Turkey Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame is a delicious twist on the classic French sandwich. The perfect way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers too. A cheesy ham and cheese sandwich with cranberry mustard sauce and turkey, slathered in béchamel sauce.EASY - This recipe is easy to make, even with the few extra components compared a regular sandwich. An especially delicious way to re-invent thanksgiving leftovers! US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions.
¼cupleftover gravyfrom your thanksgiving spread; if you don’t have leftover gravy, you can use milk instead
2tbspunsalted butter
1 ½tbspAP flour
Pinchof ground nutmeg
226ggruyere cheese, shredded 2 cups, divided (85 g / 3 oz for the sauce, the rest for the sandwiches)
sea saltto taste
Turkey Croque Monsieur / Croque Madame
½cupcranberry saucehomemade or store-bought
2tbspspicy brown mustardor more to taste
8slicessandwich bread
8sliceshamany kind you prefer
½pieceleftover roast turkey breastthinly sliced. Enough for 4 sandwiches
Unsalted buttersoftened
Instructions
Cheesy Bechamel Sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 - 2 minutes to make a roux. Do not let the roux turn brown.
2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 ½ tbsp AP flour
Add the milk and gravy (if using) into the roux and whisk to combine. Make sure there are no lumps.
1 ¼ cups milk, ¼ cup leftover gravy
Taste and add salt to taste (you will need less if you're using gravy). Also add the nutmeg. Cook the bechamel sauce while stirring, until it starts to thicken. Add 85 g of cheese (about ¾ cup) and stir until just melted.
Pinch of ground nutmeg, sea salt, 226 g gruyere cheese, shredded
Taste and season with more salt if needed. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside. To avoid a skin from forming on the surface, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the bechamel sauce while it’s cooling down.
sea salt
Turkey Croque Monsieur / Croque Madame
Place the cranberry sauce in a bowl and mix in the mustard. Set aside. The grated gruyere cheese will be used inside the sandwich as well as outside, so divide the cheese in to roughly 8 portions.
½ cup cranberry sauce, 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
Butter both sides of each slice of bread. On one slice, spread some cranberry mustard sauce, followed by 2 slices of ham, and a layer of turkey. Top with grated gruyere cheese, and then with the other buttered slice of bread.
8 slices sandwich bread, 8 slices ham, ½ piece leftover roast turkey breast, Unsalted butter, 226 g gruyere cheese, shredded
OPTIONAL - you can add a thin layer of bechamel sauce inside the sandwich too.
Repeat with the rest of the bread slices.
Grill the sandwiches on both sides in a pan or on a griddle over medium - medium high heat, until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown - about 4 minutes per side for me.
Place the sandwiches on a baking tray (line the baking tray with parchment paper if you like, since the cheese will melt onto the tray).
Top each sandwich GENEROUSLY with the cheesy bechamel sauce - make sure the entire surface is covered from end to end. Top with the remaining gruyere cheese.
226 g gruyere cheese, shredded
Broil in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese has melted and you can see caramelized spots on the surface.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Top with sunny side up (or poached) eggs for a turkey croque madame.