Turkey and Gravy Savory Herbed Waffles

Thanksgiving week. The big one. The meal that even people who don't cook suddenly care about, the one day a year when the entire country pretends to know what a baster is. In the Beaumont family, Thanksgiving is not a meal. It's a campaign. It starts Monday and doesn't end until Friday, and by the time it's over, I've cooked enough food to feed the parish and slept approximately nine hours total across five days, and I regret nothing.

This year we're going to Thibodaux. Mama's hosting, because Mama always hosts, because the yellow cottage is where Thanksgiving happens and any suggestion otherwise is met with a silence so loud it echoes across Bayou Lafourche. Danielle and I are bringing: a smoked turkey (my job), cornbread dressing (Danielle's recipe, which she guards like a state secret), sweet potato casserole with pecans, and a pecan pie. Mama is handling: gumbo (because you can't have Thanksgiving without gumbo — I know this is not a national tradition, but it should be), rice dressing (a Cajun thing — rice, ground meat, giblets, trinity, the ugly cousin of regular dressing that tastes ten times better), and whatever else she decides to make between now and Thursday, which could be anything because Marie-Claire Beaumont does not believe in a fixed menu. She believes in inspiration, and inspiration in Mama's kitchen usually means four more dishes than anyone planned.

I started the turkey prep on Wednesday. Brined overnight — salt, sugar, water, bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic. The brine does the work while you sleep, and you wake up to a bird that's seasoned all the way through, not just on the surface. I'll smoke it Thursday morning on the pit, four hours over pecan and apple wood, and it'll come off with skin the color of mahogany and meat so moist it doesn't need gravy, though it's getting gravy anyway because we're not animals.

The kids are out of school all week, which means the house is a zoo. Luc is playing video games with the dedication of a professional athlete. Colette is making Thanksgiving cards for every relative, each one personalized and illustrated, because Colette doesn't do things halfway. Rémy is running laps around the house — literal laps, like a track meet — and I have stopped asking why and started timing him. Current record: 47 seconds.

Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving, is my favorite night of the year. Not Christmas Eve, not New Year's Eve — the night before Thanksgiving. Because it's the night when everything is ready but nothing has started. The turkey is brining. The pie is baked. The dressing is assembled. The kitchen is clean. And tomorrow, all of it comes together, and the family gathers, and the food flows, and for one day — one long, loud, overfed day — everything that matters is in one place. I sat on the porch Wednesday night with an Abita and thought about Joey, who loved Thanksgiving more than any other holiday, who would eat three plates and fall asleep on the couch by 4 PM, who would wake up, eat a fourth plate, and say, "C'est bon, cher." And it was. And it will be. And the turkey is brining, and the pie is baked, and tomorrow is coming, and I am grateful.

That Wednesday night feeling—everything ready, nothing started, the whole holiday still ahead—is exactly the kind of moment I want to stretch out as long as possible, and Thanksgiving leftovers are how I do it. Joey’s fourth plate was never really about hunger; it was about refusing to let the day end. These Turkey and Gravy Savory Herbed Waffles are my version of that fourth plate—a way to pull one more good meal out of something already perfect. Here’s how I make them.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups cooked turkey, pulled or shredded (smoked turkey works beautifully here)
2 cups turkey or chicken gravy, warmed (homemade or store-bought)
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving
Cooking spray or neutral oil, for the waffle iron

Instructions

Heat the iron. Preheat your waffle iron to medium-high and lightly coat with cooking spray or a neutral oil.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder until evenly mixed.
Separate and whip the eggs. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a medium bowl and the whites in a clean mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer or whisk until stiff peaks form; set aside. This step gives the waffles their lift and keeps them crisp rather than dense.
Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk and melted butter into the egg yolks until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined—a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix.
Fold in cheese and egg whites. Gently fold the shredded cheddar into the batter, then carefully fold in the whipped egg whites in two additions, keeping as much air as possible.
Cook the waffles. Pour enough batter to fill your waffle iron (typically 3/4 cup, depending on size). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the waffles are deep golden and release cleanly from the iron. Hold finished waffles on a wire rack in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining batches.
Warm the turkey. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the shredded turkey with 1/4 cup of the gravy. Stir and heat through for 3 to 4 minutes, until the turkey is warm and glossy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble and serve. Place one or two waffles on each plate. Spoon the warmed turkey over the top, ladle generously with hot gravy, and finish with a scattering of fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Turkey and Gravy Savory Herbed Waffles — Because the Bird Deserves More Than a Leftover Sandwich