When Thanksgiving or Xmas or some other family-type holiday comes swooping into Toronto, my friends and I usually "do" a turkey. That means Turkey Inna Bag, a dead-easy method of turkey-cooking that always produces a tender, juicy turkey in just a few hours. But this October, I suggested we try something a little more adventurous - a chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey!
I had read a recipe for Turducken two years ago in the paper, and when my mouth stopped watering I asked around for assistant Turduckenators. For some reason, everybody thought I was crazy - Turkey In A Bag is easier, and it was a proven recipe, so nobody wanted to take the chance. This year, to sweeten the pot, I said that I would spring for the various fowl.
After several email discussions, Sherry and Anne accepted the Turducken Challenge. The deal was that I would do all the deboning, and they would make the stuffing. We also ended up sharing the costs, which would have been a little steep for one person.
It turned out that making the stuffing was the real labour-intensive part of the job, taking 2 people over 3 hours to get everything washed, chopped, mixed, ground, sprinkled, toasted and diced.
I got the easy job. I was able to completely debone a 19 pound turkey, 5 pound duck and 4 pound chicken in two hours - and that included a trip to the store to get more foil wrap, paper towels and rum. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Here's the recipe we followed: Turducken
The next few pages will show the creation of our beautiful Thanksgiving Dinner - The Turducken!
These are the only two turducken pictures of me, so naturally they have to go on the first page.