# Dumbest Thanksgiving idea ever - would it work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2001, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747 "2001-11-22T07:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/1 "2001-11-22T07:33:38Z")
Okay, so I had the extraordinarily odd idea of stuffing a cornish game hen into the cavity of a turkey, in lieu of stuffing. You know, in case a whole turkey isn’t enough poultry for one day. (Hey, I never said it was a _good_ idea.) So, would it work? ('Cause if it did, man, you could make some really _cool_ lame and/or graphic jokes about the turkey giving birth.) Or are there some odd insulative properties of turkey cavities that would prevent the game hen or turkey from cooking properly? ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/2 "2001-11-22T07:55:31Z")
Sounds like a modified [Turducken](http://www.thesalmons.org/lynn/turducken.html) ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/3 "2001-11-22T08:06:13Z")
Sorry, I also meant to say I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, you just need to adjust the cooking time. Sounds good! The part about deboning the birds (which I just noticed) seems like it might be a bit dificult though. Anybody tried this? ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/4 "2001-11-22T08:19:12Z")
You might as well do it properly… **Stuffed Camel** Serves: 80-100 1 camel, medium size 1 lamb, large 29 chickens, medium 60 eggs 12 kilos rice 5 kilos pine nuts, almonds, pistachio 110 gallons water very very large pinch of black pepper salt to taste Eggs/rice/nuts are stuffed into the chickens, some of which are stuffed into the lamb, which is stuffed into the camel. Broil until brown. Spread the remaining mixed rice on a large tray and place the camel on top, surrounded by remaining stuffed chickens. The secret (which may be relevant here :)) is to partially pre-cook all of the ingredients separately before doing the stuffing and broiling. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/5 "2001-11-22T08:22:31Z")
I remember seeing an (?) African recipe that went something like this: You stuff some eggs into a pigeon into a chicken into a goose into a goat into a sheep into a cow, add your herbs/seasonings/vegetables, and bury the whole thing with some coals for a few days, then dig it up and enjoy. So I don’t see why your idea couldn’t work. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/6 "2001-11-22T23:25:46Z")
I saw something similar offered as a luxury christmas roast here in the UK; it has a specific name, but I can’t recall it. It consisted of a completely filleted pigeon stuffed into a completely filleted pheasant, stuffed into a completely filleted guinea-fowl, stuffed into a completely filleted turkey\* It was, I recall, rather expensive. \*one could extend the idea to further include a wild boar, a deer, and an Aberdeen Angus, but it would be hard to cook evenly. ---
**Author:** ![naughty\_wicked\_zoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@naughty\_wicked\_zoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naughty_wicked_zoot)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-thanksgiving-idea-ever-would-it-work/94747/7 "2001-11-23T19:03:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Klaatu \* > \*\*Sorry, I also meant to say I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, you just need to adjust the cooking time. Sounds good! > > The part about deboning the birds (which I just noticed) seems like it might be a bit dificult though. > > Anybody tried this? \*\* i have done turducken. YUMM!!! three birds, three different stuffings, lots of great flavor. deboning the birds is work, i’ll grant you that. i bought a great cookbook called “le verienne practique” (probably spelled that wrong), which is more of a method book than a recipe book. it has chapters on how to clean and debone fish based on their body shape, how to do some of the more involved preparations, stuff like that. it helps that i’m a good cook to begin with, so getting a book of recipes wasn’t the important thing for me. but, i wanted to learn the correct preparation methods, and this book really helped. there is a whole chapter on different methods of cutting up poultry, and that’s how i learned to debone a whole bird. start with the turkey; the bigger the bird, the easier it is to do. turducken is a true treat, and not something to be undertaken at the last minute. i think it took me 3 days of preparation. but it was worth it!!