C – Warning: This isn’t your typical Turducken.
If you are expecting a deboned whole chicken stuffed into a deboned whole duck with a semi-deboned whole turkey with stuffing between each layer … this isn’t it. I have had that version and I was disappointed.
I honestly don’t care how much you spend on your Thanksgiving turkey. Or how much stuff you put in it to make it taste good. If you serve a dry turkey, people will be disappointed.
They will talk. They will talk about it for years.
I make it a point to serve a really moist turkey. One that people salivate over when they remember how good the turkey was from previous years.
The first turducken I had was over cooked and dry. It was mushy and didn’t have any flavor. I honestly had to force myself to eat it. It was one of those moments I wish I could tell the truth.
I slathered that piece of turducken with as much gravy as I could.
Sadly, I still had some leftover on my plate. I was disappointed. I wished it could have tasted better. I really wanted something where I could taste all the different meats. Instead, I only tasted the dry turkey and tried to guess the rest of the dish.
People have said making a turducken is an impossible feat. It really is if you are making it by stuffing whole birds into each other. You will dry out the turkey before the rest of the birds are cooked. I believe it.
Our turducken still involves chicken, duck and turkey. Just not in whole-bird form. I decided to make a chicken and duck sausage stuffing and have the turkey wrap around it. My main goal was to make a moist and flavorful turkey that was worth eating and that people wanted more, or wanted to take some home as leftovers.
I decided not to keep the leg quarters attached and cook them separately, so I won’t over or under cook any part of the turkey. It also makes life harder for someone trying to make this to keep the skin intact. It’s not as cool as cooking a whole turkey. But, I think it will cook better and faster.
It only took and hour and a half to cook and turned out great. The only thing i should have done was brush butter over the skin to make the skin a better shade of brown. It wasn’t as pretty for this shoot.
The taste test was great. It was just what I wanted. The turkey and stuffing were both full of flavor. It was moist. Not dry at all.
I loved the chicken and duck stuffing. It was moist and perfectly cooked. Not hard or dry or over cooked.
| Thanksgiving Week 2015 #1: Turducken – Turkey Breast Stuffed with Chicken and Duck Sausage |
- 1 butterflied full turkey breast, all natural brine before cooking, link below,
- 1 boneless duck breast, skin removed and cut into small pieces
- 1 boneless chicken breast, skin removed and cut into small pieces
- 2 boneless chicken thighs, skin removed and cut into small pieces
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- ¼ fennel bulb, chopped
- 1 Tbsp, dried porchini mushrooms, soaked in hot water, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 Tbsp sage, chopped
- Pinch of cayenne
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp thyme, minced
- 1 Tbsp rosemary, minced
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- In a saute pan, place a tablespoon of oil and heat on medium high heat.
- Add onions and saute until translucent. About 5 minutes.
- Add carrots, fennel, celery, porchini mushrooms and a few tablespoons of the porchini liquid into pan and cook until tender. About 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Turn off heat and side aside until cool.
- In a food processor, add chicken and duck pieces. Pulse a few times until meat is ground.
- Add the vegetable mixture into the food processor and pulse until well mixed.
- Remove from food processor and season with salt and pepper.
- Place filling in the middle of the turkey forming a log vertically on the turkey.
- Close the turkey by bringing in the sides. Use wooden skewers to hold the turkey in place.
- If there is any filling that isn’t covered or is oozing out remove it or cover it with some of the leftover turkey breast that was cut previously.
- Carefully, tie the turkey using butcher twine.
- Brush melted butter over the top of the skin.
- Place in the oven and cook 15 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reads 150 degrees. The turkey will continue cooking after you remove it from the oven to rest. (You can also make this the night before, uncooked, and wrap in plastic. Once your are ready to cook remove it an hour before cooking from the refrigerator and bake).
- Let rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
- Serve with gravy and sides.
- Enjoy!
Magic Turkey Brine recipe
This is a different turducken than the traditional. Forget about that one.
Make this one. It’s moist and delicious, quick and a lot easier to make.