The complete Turducken recipe
A Thanksgiving recipe not for the faint of heart.
by Jon Palmer Claridge
Page 4 of 5
STEP 8:Assemble the Turducken
Spread out the de-boned turkey, skin side down, and expose as much meat as possible. Season the meat generously with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, making sure to include the leg, thigh, and wing meat. Stuff the leg and wing cavities loosely with the cornbread sausage stuffing to help them return to their original shape. Fill the center between the breast meat and smooth the stuffing so that it is level with the rest of the meat. Cover the entire turkey with a thin layer of stuffing. Do not put any stuffing over the exposed skin flap at the neck. Return any unused stuffing to the refrigerator.
Place the duck, skin side down, on top of the turkey, arranging it evenly over the stuffing. Season the exposed meat generously with kosher salt and pepper pressing it in with your hands. Then spread the cold wild rice pilaf evenly over the exposed duck meat, using the same technique as before, making a layer slightly less than ½ inch thick.
Repeat with the chicken and shrimp Creole stuffing.
Enlist another person’s help to roll up the chicken with the stuffing inside and secure the seam with wooden skewers. Invert the chicken on top of the duck stuffing, seam side down, and remove the skewers. Roll up the duck around the chicken with the wooden skewers, and again, secure the seam. As before, invert the duck with the chicken inside, on top of the turkey stuffing and remove the skewers.
Roll up the turkey around the duck/chicken in the same manner as before. Fold the sides and neck flap of the turkey together and secure them with skewers. Sew the skin together using a trussing needle and some twine, then place a roasting rack on top of the turkey. Alternatively, invert a 15” x 11” aluminum baking pan on top of the seam and press down so that the pan is firmly wedged on top of the bird.
In either case, carefully turn the Turducken over so that it is sitting breast side up. If you’re so inclined, carefully separate the skin from the breast, and rub the meat with white truffle oil (I like the La Tourangelle brand from California that’s available at Whole Foods or Fresh Market. It’s expensive, but you can also use it with pasta, risotto, pizza, meat and potato dishes.)
If you’re using the aluminum pan, you can rollup two pieces of aluminum foil and place them under the front and back openings of the Turducken to keep the stuffing from falling out of the openings. In either case, cover the wing tips with aluminum foil and place the rack/pan with the Turducken into a large roasting pan. Blot any remaining moisture from the skin and refrigerate the Turducken until ready to bake Thursday morning.
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