.
Then, turn your wrapper so it’s angled in front of you, like a diamond rather than a square.
Fold the bottom corner up over the filling and gently pull it toward you to get a tight roll around your filling. Then, fold the left corner to the right, and the right corner to the left. Give it another little pull to make sure it’s tight.
Roll it over once, and then you should be left with a flap of corner left at the top. Brush this with egg white, and finish rolling to create a seal. You can press the seal with your fingers to make sure it’s really set.
What to Do if Your Wrappers are Dry and Crack Easily
If your egg roll wrappers are dry and crack when you roll them, dampen a dish towel and place the wrappers in the center. Fold the damp towel over them to cover, and microwave for 10 seconds to steam them.
This will add just enough moisture back so they are more pliable and won’t crack as easily.
Where to Find Egg Rolls Wrappers
Head to your local grocery store, and then wander into the dry foods section wherever the Asian specialty ingredients are kept. There are also refrigerated wrappers near the tofu, meat-substitutes in the produce section.
We used the refrigerated kind because they were softer and ready to go right out of the package. I haven’t tried this with the kind from the dry section, so make sure you follow the package instructions before you start making egg rolls.
If you happen to have an Asian specialty store nearby, I’d recommend you go there for wrappers. There’s always a great selection, and you can find other delicious things to try. Most Asian specialty grocery stores are owned by families, too, so support your local economy.
Air Frying Alternative Instructions
I love you, and I support your ambition to deviate from recipes. Obviously, once you veer away from my notes, you’re on your own and I can only help you so much. But in this case, I’ve at least tried to air fry these.
Here’s what you need to do.
Assemble your egg rolls exactly the same way as we’ve already talked about. Then, spray them generously with avocado oil. Olive oil doesn’t like going hotter than 325ºF, but avocado has a smoke point of 520ºF, so it won’t go and make your air fryer all sticky.
Place a single layer of egg rolls in your air fryer basket and air fry at 400ºF for 4 minutes. Flip them and let them go another 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
Additionally, whether fried or air fried, the best way to reheat leftover egg rolls is to use the air fryer. Cook at 400ºF for 9 minutes to make sure they’re warm and crispy. Do not add additional oil.
Tools for Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
Make sure you have all the right tools for the job:
- Large cast-iron skillet
- Metal tongs
- Candy thermometer
- Air Fryer (optional for reheating)
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls
Equipment
- Large Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 12 egg roll wrappers
- 1 cup leftover turkey cold, cubed
- 1 cup leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes cold
- 1 cup crunchy veggies cold
- 2 Tbsp egg whites
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil
- ½ cup cranberry sauce
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ½ cup leftover gravy
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together leftover turkey, stuffing/potatoes, and vegetables, if you want them mixed in. You can alternatively set your vegetables in the center of each wrapper for more even distribution.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling mixture into the center of each wrapper. If you didn't mix the veggies in, you'll use just a little less than a 1/4 cup per wrapper to make 12.
- To roll, fold the bottom corner over the filling, then the left and right corners. Roll it up tightly until there is just a flap. With a pastry brush, brush flap with egg whites, and finish rolling it up. Make sure the flap has been sealed down to the roll tightly.
- In a cast-iron pan, heat the vegetable oil until a small sliver of wrapper sizzles in it (350°F if you're using a thermometer). Fry 2 to 3 egg rolls at a time, turning to ensure even browning. Do not crowd the pan. Once they're a nice golden brown all around, remove to a paper towel to drain excess oil.
- For cranberry sauce, in a small saucepan, combine leftover cranberry sauce, vinegar, and sugar, and simmer for at least 10 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
- Warm the gravy in the microwave. Serve both sauces in dipping bowls to share.
2 Comments
Rob Stanley
Sounds delicious; may have to give this a try!
Elle Jay
If you do, let me know how they turn out!