Turducken anyone?

Turducken: is a term referring to a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, stuffed into a deboned turkey. Outside of the United States and Canada  this combination  is known as a Three Bird Roast.  A related dish is a Gooducken, replacing turkey with goose. Several company's sell Turducken rolls, Turduckens, and other accompaniments.

Two years ago I heard about Turducken, but did not have success in finding one at local supermarkets. It was also much too late in order to purchase one online in time for a holiday meal. Several months later I was in the nearby supermarket and saw Tur-duc-hen rolls   by Big Easy Foods on sale. Big Easy Turduckens are  pre-seasoned turkey breast wrapped around layers of duck breast meat, chicken thigh meat and Creole pork sausage. They weigh about four pounds. I purchased one and decided to serve it at a future holiday meal.


I envisioned smoking my Turducken roll on my grill and researched several site about ideas on how to smoke a Turducken. Those dreams were halted when I took the time to read the cooking instructions on the box and was reminded the roll was already in an oven bag. I decided to try the oven method the first time and if successful consider grilling/smoking in the future.  I liberally applied smoked paprika to the Turducken roll after cutting a one inch slit in the oven bag.

I followed the instructions on the box, cut a one inch slit in the oven bag and cooked the Turducken roll in its oven bag in a 400 degree oven for approximately 1 hr 45 min  (this was 15 minutes longer than the minimum time listed in the instructions because additional time was needed for the internal temperature of the meat to reach 170 degrees Fahrenheit - yes , I used a meat thermometer).  I basted the meat several times.  I should also mention that I began thawing the Turducken roll 48 hours prior to cooking it. I'm certain the cooking time would've been longer if the roll wasn't thawed.

After removing the Turducken roll from the oven I placed a foil tent over the meat and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. I used kitchen shears to remove the twine which held the roll together before serving. The roll sliced easily and the meat was tender.  I used the meat drippings to make gravy ( I used 2tsp cornstarch and warm homemade turkey broth to make the slurry). The gravy was tasty.

I served the Turducken roll with turnip greens, roasted squash, and stuffing (I'll save that recipe for another post).

Would I get a Turducken roll again? Yes. Would I cook it in the oven again? Yes, only if the weather  didn't make it possible to try smoking or grilling the roll.  The best part was the easy clean up.

Have you cooked Turducken? How did you cook it? What did you serve with the Turducken? Share your comments below.

Be well,
Technicolor girl

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