Turducken – the manly meal!
A turducken is a solid slab of meaty goodness, and the great thing about it is that this beastly threesome can be cooked in just about any way imaginable.
Turducken is going to test you in every way possible in the kitchen.
But you have to decide if you have what it takes to risk your Christmas Day dinner on it.
It is a dish many wannabe chefs talk about, but never actually get up the nerve to actually cook.
It is described as either the very best of Christmas meals or the worst; it all depends on who you are asking. One thing is certain though: If you make it from scratch, you will be a chef of note.
In fact, very few people have actually tasted turducken, which is an American dish that is credited as coming from way down in Louisiana (a US state renowned for pushing the culinary arts and at times, breaking the mould).
But forget about turducken’s origins, it is one of the noblest of feasts and it’s high time you grabbed a turkey in one hand, a duck in the other and a chicken in the… Oh hell, you get the picture, it’s going to get complicated.
What is turducken?
Who are you kidding; if you’ve read this far, you have no idea what turducken is… So let’s educate you. Turducken is a partially deboned turkey stuffed with a partially deboned duck, which is stuffed with a partially deboned chicken, which is stuffed with stuffing. Sound complicated? Well, it is!
A turducken is a solid slab of meaty goodness, and the great thing about it is that this beastly threesome can be cooked in just about any way imaginable: roasted, barbecued, braised or evengrilled. Just don’t deep fry it in oil!
Turducken ingredients:
For ingredients, we suggest you get a turkey of around 5kg, a 2kg duck and a 1kg chicken. Sizes can vary, but you get the picture – each one is smaller than the other; how else do you get all that stuffing… Must we teach you everything?
Round off those purchases with about four cups of your favorite prepared stuffing.
We will go out on a limb and recommend sausage stuffing for the inside of the chicken and bread stuffing that will sit between each layer of meat. With some chopped garlic, sage and thyme, some room-temperature butter and good old salt and pepper.
If you are not happy with sausage stuffing, then you are most likely a vegetarian and we have to ask why you are trying to cook turducken. Don’t bow to peer pressure, stick to your guns and makea salad instead.
Building your turducken:
Preparing a turducken is a chore, so set aside a few hours. Okay, we are lying, make it more like most of a day to construct this culinary marvel.
Learning how to cook a turducken isn’t difficult, and the end result is simply delicious…
The trickiest part of the job is deboning the meats, so if you can get your butcher to arrange this for you, do so. If you’re feeling brave and prefer the hands-on approach to deboning meats, we wish you the best of luck. Aim for a nearly boneless turkey with just the leg and wing bones remaining, and a completely boneless duck and chicken.
Build your turducken by first combining the garlic and herbs with the butter. Work this mix under the turkey’s skin, then splash the outside of the turkey with oil and season generously.
Spread out the turkey, skin-side down, on a flat surface. Season it with salt and pepper, layer the meat with bread stuffing and lay the duck skin-side down inside. Repeat the same procedure to stuff the duck with the chicken, and fill the chicken with the sausage stuffing.Close the turducken carefully. The best way to seal it up is by folding up each layer separately and sewing it shut with a curved packing needle.
You could try using skewers instead, but you won’t be guaranteed a nicely sealed package. Once you’ve stitched up the assembly, put it into a large roasting pan. Bake it at 145 ºC in the oven for at least four hours.
Baste it hourly with pan juices, and if the turducken starts to brown too much, tent it with foil. Once the centre of the chicken stuffing reads 75F, it’s done. Take your masterpiece out and let it rest for a good half hour.
Carve the turducken across the breast at the table so you can show off all those great layers, and serve with the same fixings you would for any holiday meal.
(Sourced in part from askmen.com)
