Turducken
|
|
A turducken is a deboned turkey stuffed with a deboned duck which itself is stuffed with a small deboned chicken. The cavity of the chicken and the rest of the gaps are filled with at the very least highly seasoned breadcrumb mixture, although some versions have a different stuffing for each bird. It is also called a chuckey.
The result is a relatively solid, albeit layered, piece of poultry, suitable for deep frying à l'acadienne or slow cooking by braising, roasting, grilling, or barbecuing. Turducken fans say that it is complex and usually quite agreeable in texture and flavor, as the juices of the turkey and chicken baste the duck, and the more robust duck bastes the turkey and chicken.
Turducken is a uniquely American development and is believed to be Acadian in origin, although it may also have originated in eastern Texas or northern Louisiana. While such elaborate layering of whole animals can be documented well back into the Middle Ages of Europe, some people credit Cajun-creole fusion chef Paul Prudhomme with creating the chimerical dish. However, no one has ever verified his claim. In recent years, the turducken was brought to popular attention due to its frequent mention by American football announcer John Madden.
Turducken is generally associated with the "do-it-yourself" outdoor food culture also associated with true barbecueing and crawfish boils, although some people now serve them in place of the traditional roasted turkey at the Thanksgiving meal. Turduckens can be prepared at home in the span of an hour or two by anybody willing to learn how to remove the bones from poultry, instructions for which can be found on the World Wide Web or in various cookbooks. As their popularity has spread from Louisiana to the rest of the deep South and beyond, they are also available through some specialty stores in urban areas, or even by mail order.
External links
- AllRecipes.com Recipe (http://thanksgiving.allrecipes.com/az/Turducken.asp)
- Yahoo's Turducken Directory (http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Food_and_Drink/Cooking/Recipes/By_Ingredient/Meat_and_Poultry/Turkey/Turducken/)
- A very graphic description of how to prepare a Turducken (http://www.blacktable.com/turducken031217.htm)
- FAQs about Turducken (http://www.cajunstuff.com/store/turducken_faqs.php)
- Unofficial Annual "Turducken Day" (November 10) (http://turducken.deathbyvanilla.com)
- An independent promotions and record label in New Orleans (http://www.turducken.net)