A MOST IMPRESSIVE THANKSGIVING FEAST
So you want a special, impressive dinner to make for Thanksgiving this year? Well, have I got a recipe for you! The King of overindulgence, Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans, originated a turkey recipe that will only take you 13 hours or so to cook (add a few more for preparation and resting), but your guests will talk about it for years to come. Its a lot of fun to let your guests think youre serving them a regular holiday turkey. When you start to carve the "turkey," theyll be quite surprised to see you cut through its "bones"!
TURDUCKEN Copyright © 1995 by Paul Prudhomme Serves 15 to 25.
The Turducken is unbelievably decadent, distinctive, and creative. In reality, it is a construction made from three boneless birds, and three uniquely cajun dressings. A chicken in a duck in a turkey, cradled in three distinctive dressings of their own. It is a turkey, stuffed with cajun cornbread stuffing and a duck, which is in turn stuffed with andouille sausage dressing and a chicken, stuffed with oyster dressing. It will never be forgotten by your guests!
THE PROCEDURE
1. THE DAY BEFORE COOKING BEGINS
ASSEMBLE ALL ELEMENTS:
Organize yourself for this production with planning & forethought.
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DEBONE the Turkey, the Duck and the Chicken |
Click on the underlined portion for instructions to debone without your butcher's help. If you're really inexperienced with boning fowl, have your butcher do it for you. Unless you are a glutton for work and mess, this is the easiest and most efficient route, especially if you have a butcher that you can trust to have it all ready for you the day before Thanksgiving. If you are going to make your own stock (recipe below) have him save the bones and skin for you. That's really the hardest part -- the rest is fun!
NOTE FOR THE BUTCHER: What you really want to end up with here is a flat boneless (except for wings and legs) turkey with the skin intact in one large piece. On the duckling and the chicken, cut off the first two joints of wings, and debone both stumps of wings and leg drumsticks (cutting through flesh at thinnest point and trim around these bones with a knife until they can be removed), and trimming excess skin and fat from necks of birds. Both the chicken and duck will be stuffed inside the turkey and need not be kept "perfectly" intact.
PREPARE THE STUFFING: |
Make the 3 traditional stuffings and refrigerate, sealing well. The quickest way is to enlist your guests if they are friends or family members to make the dressings. Be sure you cover the dressings tightly, and refrigerate them for several hours so they will be well-chilled before you place them in the meat.
2. COOKING "DAY" (which is really the night before serving)
Read over all instructions and special
planning notes carefully |
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Assemble the Turducken |
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Cook the Turducken |
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Make the gravy after the Turducken
comes out of the oven. |
Special Planning Notes:
There is no need to baste Turducken,
BUT you will need to remove accumulated drippings from the Turducken pan every few hours
so that the lower portion of the turkey doesnt "deep fry" in the hot oil. |
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Schedule yourself on the
"day" of cooking. If you intend to serve dinner at 3pm, mid afternoon, you
will need to start the actual cooking of the Turducken at 1am. You will need to get
up at 3 or 4 am to remove drippings, and then again by 6 or 7 am. This allows 13
hours of cooking time, and 1 hour for the birds to rest. Vary your serving time
according to the time(s) you feel you would like to awaken to tend the feast. |
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When done, remove the Turducken from
oven and let cool in its pan at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the gravy with some of the
pan drippings and the reserved duck skin. |
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REMEMBER you will need at least four
strong spatulas inserted underneath (remember there are no bones to support the
birds structure), and an assistant to carefully transfer the Turducken to a serving
platter and present it to your guests before carving. |
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CARVING: Then place the Turducken on a flat surface to carve. Be sure to make your slices crosswise so that each slice contains all three dressings and all three meats. (Its easy to do this and still have manageable size servings if you slice the Turducken in half lengthwise, then cut servings crosswise to the desired thickness from one side of the Turducken at a time.) |
INGREDIENTS |
4 recipes Andouille Smoked Sausage Dressing (recipe follows)
5 recipes Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy (recipe follows)
2 recipes Cornbread Dressing (recipe follows)
4 recipes Oyster Dressing (recipe follows)
1 (20- to 25-pound) turkey, deboned
1 (4- to 5-pound) domestic duckling, deboned
1 (3- to 3½-pound) chicken, deboned
6 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Meat Magic®
THE DRESSINGS
To stuff the Turducken itself, you will need about 7 cups of the andouille dressing, about 4 cups of the cornbread
dressing, and about 3 cups of
the oyster dressing. It's also nice to serve additional
dressing from bowls at the
table, so we've told you in the list of ingredients above how many times to multiply each
dressing recipe to have plenty of extra. Make the three dressings; cover well and
refrigerate.
