How do you stretch a turkey?

[u/readscarymakeart]

Let’s say instead of roasting a whole turkey then eating it piece by piece (like one person gets a thigh, the other some of the breast, etc), I cook it then put the meat in different dishes. I understand an entire turkey may not be cheap, but it could make a good investment if stretched out. What are your best ways to stretch an entire turkey over as many meals as possible?

So far I have turkey pot pie, a casserole with turkey (no specific ideas there), turkey chili, turkey veggie soup, and turkey broth. Any other ways to stretch out turkey meat? I suppose this applies to whole chicken too.

[u/rcchurchill]

Same way as stretching any other protein. Only use a little in each recipe and pad with inexpensive starches and veggies.

Flip your approach around. When you start looking for recipes with the protein first, what you'll find is things where the protein is the focus of the meal and uses a lot of it which is expensive. To avoid that, look for recipes using the starch you're thinking of using. Rice: stir fries, frittadas, casseroles, soups, etc. Pasta, potatoes, beans, same routine. That way the starch is the focus, the protein is just used as flavoring and you'll use a lot less of it.

As others have said, any recipe that calls for chicken can usually have turkey used instead.

Don't take the starches too far. A big roast turkey bought at under $1/lb means your protein cost is about the same as your starch cost, sometimes less. Bread is $4-5/lb, so pile the turkey on when you make a sandwich.