Turducken Eh Rights!

Stuffing a chicken into a duck, then into a turkey – then layering it with sausage – has its savoury rewards. The ML Test Kitchen reaps them.

By Ester O’Neill

I wouldn’t say I’m competitive. I let lots of things slide. Discovering who’s faster or smarter or whatever has never really concerned me. But present me with a dare or a challenge and it’s on. My most recent challenge involved a turkey, a duck, a chicken and 3 lbs of pork sausage. While this sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, it was actually the start of an unparalleled food adventure. A friend, having recently discovered the turducken myth, decided to put me to the test. As I recall, the words “Isn’t that too complicated for you to cook?” were what got me. If those aren’t fighting words, I don’t know what are. And so the great Turducken Challenge of 2010 was on.

Turducken Eh Rights! from Colin Field on Vimeo.

Essentially, turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck who’s been stuffed with a chicken. All three birds are de-boned and laid flat on top of one another. Between each bird layer lies a hearty layer of sausage stuffing (of course!). The whole thing is rolled together, shaped and tied to look like a turkey again and fired into the oven. An exercise in culinary excess, but I wasn’t about to back down from this one. Plus, can you imagine the gravy? My salivary glands went into overdrive just thinking about it!
Roasted birds stuffed in birds, stuffed in birds are not new to the culinary world. There are references to various combinations in culinary texts dating as far back as the early 1800s. But it is Paul Prudhomme, the flamboyant chef from New Orleans, who popularized turducken and brought it to the cult status it now holds. A Thanksgiving staple in the southern United States, turducken is still a mystery to us tame and laid-back Northerners. Not surprising when everything seems a little larger-than-life in the south.
The recipe developed and perfected by chef Paul includes a different stuffing for each bird: cornbread stuffing for the turkey layer, andouille sausage for the duck and shrimp stuffing for the chicken. According to chef Paul all of these flavours combine for the ultimate taste sensation. Being a bit of a sceptic, I decided to keep the flavours more local and simple. I decided on an apple maple sausage stuffing for all three birds – a touch of Canadiana for good measure. But first, I had to find the birds. And in late summer with Thanksgiving just a touch out of sight, a turkey can be a hard thing to come by.
A few phone calls to local butchers and I struck poultry gold. Black Angus meats in Thornbury had all the parts, including the sausage. And butcher Don was willing to de-bone them for me. Enter moral dilemma. Do I still have the right to say I completed this challenge even if I didn’t de-bone the birds myself? Is it a total cop-out if I accept the offer? I know I have the skills to de-bone them (chef school and a string of kitchen jobs led me to de-bone, even de-feather, my fair share of birds). But it has been a while, and life offered other challenges at the moment, including a bathroom renovation and a new baby. Don claimed it would take just over half an hour for him to de-bone all three birds. I calculated for myself it would take over an hour. Enough said. My advice: if the butcher offers, don’t refuse. They’re the pros, right?
With just over 30 lbs of boneless meat in a box on my back seat I headed home to tackle the stuffing. And at 10:30 that night when the sausage meat was still cooking away and I continued to drain cup after cup of flesh-coloured fat from the pan I wondered why the hell I got myself into this mess. Turducken isn’t on my bucket list. If I really think about it, the whole concept is kind of gross. Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my greasy hand I propelled onwards, strengthened by a healthy combination of ego and curiosity. With the stuffing complete and in the fridge, I headed to bed for a feverish dream of feathers and beaks.
Assembly day was smooth. The layering and rolling of the turducken is definitely the fun part. Part mad-scientist, part fancy-pants chef, part totally crazy. With one arm hugging the turkey closed and the other hand working quickly to stitch it up I found myself grinning away. Then into the oven with a quick wish good luck, and I waited. And waited. And waited. The denseness of the turducken means it takes significantly longer to roast than your average turkey. Plus the slow, low temperature helps keep the turkey breast meat moist. As the birds finished cooking I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the creation I was pulling from the oven. It looked like a turkey. It smelled like a turkey. But I knew that inside was way more than just turkey and couldn’t wait to carve into it.
Dinner party assembled. New and old friends gathered to carve into the bird. And it was good. Would I say totally mind-blowing? Um, no. Sadly no. Maybe I need a bit more practice at the old turducken. Or maybe chef Paul is really on to something with his three stuffing, three bird combo. Maybe it’s just a whole heap of hype. Or maybe it’s because I spent two whole days with the strange beast. But it kinda just tasted like a chicken stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey. But the gravy, the gravy, mmm the gravy. I’d do it all over again just for a spoonful.

MOUNTAIN LIFE TURDUCKEN
Ask your local butcher to de-bone the birds for you if you’re not up to the challenge. The overall size of the birds can vary; just be sure that the duck and chicken are small enough to fit in the cavity of the turkey without over-filling it. Ask the butcher for advice if you’re unsure. If you choose to de-bone the birds yourself, good luck and check online for videos and how-tos.
Serves 12 to 20 people depending on bird sizes and human appetites.

15 to 20 lb whole turkey, de-boned except for legs and wings
5 to 6 lb whole duck, de-boned
3 lb whole chicken, de-boned
salt and pepper
¼ cup butter, softened
8 sage leaves
2 tbsp paprika

APPLE MAPLE SAUSAGE STUFFING:
¼ cup butter
2 large white onions, diced
6 ribs celery, diced
4 apples, peeled and diced
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 large loaf Italian bread, crusts removed, diced
8 sage leaves, chopped
Half bunch fresh parsley, chopped
3 lb maple sausage

GRAVY:
2 cups water
¼ cup flour

STUFFING – This can be made the night before the big day. Refrigerate until ready to use. Saute onions, celery, apple, salt and pepper in butter until golden. Transfer to large bowl with bread, sage and parsley. Remove sausage from casings. Cook in large saucepan, draining fat regularly, until browned and cooked through. Add to bread mixture. Let stand, refrigerated, for at least two hours.

ASSEMBLING – Lay the turkey flat, skin side down, on work surface. (I covered my kitchen table with an old, clean towel and had plenty of paper towel within arms reach.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover evenly with half of the stuffing. Lay duck, skin side down, on top of stuffing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with half of remaining stuffing. Lay chicken, skin side down, on top of stuffing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with remaining stuffing.
Using a trussing needle, or an upholstery needle and butcher’s twine, sew up turkey, moderately tight, starting from the tail end. Enlist an extra pair of hands here, one to hold the turkey closed and one to sew. The less tearing, the better so that the stuffing stays inside.
Roll turkey over and place in roasting pan. Using fingers, gently work skin away from the breast meat to create a small pocket. Fill pocket with softened butter and sage leaves. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
Roast in 275*F oven until thermometer inserted into centre reads 165*F. This takes between 6 and 8 hours depending on the size of the birds. Let turducken stand for 20 minutes before carving.

GRAVY – While the turducken is resting, strain all the juices from the pan into a medium saucepan. Skim off as much fat as possible (and there is a lot!). Add water and bring to a boil. Remove one cup of the liquid to a bowl, whisk in the flour. Whisk flour mixture back into boiling gravy. Simmer until thickened. Keep warm to serve.
Carve a turducken the same way you would slice a loaf of bread. Remember to cut pieces from both the breast end and the tail end for a combination of light and dark meats.