ANDOUILLE SMOKED SAUSAGE DRESSING |
4 tablespoons salted butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Pepper Sauce
1¼ pounds andouille smoked sausage, ground (3 cups)
2 cups turkey, duck or chicken stock
1½ cups very fine dry bread crumbs (preferably pulled from French bread)
Melt the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 cups of the onions, 1 cup of the celery and 1 cup of the bell peppers; sauté until onions are dark brown but not burned, about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the andouille and cook until meat is browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining 2 cups onions, 1 cup celery and 1 cup bell peppers, the butter, paprika, garlic and Magic Pepper Sauce, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock and bring to a simmer; continue cooking until the oil rises to the top (until the water evaporates), about 10 minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 8 x 8-inch baking dish; bake uncovered in a 425° oven until browned on top, about 45 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom well every 15 minutes. Makes about 5 cups.
CORNBREAD DRESSING |
Cajuns like their cornbreads and dressing sweet, so the crumbled cornbread we start with in this dish is sweet. If you prefer less sweet dressings, make your cornbread without sugar. Click here for Paul Prudhomme's cornbread recipe.
2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Poultry Magic®
¾ pound turkey, duck or chicken giblets, boiled until tender, then ground (preferably) or finely chopped
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup turkey, duck or chicken stock (Click here to see Paul Prudhomme's stock recipe) (or substitute canned stock or broth, simmered 20 minutes and doctored for flavor)
¾ cup finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Pepper Sauce
¾ cup finely chopped green bell peppers
½ cup finely chopped celery
5 cups finely crumbled Cornbread or Cornbread Muffins (see link above or substitute your own recipe)
1 tablespoon mined garlic
2 bay leaves
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk (1-2/3 cups)
3 eggs
In a large skillet melt the butter and butter with the onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic and bay leaves over high heat; sauté about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Poultry Magic and continue cooking until vegetables are barely wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the giblets, stock and Magic Pepper Sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off heat. Add the cornbread, milk and eggs, stirring well. Spoon dressing into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° until browned on top, about 35 to 40 minutes. Makes about 8 cups.
OYSTER DRESSING |
About 20 small to medium fresh raw oysters in their liquor,
4 teaspoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Seafood Magic®
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup cold water
½ cup chopped green onions
3/8 pound (1½ sticks) butter
½ cup very finely chopped fresh parsley
1½ cups chopped onions
3 bay leaves
1 cup chopped celery
About 1 cup very fine dry bread crumbs
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Combine the oysters and water; stir and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Strain and reserve the oysters and oyster water; refrigerate until ready to use.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over high heat. When butter is almost melted, add ¾ cup
of the onions, ½ cup of the celery and ½ cup of the bell peppers. Sauté over high heat until onions are dark brown but not burned, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
When the onions are browned, stir 2 teaspoons of the Seafood Magic and the garlic into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ¾ cup onions, ½ cup celery, ½ cup bell peppers and 1 stick butter, and ¼ cup of the green onions, ¼ cup of the parsley and the bay leaves. Stir until butter is melted. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the reserved oyster water and cook over high heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons Seafood Magic and enough bread crumbs to make a moist, but not runny dressing; remove from heat. Stir in the drained oysters. Spoon dressing into an ungreased 8 x 8-inch baking pan and bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, discard bay leaves and stir in the butter and the remaining ¼ cup green onions and ¼ cup parsley. Makes about 3 cup.
TO ASSEMBLE THE TURDUCKEN
Spread the turkey, skin down, on a flat surface exposing as much meat as possible.
Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 2 tablespoons of the Meat
Magic, patting it in with your hands. (Be sure to turn the leg, thigh and wing meat to the
outside so you can season it, too.) then stuff some of the cold andouille dressing into
the leg, thigh and wing cavities until full but not tightly packed (if too tightly packed,
it may cause the leg and wing to burst open during cooking). Spread an even layer of the
dressing over the remaining exposed meat, about ½ to ¾-inch thick. You should use a
total of about 7 cups dressing.
Place the duck, skin down, on top of the andouille dressing, arranging the duck evenly
over the dressing. Season the exposed duck meat generously and evenly with about 1
tablespoon more Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Then spread the cold cornbread
dressing evenly over the expose duck meat, making the layer slightly less thick than the
andouille dressing, about ½ inch thick. Use a total of about 4 cups dressing.
