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Turkey Tetrazzini

A casserole of thin spaghetti, turkey, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce with cheese.

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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Turkey Tetrazzini

Oven350°F
Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in flour, salt, and nutmeg until smooth. Gradually add milk and stock or broth; bring to boiling, stirring constantly; boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

  2. Using a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks in a small bowl with the cream. Beat in a little of the hot mixture. Pour back into saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is hot—do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the sherry.

Assemble the casserole

  1. Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, bring 6 quarts of water to boiling; add 2 tablespoons salt and the spaghetti; cook as label directs; drain in colander. Return spaghetti to kettle. Add 2 cups sauce; toss lightly until spaghetti and sauce are well combined.

  2. Combine turkey and mushrooms in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of sauce to this mixture and mix well.

  3. Divide the spaghetti in half and place in two 12 x 8 x 8.2-inch baking dishes, arranging around the edges. Spoon half of the turkey mixture into the center of each dish. Reserve rest of sauce for later use. Sprinkle cheese over spaghetti in each dish. Cover with foil; refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Bake and serve

  1. About 1 hour before serving, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, covered, 45 minutes. Reheat sauce; spoon over spaghetti in each dish.

  2. To freeze: Line one of the baking dishes with foil; assemble casserole as directed. Fold foil over to seal; freeze right in the dish. When frozen, lift out foil; remove dish from freezer. To serve: Unwrap, return to casserole dish and let stand 1 hour to thaw. Bake, covered for 1 hour at 350°F or until bubbly.

Make the turkey stock

  1. To make turkey stock: Break up carcass. Place in a stock pot with 3 cups water, 3 parsley sprigs, 2 carrots (pared and halved), 3 celery tops, 2 onions (halved), 2 teaspoons salt, 10 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat; simmer, covered, 2 hours. Strain. Boil gently, uncovered, to reduce stock to 2 cups. This may be done ahead.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1165Calories
68 gProtein
45 gFat
113 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the sauce and carries flavor while building its base with flour.
Flour
Thickens the milk and broth into a smooth, cohesive white sauce.
Egg yolks
Enrich and thicken the sauce, giving it body and a silky texture when gently heated.
Heavy cream
Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture to the sauce.
Spaghetti
Forms the base of the casserole, holding the sauce and turkey mixture together.
Cheddar cheese
Melts over the casserole and browns in the oven, adding savory flavor and a golden top.

The step that matters

Heating the egg yolk sauce. Egg yolks thicken by gentle heat, but boiling can scramble them and leave the sauce grainy. Keep it hot and stirred, never boiling.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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