Holiday Diner - Turducken
Its a lot of fun to let your guests think youre serving them a regular holiday turkey. When you start to carve the "turkey," theyll be quite surprised to see you cut through its "bones"!
Since the Turducken takes about 12 to 13 hours to cook (and then it needs to cool at least 1 hour before its carved), you will need to plan your time wisely. First, be sure your oven temperature control is accurate. If not (and ovens usually need adjusting every few months), get it fixed
or simply purchase an inexpensive oven thermometer to correctly maintain the ovens temperature, instead of relying on the oven temperature control. Otherwise, your Turducken may take considerably fewer or more than 12 to 13 hours to cook. A good thing to know, though, is that since you are
cooking the Turducken at such a low temperature (assuming your oven temperature is accurate!), you can leave it cooking a couple of extra hours with no harm done; and once its removed from the oven, the Turducken will stay hot for several hours.
The quickest way to prepare your Turducken is to get friends or family members to make the dressings (or, if youre on your own, you will need to make the three dressings the day before boning the fowl and assembling the Turducken). Cover the dressings tightly and refrigerate them several
hours so they will be well chilled before you place them in the meat. You can bone the meat (be sure to save the bones and necks for making stock) and assemble the Turducken the day before cooking - - and family or friends can have fun helping you with this, too! Keep the Turducken
refrigerated until ready to cook. Make the gravy after the Turducken comes out of the oven.
To stuff the Turducken itself, you will need about 7 cups of the andouille dressing, about 4 cups cornbread dressing and about 3 cups oyster dressing. Its also nice to serve additional dressing in bowls at the table, so weve told you in the list of ingredients how many times to
multiply each dressing recipe to have plenty of extra.
If youre inexperienced at boning fowl, start with the turkey; because of its size, you can more easily see the bone structure. After boning the turkey, the duck and chicken will go much faster. And remember, each time you do a Turducken it gets easier; it doesnt take magical cooking
abilities, it just takes care. What is magical is the way people eating your Turducken will feel about your food!
4 recipes Andouille Smoked Sausage Dressing (recipe follows)
5 recipes Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy (recipe follows)
1 small hammer
2 recipes Cornbread Dressing (recipe follows)
1 (3-inch) needle (a "packing" needle with a curved tip works well)
4 recipes Oyster Dressing (recipe follows)
1 (20- to 25-pound) turkey
Strong thread, for sewing up the fowl
1 (4- to 5-pound) domestic duckling
1 (15 x 11-inch) baking pan, at least 2 inches deep
1 (3- to 3-pound) chicken
1 pan, larger than the 15 x 11-inch pan, that the smaller pan will fit inside with room to spare
6 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Meat Magic
Make the three dressings; cover well and refrigerate. Then bone the fowl. Its helpful to keep the following in mind:
1. Your goal is to end up with one large piece of essentially boneless turkey meat; the finished product will contain only the tip end of each leg bone and the first two joints of each wing. You will end up with one piece of completely boneless duck meat and one piece of completely boneless
chicken meat.
2. Be careful not to pierce the skin except for the initial slits. (Cuts in the skin tend to enlarge during cooking and make the end result less attractive as well as dryer.)
3. Allow yourself plenty of time, especially if youre a beginner. And even if you are experienced, approach the boning procedure with a gentle, careful touch - - the meat is not tough and you want to end up with as much of it as possible.
4. Bone one side of each bird - - either the left or right - - before doing the other side.
5. Use a sharp knife and use mainly the tip; stay close to the bone at all times with the knife.
6. Its worth the time and effort!
ANDOUILLE SMOKED SAUSAGE DRESSING
4 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 cups chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Pepper Sauce
1 pounds andouille smoked sausage (preferred) or any other good smoked pure pork sausage such as Polish sausage (Kielbasa), ground (3 cups)
2 cups turkey, duck or chicken stock (recipe follows)
1 cups very fine dry bread crumbs (preferably (see Note) French bread)
NOTE: If you are not using andouille, add approximately 2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Meat Magic to the meat for a fuller flavor. K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen Cajun Andouille Smoked Sausage is available through 800-457-2857.
Melt the margarine in a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 cups of the onions, 1 cup of the celery and 1 cup of the bell peppers; saut until onions are dark brown but not burned, about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the andouille and cook until meat is browned, about 5
minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining 2 cups onions, 1 cup celery and 1 cup bell peppers, the butter, paprika, garlic and Magic Pepper Sauce, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock and bring to a simmer; continue
cooking until the oil rises to the top (until the water evaporates), about 10 minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 8 x 8-inch baking dish; bake uncovered in a 425 oven until browned on top, about 45 minutes, stirring and scraping pan bottom
well every 15 minutes. Makes about 5 cups.
CORNBREAD DRESSING
Cajuns like their cornbreads and dressing sweet, so the crumbled cornbread we start with in this dish is sweet. If you prefer less sweet dressings, make your cornbread without sugar.
