A very Pittsburgh way to enjoy turkey

For many, deciding what to make with any leftover Thanksgiving turkey is as simple as grabbing two slices of white bread and a jar of mayo.

Others prefer to toss the roasted meat with noodles, mushrooms and cheese in a creamy casserole such as tetrazzini or tuck it into a golden pastry crust in a scrumptious pot pie. My family’s personal favorite is an old-fashioned a la king recipe I found years ago in Betty Crocker’s Big Red cookbook and make with cubes of diced turkey instead of the more classic chicken. It’s served over homemade biscuits.

But what if you want Round Two to be as showstopping as your holiday meal? I say: Consider an open-faced, meal-on-a-plate Turkey Devonshire.

Crafted with cooked turkey slices, chopped or sliced tomato and crispy bacon in a decadent, bubbling cheese sauce, Turkey Devonshire is a Pittsburgh classic. It was created in 1934 at the Stratford Club in Millvale by a Sicilian-American chef named Frank Blandi, who dubbed the knife-and-fork sandwich “Devonshire” after a tony street in Shadyside because it sounded English. While it’s not as common on local menus as it was, say, 50 years ago, you still can find it at places including Union Grill Oakland and Hartwood Restaurant in Hampton.

My colleague and Turkey Devonshire fanatic Hal B. Klein makes his sauce by adding a blend of gruyere and cheddar cheese to gravy built on turkey drippings, chicken stock, white wine and Dijon mustard. The additional components, he says, enhances the flavor and also makes what can be a heavy dish a little lighter.

I stink at making gravy, though, so I went a more traditional route with a recipe from Union Grill that ran in Belt Magazine. It features a sauce of heavy cream, cheddar, Swiss and provolone cheeses, along with grated Parmesan.

The recipe makes enough sauce for at least three or four sandwiches. Be sure to add the bacon after you stick the sandwich under the broiler to brown or it will burn. I used individual-sized casserole dishes.