How to Cook a Turducken: My Turducken Experience

Turducken!

I have always been intrigued by the idea of doing a turducken for Thanksgiving.  Nothing seems more like a feast than stuffing a turkey with a duck and a chicken!  I have seen turducken available at the store for several years now, but they look more like a weird, processed turkey ham than an actual turkey, so I have avoided them.  Recently, it occurred to me that I could just stuff one myself.  The one problem with this concept was that I would have to de-bone all three birds myself.  This was a task that I was really not looking forward to, and almost killed the thought of doing a turducken at all this year.  I called around, however, and found that not only could I buy a turkey, duck, and chicken at whole foods, but that they would de-bone all three for me…for free!  At that movement, it was decided.  On the spot, I ordered a 12 to 16 pound turkey, a 4 pound duck, and a 3 pound chicken and started looking for instructions on how to cook this beast!

De-Boned Turkey, Duck, and Chicken from Whole Foods

I found conflicting results on the temperature to cook at, and the length of time cooking would take.  The only recommendation that whole foods had for me was to cook the beast low and slow.  I settled on 300 degrees, and based on my research assumed it would take 5 hours to roast (in reality, it took 7, and that was after we got desperate and raised the oven temperature around hour 6).

First thing in the morning, I made up a batch of my cornbread stuffing with apricot and pancetta (minus the chicken broth).  I also made a batch of sausage and cornbread dressing (minus the chicken broth), a recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com.  We were planning to eat around 6, so I got to work assembling the bird a little after 11am.  I opened the paper to find a nearly totally de-boned turkey.  I had expected them to leave the wings and drumsticks intact, but only the wings remained.  There were also no giblets or bones reserved for my stock, as requested…we made it work though.

De-Boned Turkey

I laid out the turkey, seasoned with salt and pepper, and added a layer of sausage and cornbread dressing.

Turkey with Sausage and Cornbread Dressing

Next, I laid out the duck, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and added a layer of the cornbread stuffing with apricot and pancetta.

Duck with cornbread stuffing

I repeated this with the chicken, seasoning with salt and pepper, and adding cornbread stuffing with apricot and pancetta.

Chicken with Cornbread Stuffing

Next, I folded together the sides of the chicken.

Fold together the chicken

I also folded together the duck, and used a metal skewer to hold it together.

Fold together and skewer duck

I repeated this with the turkey, leaving the skewer for the duck in place temporarily.

Skewer the back of the turkey

I then flipped the turkey onto it’s back and removed the skewer from the duck, leaving the skewer for the turkey in place.  Since the legs were de-boned, I filled them with stuffing and tied them with butcher’s twine.

Tie legs with butcher's twine, if necessary.

I then carefully placed the bird into the pan, tucking in any extra skin.  I sprinkled it with paprika, covered with foil, and stuck him in the oven!

Place the Turducken breast side up in a roasting pan. Cover with foil until the last hour of roasting.

At 300 degrees, I would recommend allowing 7 to 9 hours for cooking.  The internal temperature of all layers should be at least 165 degrees.  Also, allow the beast to rest for 30 to 60 minutes before cutting.  The cooler the bird, the easier it is to cut and see the beauty of all layers of poultry and stuffing!

Allow the birds to rest for 30 to 60 minutes before cutting.

For the record, the turducken turned out amazing!  I served it on hot plates, and it helped keep the meal hot at serving time, even after letting the bird rest for so long.

I hope this has been helpful!  Enjoy the Holidays and all that they have to offer…including turducken!

Thanksgiving Recipe: Cornbread Stuffing with Apricot and Pancetta

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love turkey! For that reason alone, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to hang out with family and to have an extra day off, but for me (like most), it’s about the food! At Mom’s house, Thanksgiving is all about tradition. The menu consists of nearly all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods, right down to the candied yams! My favorite part of the Thanksgiving prep every year is making the stuffing! My sisters and I line up, taking turns adding a wide array of spices until we all agree that it is spiced just right, though it never touches the bird until it has met Mom’s exacting standards.

As the years have gone by, I have begun hosting my own Thanksgiving dinners. As much as I try, I just don’t have what it takes to make Mom’s stuffing just right. Instead of trying to copy a masterpiece, I have decided to move on from traditional and try something that is all my own.

The stuffing that I prefer to use on the big Turkey Day is a cornbread stuffing with apricot and pancetta. It was strange, the recipe came to me one day out of nowhere, and I had to rush home to try it out! Because of this, the original recipe for my stuffing includes chicken broth so that the stuffing can be baked in a casserole dish. If you want to use this recipe in the bird, omit the broth.

Ingredients:

• 1 (8-inch square) pan cornbread (from mix or homemade)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 4 slices pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped turkish apricots
• 3/4 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1.  Crumble cooked cornbread into a large mixing bowl.

2.  In a medium skillet, saute celery, onion, butter, pancetta, and cumin until onions are tender.  Stir in preserves, pecans, and apricots.  Toss with cornbread.

3.  Place mixture in a greased 2 quart casserole dish.  drizzle broth over stuffing.

4.  bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until heated through and lightly browned.