Arrange the chicken, skin down, evenly on top of the cornbread dressing. Season the
exposed chicken meat
generously and evenly with about 1 tablespoon more Meat Magic, pressing it in with your
hands. Spread the cold oyster dressing evenly over the exposed chicken meat, using about 3
cups dressing and making the layer about ½ inch thick.
Enlist another persons help to carefully lift the open Turducken into an ungreased
15 x 11-inch baking pan that is at least 2½ inches deep. (NOTE: This pan size is ideal
because the Turducken fits snugly in the pan and stays in the proper shape while cooking.)
As you lift the Turducken into the pan, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the
bird. Have your helper hold the turkey closed while you sew up all openings, making the
stitches about 1 inch apart; when you finish sewing up the Turducken on the first side,
turn it over in the pan to sew closed any openings on the other side. Then tie the legs
together just above the tip bones. Leave the Turducken breast side up in the pan, tucking
in the turkey wings. (Alternate instructions for the novice: Since the turducken has
no skeleton, it must be trussed up or it may fall apart in cooking. Tie cotton string
around the bird, widthwise, every inch or so along the bird's length. Turn the bird over
and place in a roasting rack inside a large
roasting pan so it is oriented breast side up and looks like a "normal" turkey.
Tie the legs together just above the tip bones. )
Place the Turducken pan in a slightly larger pan with sides at least 2½ inches deep, so
that the larger pan will catch the overflow of drippings during cooking. Season the
exposed side of the Turducken generously and evenly with about 2 tablespoons more Meat
Magic, patting it in with your hands. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake at 190° until done, about 12 to 13 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted
through to the center reads
165°. (NOTE: There is no need to baste, but you will need to remove accumulated drippings
from the Turducken
pan every few hours so that the lower portion of the turkey doesnt "deep
fry" in the hot oil.) When done, remove
the Turducken from oven and let cool in its pan at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, pop the 3
covered casserole dishes of the extra stuffings into the oven. Since the Sausage stuffing
takes longest, start it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350
degrees and add the other two for 30 more minutes. If the Sausage stuffing is not
finished, give it a little more time after you remove the others, raising them temperature
back to 425 degrees. While the dressings cook and the bird(s) rest, make the gravy
with some of the pan drippings and the reserved duck skin.
SWEET POTATO EGGPLANT GRAVY 4 teaspoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Meat Magic® 3 bay leaves ½ cup drippings from Turducken, plus the reserved duck skin 8 cups turkey, duck or chicken stock (recipe follows) ½ cup packed dark brown sugar 4 cups peeled and chopped eggplant 1 cup peeled sweet potatoes, cut into ½-inch dice 1½ cups chopped onions 3 tablespoons grand Marnier 1 cup peeled and finely chopped sweet potatoes ½ cup finely chopped green onions 1 teaspoon minced garlic Place the drippings and duck skin in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 cups of the eggplant and sauté until eggplant starts to get soft, translucent and brown, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions and remaining 1 cup eggplant; cook until the onions start to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the finely chopped sweet potatoes; continue cooking and stirring for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bay leaves, 3 teaspoons of the Meat Magic and stir well, scraping pan bottom as needed. Next, stir 1 cup of the stock into the vegetables and cook 2 minutes, then add another 1 cup stock; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in ¼ cup of the sugar and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add another 1 cup stock and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and 1 cup more stock; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add another 1 cup stock and cook 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer 13 minutes. Stir in another 1 cup stock and simmer 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and strain well, forcing as much liquid as possible through the strainer. Place the strained gravy in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the diced sweet potatoes and 1 cup stock; bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, skimming off any froth from the surface. Stir in the grand Marnier and continue simmering 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the green onions, the remaining teaspoon of Meat Magic and 1 cup more stock. Bring gravy to a boil and simmer until it reduces to about 3 cups, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes about 3 cups. |
CARVING THE TURDUCKEN:
With strong spatulas (held by you and an assistant) inserted underneath (remember there
are no bones to support the birds structure), carefully transfer the Turducken to a
serving platter and present it to your guests
before carving If you have used string to truss it remove before presentation. Place
the Turducken on a flat surface to carve. Be sure to make your slices crosswise so that
each slice contains all three dressings and all three meats. (Its easy to do this
and still have manageable size servings if you slice the Turducken in half lengthwise,
then cut servings crosswise to the desired thickness from one side of the Turducken at a
time.) Serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side.
There are some places to buy commercially prepared Turduckens: CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM!
Want to see More Thanksgiving links and recipes? Just click here.