Top Perth chefs dish out their best recipes for reinventing Christmas leftovers into a festive Boxing Day meal

When the wrapping paper is in place and the last candy is thrown in, many people Western Australians They stare at a refrigerator full of shrimp, crawfish, turkey and ham.

What will you do with all this? tasty the rest?

For White Horse Tavern head chef Sean Cridland, Boxing Day is all about making things easier; especially when trying to get together with family and friends.

“Australians love their seafood, they love their crayfish and prawns, especially on Christmas Day,” he said.

The next day, she piles the leftovers onto buttery brioche rolls to create a treat that has become legendary in her home.

“There’s no need to do a lot of cooking with these, they’re simple,” he said.

Her method is simple: “You cut up the leftovers, mix them with some delicious little bits from your fridge, and squeeze the mixture into a nice muffin roll.”

Its signature combination consists of kewpie mayonnaise — “it gives it a rich flavor” — plus lemon zest, crunchy celery and chives.

“It was always a winner,” he said.

Cridland’s innings are now unquestionable.

“My family looks forward to it…they always make sure they have leftover shrimp and crawfish so I can make them that,” he said.

When you’re stuck with seafood, it’s important to store it well, Cridland said.

“As long as the seafood is kept in the refrigerator, a few days should be fine,” he said.

“Obviously you want as little air as possible to get into the meat…wrapping them in nice, tight plastic wrap or a freezer bag helps.

“A simple marinade of oil, salt, pepper and garlic also keeps it fresh.”

At The Merrywell, head chef Karmen Wong swears by croquettes, the comforting, crunchy kind built around a velvety béchamel sauce.

“Turkey is usually pretty dry, especially leftover turkey, so the creamy flavor of the béchamel kind comes alive and really masks the dryness,” he said.

“I think it’s perfect for Boxing Day or any day.”

Wong makes them at home so often that it’s become a family ritual.

“Me and my son make this dish all the time because he always asks for it,” she said.

And he believes it could be a place for everyone to go on Boxing Day.

“I think this could be a new tradition…perfect way to use up leftovers.”

“Most of the ingredients are already in the pantry.

“You have butter, you have flour, you have milk, and then add whatever meats you want to add to it… even seafood would work.”

If anyone can turn leftovers into a stellar meal, it’s Gibney’s head chef James Cole Bowen.

“Christmas is the only time I really eat shrimp,” he said, so he’s made the art of turning the shells that most people throw away into richly flavored spaghetti.

“I love cooking with things that people usually throw in the trash,” she said.

“On Boxing Day, people often have shrimp shells lying around… You can cook this quickly with items you have around the house and have a delicious meal.”

Eating has long been a way to get the most out of every part of shrimp.

“All products are valuable, because they consist of bones or shells (though you can), treat them with the same respect as the main product.”

And when you’ve had your fill of ham for the third day in a row, pasta is the perfect reset.

“You eat the same turkey and ham for days after Christmas…this pasta is nice because you start to feel different.”

Moreover, it is fast.

“If I had done this at home without going out and buying something, it would have taken 10 minutes,” he said.

“You literally hit the pot with the oil, the garlic, the paprika…then the pasta you have lying around comes in handy.”

Sean Cridland’s buttered shrimp and crayfish rolls

Contents

350 g butter

2 cloves of garlic

2 whole crayfish (500g each)

600g whole shrimp

400 g Kewpie mayonnaise

zest of 2 lemons

20 g chives

2 celery stalks

8 pastry rolls

Method

• Chop the celery and shrimp into cubes and place them in a bowl.
• Finely chop the celery and chives and add to the shrimp and crayfish mixture.
• Add the lime zest and kewpie mayonnaise, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
• Melt some butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the brioche rolls and roll them to coat in the butter and fry lightly.
• Spoon the crawfish and shrimp mixture into rolls.

Karmen Wong’s turkey and ham croquettes

Contents:

90 g unsalted butter

110 g plain flour

A glass of bread crumbs

1L whole milk, warm

120g remaining turkey, finely chopped

120g remaining ham, very finely chopped

1 small brown onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon coconut

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

Method

• Add olive oil and butter to a medium-sized pot. When it melts, add the onion and garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes until it softens (no color remains).
• Add 110g flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg and smoked paprika. Cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the flour smells hazelnut.
• Add the hot milk slowly. You are aiming for a very thick, silky béchamel.
• Add the turkey and ham. Stir over low heat for 3-5 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow tray and press the plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a crust from forming.
• Chill for at least 4 hours.
• Coat each croquette – flour, egg wash, breadcrumbs.
• Heat the oil to 180°C. These can be deep fried or shallow fried in a pan on the stove.
• Fry the croquettes for 2-3 minutes until dark golden brown.

James Cole Bowen’s shrimp shell spaghetti

Contents:

150g shrimp shells and heads

500ml vegetable oil

1 teaspoon tomato paste

4 cloves of garlic

2 red peppers

Olive oil

Spaghetti

1 lemon

Parsley

salt to taste

Method

• Add shrimp shells to a pot (raw heads and shells are preferred, but cooked shells will work too) and cover with vegetable oil.
• Add a clove of garlic and some red pepper, bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
• Reduce the heat to add the tomato paste.
• Blend all the peels with a stick blender to puree, then strain the oil through a sieve. Set aside for later.
• Add spaghetti to boiling water (salty like soup, not ocean), if the instructions say to cook for 8 minutes, then cook in water for 5 minutes and you want to do the last 3 minutes in the sauce.
• Add oil to a cold frying pan and turn heat to medium-low.
• Add the sliced ​​pepper and three cloves of garlic, cook over low heat until the oil melts and its color disappears.
• Add the spaghetti to the pan (reserve the pasta water).
• Now add some of the reserved shrimp oil and toss the pasta vigorously, adding a small amount of pasta water to create a thick sauce that coats the pasta, if you want to add any leftover cooked shrimp now is the time.
• To finish, add lemon zest and juice, as well as chopped parsley, and adjust the seasoning.