In the package, thawed and ready to cook
This is shorthand for Turkey, Duck and Chicken. In case you're wondering there isn't a Turducken farm where you can go get one of these birds. At least not on this planet. Most of these Frankenbirds are constructed in the south. We happened to have acquired ours frozen and ready to cook, shipped from Lake Charles, Louisiana.
I'm sure there are various ways to construct them, but ours started with a de-boned turkey (except for wings and drumsticks) that was laid out in sort of a butterfly fashion. A layer of stuffing that consists of cornbread and pork rice is added, followed by the duck, similarly de-boned and presented. Another layer of stuffing is applied, followed by the smallest bird, the chicken. The whole thing is somehow turned into a giant pouch of poultry, sewn up, seasoned with some Cajun spices, and cooked in the oven as per normal.
The Turducken: Ready to serve, just before we busted it open like a pinata
The results? I'd have to say mixed at best. While the flavor of the meat was certainly passable, it lacked the moistness that we had become accustomed to with plain old turkey over the years. And then there was the mess. After the first slice we were dealing with an Avian Pinata of stuffing. None of it really stayed too well in tact as we cut into it.
Overall I think our crowd of twelve appreciated the effort but were glad that we also had that backup bird heating up in the smoker. Next time I think we won't mess with a good thing.
3 comments:
It sure LOOKS beautiful! Nothing too terrible about an avalanche of stuffing, as I've been known to eat it by the quart.
Good for you for trying something new! My family deep-fried a turkey for the first time this year. The entire process was amusing, to be certain, but the bird was a bit over-done and dry, thus defeating the purpose.
Next year I suggest you try "Whole stuffed camel", a Bedouin dish, consisting of a camel stuffed with a sheep.
Catherine, deep frying a turkey could very well be next on the list. Joe, I think I'll watch someone else do the camel and sheep thing before I try it myself.
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