A reader writes:
I’m Canadian, but I did spend 6 years living in Los Angeles, CA and I do have an American girlfriend so this year I decided to celebrate American Thanksgiving. The Canadian version is actually in October on what you guys celebrate as Columbus Day.
So for my US Thanksgiving feast I decided to finally make a turducken. In case you haven’t heard of it, a turducken is what you get when you stuff a chicken into a duck and then into a turkey. Of course that’s the short version of the preperatory phase. I took some pictures of the process and a friend of mine was kind enough to post them on his websit. The last photo is a cross section with labelling. The stuff between the birds is sausage stuffing and cornbread stuffing.
This particular bird took 10 hours to cook at 225F until the internal temp reached the target of 165F. I invited 14 friends over to help us feast and we still had half the bird left. Anyway, though you might find the pictures interesting.
Y’know, I’ve read about turducken, but I’ve never known anyone to actually make it. Amazing.
It’s a good thing turkeys are native to the New World or there’s probably have been a prohibition on this kind of thing in the Mosaic Law.
GET THE PICTURES. (WARNING! Pictures of cooked and uncooked food!)
Link correction: http://www.blackjackal.net/mypics/turducken/
How very interesting! I think my uncle suggested making a turducken on Thanksgiving (he’s very culinarily inclined), but I don’t remember ever seeing it so he must have been overruled. Looks like a fun challenge though.
The link didn’t work the first time for me. Try this one: http://www.blackjackal.net/mypics/turducken/
Link fixed.
Was it deboned in the process? It looks like there are no rib bones left, just the thigh bones.
Mm….meat 😀
I hope they used a Canadian goose!!! Damn things just eat and s— around here messing up our lakes, streams and golf courses.
Barbara,
As I understand it they are all deboned. That’s how I’ve seen it done on the Food Network anyways.
One not of caution; if this turducken takes 10 hours to cook you run the risk of getting food poisoning. If the temp of the turducken is above 40 degrees but below about 150 degrees for more than four hours it will start to spoil. Is there a faster way to cook it?
Sorry Jimmy, that doesn’t look like low carb stuffing!
Here are the details for how to make that specific turducken:
http://www.thesalmons.org/lynn/turducken.html
Yes, everything is deboned except the drumstick and wings if you wish.
I make deep fried turkey which is incredibly good. I assume you could not deep fry a turducken, correct?
Slalley,
I guessing that you can’t deep fry a turducken because to actually cook it through you need to slow cook it for 9+ hours. I think that frying would overcook the outside by the time the inside were penetrated. Although, maybe you could pre-cook the duck and chicken and then it might work.
Deep frying turducken has a bigger problem. The stuffing has so much water in it that it tends to, for lack of a better word, explode and fire the duck and chicken from the inside of the turkey along with a large amoutn of hot oil flying everywhere.
I’ve never seen it, but there’s lots or warnings about this. Seems like something Mythbusters should tackle.
Actually hot oil and water never mix. I hadn’t thought of that and it would be a major hazard. Deep frying turkeys is in it’s own right a hazard. If you tip it over you now have five gallons of burning peanut oil flowing all over the place! I think I will not deep fry a Turduken!
I posted the photos at my workplace. The resident vegeterian was very upset. I wonder if HR will be notified?
mythbusters recently covered the issue of deep frying turkeys – ie DONT when frozen!!! no word on turducken though…
I need an answer on the deep fried turducken question. Can it or can’t it? My buddy just bought the turkey frier. My first thought was deep fried turducken for the Super Bowl. This important issue has to be resolved ASAP. Please someone offer some advice here. thanks.
Erik-
From reading the posts in the combox, I would say the consensus is “don’t try it”.
Tim, that’s not the answer I was looking for. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to hold back. I’m mean come on, how can I not try? I’m afraid that my mind is 98% the way there. I’m convinced that Turducken + deep fried = wholesome Super Bowl goodness.
Tim, that’s not the answer I was looking for buddy. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to hold back. I’m mean come on, how can I not try? I’m afraid that my mind is 98% the way there. I’m convinced that Turducken + deep fried = wholesome Super Bowl goodness.
So how did it work? I want to try it this year. I think that a turducken is like a deep fried Chicken Cordon Blue, and they don’t explode and they have sauce and cheese inside. I make mine without cutting the skin on the back. Precooking may also be the key.
I made turducken the “normal” way for Christmas dinner this year. While I was talking to the butcher that did the deboning for me (something I highly recommend having done professionally unless you are really good with a knife)…he was yakking about the possibility of deep frying turducken, but had come to the conclusion that by the time you had cooked it long enough to ensure that the innermost bird was done, the turkey on the outside would be burnt to a charcoal crisp. A plain unstuffed turkey is fryable because the oil can cook it both from the outside as well as the inside…which obviously wouldn’t be true for the turducken. Hope that helps….sorry to dash your dreams, but it would not be, as Alton Brown says, good eats.
Well, a friend and I have been thinking about this as well. Obviously, you do not deep fry the stuffing – or you just need a really big pot to take the eruption. My friend’s thinking (and we have not yet tried this!) – deep fry the de-boned birds individually, then piece together – either with stuffing and finish in the oven, or without and finish in the deep fryer. Sounds like a pain, but I see a line in the ground. And it must be crossed.
cooking the birds separately would defeat the purpose thus smashing the dream. Turducken is a word to describe the divine oneness of all three birds being cooked together; sealed in buy the skin of the turkey, juices combining to create the heavenly flavor that so many long to taste.
cooking separately would present no challenge it would reduce it back to simply fried chicken fried duck and fried turkey…been there done that.
cooking the birds separately would defeat the purpose thus smashing the dream. Turducken is a word to describe the divine oneness of all three birds being cooked together; sealed in buy the skin of the turkey, juices combining to create the heavenly flavor that so many long to taste.
cooking separately would present no challenge it would reduce it back to simply fried chicken fried duck and fried turkey…been there done that.