2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Poultry Magic
pound turkey, duck or chicken giblets, boiled until tender, then ground (preferably) or finely chopped
pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons margarine
1 cup turkey, duck or chicken stock (recipe follows)
cup finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Pepper Sauce
cup finely chopped green bell peppers
cup finely chopped celery
5 cups finely crumbled Cornbread or Cornbread Muffins (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon mined garlic
2 bay leaves
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk (1-2/3 cups)
3 eggs
In a large skillet melt the butter and margarine with the onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic and bay leaves over high heat; saut about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Poultry Magic and continue cooking until vegetables are barely wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the giblets,
stock and Magic Pepper Sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off heat. Add the cornbread, milk and eggs, stirring well. Spoon dressing into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 until browned on top, about 35 to 40 minutes. Makes about 8 cups.
CORNBREAD OR CORNBREAD MUFFINS
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cornmeal
1-1/3 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup corn flour (see Note)
1 small egg, beaten
5 teaspoons baking powder
NOTE: Available at many health food stores.
In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, corn flour, baking powder and salt; mix well, breaking up any lumps. In a separate bowl combine the milk, butter and egg and add to the dry ingredients; blend just until mixed and large lumps are dissolved. Do not overbeat.
For bread, pour mixture into a greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan and bake at 350 until golden brown, about 55 minutes. Remove from pan and serve immediately.
For muffins, spoon mixture into 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and serve while hot.
Makes 1 loaf of bread, 1 dozen muffins or about 6 cups finely crumbled cornbread.
OYSTER DRESSING
About 20 small to medium oysters in their liquor,
4 teaspoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Seafood Magic
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup cold water
cup chopped green onions
3/8 pound (1 sticks) margarine
cup very finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cups chopped onions
3 bay leaves
1 cup chopped celery
About 1 cup very fine dry bread crumbs
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Combine the oysters and water; stir and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Strain and reserve the oysters and oyster water; refrigerate until ready to use.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the margarine in a large skillet over high heat. When margarine is almost melted, add cup of the onions, cup of the celery and cup of the bell peppers. Saut over high heat until onions are dark brown but not burned, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
When the onions are browned, stir 2 teaspoons of the Seafood Magic and the garlic into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining cup onions, cup celery, cup bell peppers and 1 stick margarine, and cup of the green
onions, cup of the parsley and the bay leaves. Stir until margarine is melted. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the reserved oyster water and cook over high heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons Seafood Magic and enough
bread crumbs to make a moist, but not runny dressing; remove from heat. Stir in the drained oysters. Spoon dressing into an ungreased 8 x 8-inch baking pan and bake uncovered in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, discard bay leaves and stir in the butter and the remaining cup
green onions and cup parsley. Makes about 3 cups.
TO BONE THE TURKEY
Place the turkey, breast down, on a flat surface. Make an incision the entire length of the spine through the skin and flesh. Starting from the neck end and using the tip of the knife, follow as close to the bone as you can cut, carefully teasing the skin and meat away from the frame.
Toward the neck end, cut through the meat to expose the shoulder blade (feel for it first and cut through small amounts of meat at a time if you have trouble locating it); cut the meat away from around the bone and sever the bone at the joint so you can remove the blade.
Disjoint the wing between the second and third joint; free the heavy drumstick of the wing and remove it, being careful to leave the skin intact. Continue teasing the meat away from the backbone, heading toward the thighbone and being careful to keep the "oyster" (pocket of meat
on the back) attached to the skin instead of leaving it with the bone.
Cut through the ball-and-socket joint to release the thighbone from the carcass; you should now be able to open up the bird more in order to better see what bones are still left to deal with. Continue teasing the meat away from the carcass until you reach the center front of the breastbone.
Then very carefully separate the skin from the breastbone at the midline without piercing the skin (go slowly because the skin is very thin at this point).
Repeat the same boning procedure on the other side (left or right) of the turkey, with the turkey still breast down. When both sides are finished, carefully remove the carcass. Then remove the thighbone and leg bone on each side as follows. Being careful not to break through the skin, use a
small hammer to break the leg bone completely across, about two inches from the tip end. Then manipulate both ends of the bone with your hands to be sure the break is complete. Leave the tip of the bone in, but remove the leg bone and thighbone as one unit. To do this, cut the meat away from
around the thighbone first, using the knife tip; then, holding the thighbone up with one hand, use the other hand to carefully cut the meat away from around the leg-thigh joint. (Dont cut through this joint, and dont worry if it seems as if youre leaving a lot of meat around the joint
- - it cant be helped and, besides, it will add flavor when you make the stock with the bones!) Then use the blade of the knife to scrape the meat away from the leg bone; remove the leg-thigh bone. With your hands or the knife, one by one remove as many pin bones from the leg meat as
possible; then, if necessary, pull the tip of the leg bone to turn the meat to the inside (so the skin is on the outside and it looks like a turkey again). Refrigerate.
