To Turducken or Not to Turducken

[surrounded by literalists]

Ever since I heard about this monstrosity I have wanted to try to make one. My therapist says the desire is part of my bipolar upcycle and I should try to focus on something else, but I can't seem to get over the urge to create one.

Has anyone in here ever tried? Any casualties? Any advice?

[kaylasdad99]

Advice? Sure.

Never eat anything with a name that begins t-u-r-d...

[jjimm]

I've made one.

In the construction: enormously rewarding.

In the consumption: total disappointment.

One fowl melds into another; it all tastes like chickeny stuff. You may as well just cook an enormous chicken.

(I love that you're discussing turducken with your therapist!)

[Lukeinva]

How is turducken part of bipolar upcycle?

[jjimm]

Originally Posted by lukeinva

How is turducken part of bipolar upcycle?

Picture a turducken on a unicycle.

[Kozmik]

Originally Posted by kaylasdad99

Advice? Sure.

Never eat anything with a name that begins t-u-r-d...

Psst. It begins with turkey...

[Chronos]

I've heard that they can be tricky to cook, too, since so much thickness of meat tends to mean that the outer portions are overcooked before the inner parts are ready.

[freckafree]

I have nothing to offer except the comment that, this morning, when discussing the Easter dinner menu, my son suggested I make hamlamuck -- a duck stuffed inside a lamb stuffed inside a ham.

I think I'll pass on that one.

On second thought, I do have something to offer:

While I have not made a turducken, I have made Julia Child's chicken melon recipe. It has much of the turducken's satisfaction factor of boning a whole bird while keeping the skin intact. But, unlike the turducken, it tastes good.

[sugaree]

As far as deboning and molding together three separate birds, well, that sounds ridiculously ambitious to me. But I've purchased and cooked an already assembled turducken and a turducken breast, and that I can recommend. It's pricey, and the meats do meld together, but I thought it did so in a good way. The duck wasn't greasy; the turkey wasn't dry, and it was all infused with the flavoring from the Cajun sausage stuffing.

I didn't notice any uneven cooking, but the prepared stuff really isn't a bird inside a bird inside a bird. It's sort of rolled up together, like a Napoleon roast.

[Motorgirl]

This kind of turducken seems easier.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Turducken?

How deviant.

[Chefguy]

I always thought it just sounded. . .stupid and pointless.

[gaffa]

What about a rabbit inside a goat inside a sheep inside an entire cow?

[Motorgirl]

Originally Posted by gaffa

What about a rabbit inside a goat inside a sheep inside an entire cow?

Where's the pig? Won't somebody think of the pig?!

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by Motorgirl

Where's the pig? Won't somebody think of the pig?!

OK, rabbit inside goat inside pig inside sheep inside cow.

But it would have to be a pretty small pig.

[Motorgirl]

Originally Posted by gaffa

OK, rabbit inside goat inside pig inside sheep inside cow.

But it would have to be a pretty small pig.

Maybe one of those cute little potbelly pigs.

[Chefguy]

I think a combo of turkey, frog, duck and rabbit: A turfuckit.

[Critical Mass]

I made one a few years ago. Here's what I posted about it at the time.

Originally Posted by Critical Mass

Well, I cooked a Turducken yesterday.

After de-boning the 3 birds the day before, I feel that I could perform avian autopsies if required. This wasn't a horrible task, but it did get to be somewhat tedious. The bigger the bird, the easier the task. Ducks have surprisingly little meat on them. Raw turkeys have a gamey kind of scent to them.

There was a surprising amount of drippings while the thing roasted. About a litre each of fat and a very tasty broth which makes excellent gravy.

The final result took about 8 1/4 hours at 225F to reach and internal temperature of 170F.

If I do say so myself, it was excellent. Very juicy and the flavours blend nicely. It fed about 15 people and I have 1/3 of it left over.

No reported ptomaine yet, which was my biggest fear. After all - the meat is at room temperature for quite some time during the preparation process.

It was a very large project. Best done by two people. The results were good enough that I'll try it again.

In fact, I haven't made one since.

[Lukeinva]

This reminds me of the Spanish stuffing a cow with cochinillo (baby pigs) and roasting the beast for hours on a spit.

[China Guy]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

I think a combo of turkey, frog, duck and rabbit: A turfuckit.

for the win...

