Leftover Turkey & Ham Slab Pie
This turkey & ham slab pie is a great way to use up Christmas leftovers! There’s crisp pastry, tender meat & a rich and creamy cider sauce.
This festive slab pie is a fantastic way to use up Christmas dinner leftovers. Inside a flaky pastry crust, there’s a creamy cider cheese sauce & tender chunks of roasted turkey & ham. If you’ve got some pigs in blankets or stuffing, you can add them into the filling as well! This one’s great for when you’ve got a crowd to feed & is best served with lashings of gravy…
For more ways to use up festive leftovers, check out our collection of Christmas leftover recipes! Here you’ll find pies, pastas, salads & more.
What Is A Slab Pie?
A slab pie is a large rectangular pie, that’s baked in either a baking tin or free form on a baking tray. Pretty much any pie can be made into a slab pie & they can be single or double crusted. Slab pies are great for parties & gatherings when you need plenty of portions! You’ll get rectangle slices of pie here, instead of the classic triangle shape but you get more crust and that’s never a bad thing!
Pie Components
In my opinion, a good pie only needs a few components. As long as each one is made well, it’s hard to go wrong! This pie only has 3 components; a crisp, flaky pastry crust, leftover festive meats and a rich & creamy cider sauce (flavoured with cheddar & mustard!).
This slab pie is designed to use up leftover meat from Christmas, including roast turkey & glazed ham. If you’ve only got one of these, you can use just one meat or you can swap one of them out for something else. Pigs in blankets, for example!
How To Make A Leftover Turkey & Ham Slab Pie
The full, printable recipe card for this slab pie can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
Turkey & Ham Pie Filling
For our pie filling, we’re making a rich & creamy cider sauce which is flavoured with dijon mustard, freshly grated nutmeg & a generous amount of mature cheddar cheese. To this, we’re adding roughly chopped leftover turkey & ham.
The great thing about this filling, is that it’s incredibly easy to make (yet super tasty!). We’re making the cider sauce like a bechamel but instead of milk, we’re using cider, chicken stock & double cream. Then to finish, we simply fold in chunks of roasted turkey & ham!
The pie filling needs to be cooled down completely before we assemble the pie, so can also be made a day a day in advance. You could also freeze the pie filling & make your pie at a later date.
Assembly
Our turkey & ham slab pie is baked free form style on a baking tray (as appose to in a baking tin). I find that this way is actually easier than using a tin but feel free to shape your pie however you like! Here’s how I like to assemble my slab pie.
A quick note! I’d recommend assembling the pie on your baking tray as it will be quite tricky to lift off of your work surface. Don’t ask me how I know this!
- Take half of your rough puff pastry & roll it out into a rectangle that’s 30cm long, 22cm wide & 3-4mm thick. Place this onto a lined baking tray.
If you’re using ready rolled puff pastry, this is the same size as one sheet. - Next, spoon your chilled pie filling on top of the pastry then gently spread it out into an even layer. Leave a 2 cm border of pastry around the filling.
- Brush the pastry border with a light layer of egg wash (egg yolk mixed with double cream).
- Roll the other piece of pastry out, into another 30 cm x 22 cm rectangle then lay over the filling.
- Lightly press down on the edges, to seal then crimp with a fork, that’s been dusted with flour (this stops the fork sticking to the pastry).
- Trim the edges of your pie, to neaten up then chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Baking
The key to baking the best puff pastry pies, is to get your oven nice & hot and to bake your pie straight from the fridge. Cooking them this way means that all those layers & pockets of butter are cold & more distinct, making our puff pastry flakier & more crisp. This also applies to rough puff pastry.
To cook our slab pie, we brush it all over with egg wash, sprinkle with sea salt then bake at 190°c/374°f for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is crisp & a deep, golden brown colour.
For the best finish I like to brush on 2 light layers of egg wash. One whilst the oven is preheating & the second just before baking.
What To Serve With A Turkey & Ham Slab Pie
In my opinion, a good pie becomes even better when you serve it with plenty of homemade gravy! Some sort of potato is another fantastic pie side dish, whether that’s creamy mashed potato, fluffy roast potatoes or crispy chips. It’s totally up to you though! Some steamed or roasted veg would be another good choice.
Tips & Tricks
- Make your own rough puff pastry, for the crispest, flakiest crust!
- Use a good quality apple cider & chicken stock in the filling, for the best flavour.
