Nov 23 2024

The Best Leftover Thanksgiving Sandwich – Smoked Gobbler Sliders

Name: The Best Leftover Thanksgiving Sandwich - Smoked Gobbler Sliders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: sliders
Ingredients: 12 slider rolls; 12-24 slices of leftover Thanksgiving turkey; 12 teaspoons cranberry relish; 12 Tablespoons of leftover stuffing; 12-24 slices of Gouda (12 regular slices folded or 24 cracker-cut slices); 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 2 teaspoons Cluckalicious Seasoning (*See note)

Find the recipe card at the end of the post. Make sure to read the content as it contains chef tips, substitution options, and answers to FAQs to help you succeed the first time around!

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I have figured out how to transform Thanksgiving leftovers into the best sandwich you’ll ever eat! We’re talking about a Smoked Gobbler Slider!

Find out how to transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into the best smoked gobbler slider sandwich you'll ever eat!

Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich – Perfected

After decades of making turkeys professionally, I have the best turkey sandwich you’ll ever sink your teeth into! Taking our iconic secret menu Gobbler Sub from my family’s pizzeria and transforming it into something out of this world

“Gobbler” foods are where you combine leftover Thanksgiving foods into one amazing recipe that doesn’t feel like it’s a leftover at all. It’s truly the best bite of Thanksgiving. This year I’m showing you how I perfected this sandwich.

Let me show you just how easy it is to make! Plus I’ll give you other ways to make it if you don’t have a smoker (using an oven or air fryer!)

Grab Your Ingredients

Thanksgiving is over and your fridge is stuffed to the brim with leftovers; am I right?! Even though now it’s just the 2 of us, mine is forever stuffed like that.

This is where this slider truly is the best bite of Thanksgiving. This is something I grew up eating (minus the smoked part).

Football was always on in our house; my brother did play in the NFL after all. Thanksgiving weekend was nothing but leftovers and football. I’m like my Mom where I am not a huge fan of the same old plate of food.

She’s the one who came up with this concept 40+ years ago. I just feel that I perfected it with this rendition. Smoking it truly makes this sandwich elite!

Carved Turkey
Gouda Cheese
Leftover Stuffing
Cranberry Relish
Slider Rolls
Herbed Butter

Light Up The Yoder Smokers YS640

Preheat the smoker to 250F with a fruit wood pellet.

Assemble The Thanksgiving Gobbler Sliders

This is super simple. If you can make a regular sandwich, you can absolutely make these sliders! I have faith in you!

Place the bottoms of the slider buns in a single layer in a heat-proof dish or pan.
Top with 1-2 slices of leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
Spoon on 1/2-1 teaspoon of Cranberry Relish. To that, top with 1 heaping Tablespoon of leftover stuffing.
Place 1 large slice (or 2 cracker-style cuts) of gouda cheese folded to fit on top of the stuffing.

Place the slider tops in place and brush with the herbed melted butter. Cover with foil and place on the top rack of the Yoder Smokers YS640.

After 30 minutes, raise the temperature to 275F and remove the foil. Smoke for an additional 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tops are toasted.

The Best Thanksgiving Bite

Yes, I know these are made post-Thanksgiving but I’m telling you, these are something I’d make FOR Thanksgiving if it were just me.

Earlier this month I had a local event where I was representing Yoder Smokers. Since I knew it was a holiday season kickoff AND that there were going to be other vendors there, I wanted to make sure we stood out

I made these Gobbler Sliders and served them with a side of Smoked Garlic Onion Parmesan Potato Chips. So many folks hadn’t heard of Gobblers (it must be an East Coast thing). Since we ate with our eyes first, everyone was raving about how awesome they looked.

But the proof was in the first bite…I had so many folks raving about these. Seriously every single person came back to me later asking for the recipe and telling me that not only was this the best bite of the night but it was the best Thanksgiving sandwich they’d ever had!

Gobbler Oven and Air Fryer Instructions

If you don’t have a smoker, you can make these in the oven and air fryer but you will be missing the element that truly makes this the best bite – the smoky element. That being said, these are still delicious!

Oven Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly butter a baking dish.
Assemble the sliders and cover. Bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover baking for another 20 minutes until the tops are toasted and golden brown.

Air Fryer Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 325F.
Line the air fryer with parchment paper or use a lined baking sheet (if it’ll fit). Assemble the sliders leaving a bit of space between them.
Air fry for 10-13 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tops are toasted and golden brown.

Recipe Substitutions & Additions

This is one of those sections where you have some wiggle room to make it your own. Plus there are also some ways you can enjoy this gluten-free too!

Gluten-Free – Go with some gluten-free rolls and gluten-free stuffing
Turkey – if you made a chicken instead you can use that
Cranberry Relish – sorry but my recipe IS THE BEST and there is no better substitute however you could switch it up and use my Bourbon & Bacon Cranberry Relish
Dipping Sauce – while it has cranberry relish on it, there’s not a ton of make it dripping. I’ve been known to dip these in hot turkey gravy. Need to know how to make an amazing no-fail gravy? Check out this post!
Cheese – this is where you do have a ton of flexibility however I would strongly advise against using a soft cheese like Brie. While it’s amazing it gets too ‘soupy’ when smoked. Try mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack, or a cheese like that.
Bacon – why not? Add crisp bacon on top of the turkey

Reheating Instructions

If you have leftovers of these sandwiches, consider yourself lucky as these ALWAYS are the first thing to go in my house.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the rolls on a foil-lined pan. Heat for 10-15 minutes or until the sandwich is warmed through, the cheese has melted and the tops are toasty. *if necessary, cover the tops with foil to prevent them from getting too toasted.