[davidm]

Whole Stuffed Camel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_stuffed_camel

The Snopes article mentions that the Guinness Book of World Records lists the recipe without actually mentioning whether or not anyone has actually eaten it:

"The largest item on any menu in the world is roasted camel, prepared occasionally for Bedouin wedding feasts. Cooked eggs are stuffed into fish, the fish stuffed into cooked chickens, the chickens stuffed into a roasted sheep's carcass and the sheep stuffed into a whole camel."

[theoldman]

how about trying the Turbacon epic. a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig.. wrapped in bacon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ

[Kozmik]

Start with a blue whale....

[davidm]

Originally Posted by theoldman

how about trying the Turbacon epic. a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig.. wrapped in bacon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ

Eh, needs more bacon.

[surrounded by literalists]

Y'all know you are only feeding the bipolar mania, right? This has gone from, "hmmm, I might want to give this a whirl", to "HELL YEAH! Where all the livestock at?

[Autolycus]

Originally Posted by surrounded by literalists

Y'all know you are only feeding the bipolar mania, right? This has gone from, "hmmm, I might want to give this a whirl", to "HELL YEAH! Where all the livestock at?

Beyond that oven door lies madness....

[dogbutler]

Turdurken? Meh. Make a humming bird stuffed in a sparrow, stuffed in a chicken, stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey, stuffed in an emu stuffed in an ostrich. An Ostemturdurkarrowbird.

[KennerTheGreat]

How about a tofurkey stuffed inside a turkey stuffed inside another tofurkey. A tofurkeyturkeyfurkey.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by KennerTheGreat

How about a tofurkey stuffed inside a turkey stuffed inside another tofurkey. A tofurkeyturkeyfurkey.

Bananafanna-fofurkey.

[lorene]

This thread is inspiring me to make...reservations.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

Somewhere, John Madden is salivating.

[Wolverine]

How about a fly inside a spider inside a bird inside a cat inside a dog inside a goat inside a cow inside a horse?

I don't know why...

[BigT]

I just want to try duck. I've never seen it for sale either uncooked or at a restaurant (that I remember), and my mom says it's bad so she won't get it from our more countrified relatives. (For some reason, they give her food but not me. I guess I'm a guy, so I can't cook.)

[billfish678]

Originally Posted by jjimm

(I love that you're discussing turducken with your therapist!)

I think Freud had a thing or two to say about stuffing things into other things.

I've had turducken a couple of times. Local cajun place makes them up. IMO if you cajun them up proper with spices and cook em right they are pretty good. I don't know if they are to "die for" or "worth" the extra cost, but I do think they are a step up from your run of the mill turkey or chicken.

[billfish678]

Originally Posted by FoieGrasIsEvil

Somewhere, John Madden is salivating.

I think thats pretty much a given.

That or spraying his feet with some sorta medicine, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

[etv78]

Originally Posted by billfish678

I think thats pretty much a given.

That or spraying his feet with some sorta medicine, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

Tinactin

[billfish678]

Originally Posted by etv78

Tinactin

Tough actin tinactin! if you please (that was a joke son )

[Chronos]

Quoth Kozmik:

Start with a blue whale....

Yes, but what do you put it inside?

And in all seriousness: If you want to try making a turducken, then do so. But don't do it for the first time as a holiday meal: Too much stress if something goes wrong. Instead, schedule a turducken day a few weeks from now, and invite folks to help out. That way, if the poultry is ruined, it's just the poultry that's ruined, and everyone will have the fun of helping out. If it goes well, and you like the results, then start making it a holiday staple.

[Lukeinva]

Originally Posted by theoldman

how about trying the Turbacon epic. a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig.. wrapped in bacon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ

This doesn't seem very appealing. Probably fun to make but to eat not so much. No offense to the chef.

[surrounded by literalists]

Originally Posted by Chronos

And in all seriousness: If you want to try making a turducken, then do so. But don't do it for the first time as a holiday meal: Too much stress if something goes wrong. Instead, schedule a turducken day a few weeks from now, and invite folks to help out. That way, if the poultry is ruined, it's just the poultry that's ruined, and everyone will have the fun of helping out. If it goes well, and you like the results, then start making it a holiday staple.

Now that is a good idea. I have already started to invite certain adventurous yet satirical people to join "Team Turducken", one of which who makes bitchen' margaritas.