- Chill your pie for at least an hour before baking. Flaky pastries bake a lot better straight from the fridge (it’ll be crisper & flakier!).
- Make your egg wash with egg yolk & double cream, to give the pastry a deep, golden brown finish once baked.
- Let your pie sit for 5 minutes or so once baked, for neater slices. Using a sharp knife helps as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, shop bought pastry can be used to make slab pies. Ready rolled puff pastry is best. To make a large slab pie, you’ll need 2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry.
Any apple cider works great for savoury pie fillings. If you’d prefer to make your pie filling without cider, use extra chicken stock instead.
Yes, turkey & ham slab pies can be made in advance. Once assembled, the pie can be kept in the fridge for up to a day before being baked. Any leftovers will need to be kept in the fridge & are best eaten within a couple of days.
The best way to reheat leftover turkey pie is to bake slices of pie in a 180°c/356°f oven until the filling is piping hot.
How To Cook A Slab Pie In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Make the pie filling on the simmering plate. Bake the pie in the roasting oven, on the bottom set of runners.
More Christmas Recipes To Try!
- Leftover Christmas Dinner Pie
- Leftover Turkey Caesar Salad
- Leftover Pigs In Blankets Mac & Cheese
- Fried Turkey Tenders With Cranberry Hot Honey
- Sausage Roll Wreath With Honey Glazed Camembert
- Deep Fried Camembert
If you have enjoyed this turkey slab pie recipe, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Leftover Turkey & Ham Slab Pie
Equipment
- Large Saucepans
- Large Baking Tray
- Pastry Brush
- Fork
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Pie Filling
- 250 ml Cider (See Notes)
- 125 ml Chicken Stock
- 50 g Butter
- 50 g Plain Flour
- 150 g Double Cream
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Grated Nutmeg (To Taste)
- 75 g Mature Cheddar (Grated)
- 250 g Leftover Ham (See Notes)
- 250 g Leftover Turkey (See Notes)
To Assemble
- 600 g Rough Puff Pastry (Or 2x 320g Packets Of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry)
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 tsp Double Cream
Instructions
Pie Filling
- Add the cider & chicken stock into a saucepan then set over a low heat & leave to get steaming hot.
- Place the butter into a large saucepan, set over a medium heat then cook until melted.
- Stir the flour into the butter then cook out for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Next, pour in a third of the warm stock then whisk until smooth. Cook out until thick, whisking/stirring regularly. This will take 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.
- Once thick, pour half of the remaining stock into the sauce then continue cooking until it has thickened up again, whisking regularly.
- Add in the remaining stock then reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring/whisking regularly until the sauce has thickened back up for a final time. This step will take 5-10 minutes.The sauce will seem quite thick at this point. It will thin out when we add in the double cream.
- Next, stir in the double cream, mustard & grated nutmeg, leave to warm through for a couple of minutes then add in the grated cheese, stirring to melt.
- Season the sauce with salt & pepper, to taste then take it off the heat. Leave to cool slightly.
- In the meantime, chop the ham & turkey into 1 cm chunks. Fold this through the sauce once it has cooled then transfer the pie filling to a shallow dish & chill in the fridge to cool down completely.
Assembly
- First, add the yolk & cream into a bowl, whisk together then set aside. This is our egg wash.
- Roll out half of the pastry on a lightly floured work surface, into a rectangle that's 30cm long, 22cm wide & 3-4mm thick. Place this onto a lined baking tray.If you're using ready rolled puff pastry, this is the size of a single sheet. Don't worry if your pastry isn't a perfect rectangle at this point. We'll neaten it up later on.
- Next, spoon the pie filling on top of the pastry then gently spread it out into an even layer. Leave a 2 cm border of pastry around the filling.
- Brush a light layer of egg wash onto the pastry border.
- Roll the remaining pastry into another rectangle (the same size as the first), then place on top of the filling/other piece of pastry. Press down lightly on the edges to seal then crimp with a fork.Dust your fork with flour to prevent it sticking to the pastry.
- Trim the edges slightly, to neaten up then chill the pie in the fridge for at least an hour.I like to use a pizza wheel/cutter to trim my pastry!
Cooking The Pie
- Preheat an oven to 190°c/170°c fan (374°f/338°f).
- Brush a light coat of egg wash over the top of the pie then return to the fridge whilst your oven heats up (20 minutes or so).
- Next, brush another light coat over egg wash over the pie then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden & crisp.
- Once cooked, let the pie stand for 5 minutes then cut into portions & serve.