TO BONE THE DUCK
Place the duck, breast down, on a flat surface and follow the same procedure as you did to bone the turkey, except this time you will remove all the bones, instead of leaving in part of the wing and leg bones.
To bone each wing, cut off the first two joints of the wing (and save for stock), leaving the wings drumstick; cut the meat from around the drumstick and remove this bone.
When you reach the thigh, follow the thigh-leg bone with the knife blade to release the bone as one unit, again being careful not to cut through the skin.
Trim some of the excess skin and fat from the neck area; cut the skin in small pieces and reserve it for making the gravy; discard the fat. Refrigerate the duck and skin pieces.
TO BONE THE CHICKEN
Use precisely the same procedure to bone the chicken as you used to bone the duck.
TO ASSEMBLE THE TURDUCKEN
Spread the turkey, skin down, on a flat surface exposing as much meat as possible. Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 2 tablespoons of the Meat Magic, patting it in with your hands. (Be sure to turn the leg, thigh and wing meat to the outside so you can season it,
too.) then stuff some of the cold andouille dressing into the leg, thigh and wing cavities until full but not tightly packed (if too tightly packed, it may cause the leg and wing to burst open during cooking). Spread an even layer of the dressing over the remaining exposed meat, about to -inch
thick. You should use a total of about 7 cups dressing.
Place the duck, skin down, on top of the andouille dressing, arranging the duck evenly over the dressing. Season the exposed duck meat generously and evenly with about 1 tablespoon more Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Then spread the cold cornbread dressing evenly over the
expose duck meat, making the layer slightly less thick than the andouille dressing, about inch thick. Use a total of about 4 cups dressing.
Arrange the chicken, skin down, evenly on top of the cornbread dressing. Season the exposed chicken meat generously and evenly with about 1 tablespoon more Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Spread the cold oyster dressing evenly over the exposed chicken meat, using about 3 cups
dressing and making the layer about inch thick.
Enlist another persons help to carefully lift the open Turducken into an ungreased 15 x 11-inch baking pan that is at least 2 inches deep. (NOTE: This pan size is ideal because the Turducken fits snugly in the pan and stays in the proper shape while cooking.) As you lift the
Turducken into the pan, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Have your helper hold the turkey closed while you sew up all openings, making the stitches about 1 inch apart; when you finish sewing up the Turducken on the first side, turn it over in the pan to sew closed any
openings on the other side. Then tie the legs together just above the tip bones. Leave the Turducken breast side up in the pan, tucking in the turkey wings.
Place the Turducken pan in a slightly larger pan with sides at least 2 inches deep, so that the larger pan will catch the overflow of drippings during cooking. Season the exposed side of the Turducken generously and evenly with about 2 tablespoons more Meat Magic, patting it in with your
hands. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
Bake at 190 until done, about 12 to 13 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted through to the center reads 165. (NOTE: There is no need to baste, but you will need to remove accumulated drippings from the Turducken pan every few hours so that the lower portion of the turkey
doesnt "deep fry" in the hot oil.) When done, remove the Turducken from oven and let cool in its pan at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the gravy with some of the pan drippings and the reserved duck skin. With strong spatulas inserted underneath (remember there are no bones to
support the birds structure), carefully transfer the Turducken to a serving platter and present it to your guests before carving. Then place the Turducken on a flat surface to carve. Be sure to make your slices crosswise so that each slice contains all three dressings and all three meats.
(Its easy to do this and still have manageable size servings if you slice the Turducken in half lengthwise, then cut servings crosswise to the desired thickness from one side of the Turducken at a time.) Serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side.
SWEET POTATO EGGPLANT GRAVY
4 teaspoons Chef Paul Prudhommes Meat Magic
3 bay leaves
cup drippings from Turducken, plus the reserved duck skin
8 cups turkey, duck or chicken stock (recipe follows)
cup packed dark brown sugar
4 cups peeled and chopped eggplant
1 cup peeled sweet potatoes, cut into -inch dice
1 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons grand Marnier
1 cup peeled and finely chopped sweet potatoes
cup finely chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Place the drippings and duck skin in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 cups of the eggplant and saut until eggplant starts to get soft, translucent and brown, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions and remaining 1 cup eggplant; cook until the onions start to
brown, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the finely chopped sweet potatoes; continue cooking and stirring for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bay leaves, 3 teaspoons of the Meat Magic and stir well, scraping pan bottom as needed.
Next, stir 1 cup of the stock into the vegetables and cook 2 minutes, then add another 1 cup stock; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cup of the sugar and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add another 1 cup stock and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the
remaining cup sugar and 1 cup more stock; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add another 1 cup stock and cook 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer 13 minutes. Stir in another 1 cup stock and simmer 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and strain well,
forcing as much liquid as possible through the strainer.
Place the strained gravy in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the diced sweet potatoes and 1 cup stock; bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes, skimming off any froth from the surface. Stir in the grand Marnier and continue simmering 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the green onions, the remaining teaspoon of Meat Magic and 1 cup more stock. Bring gravy to a boil and simmer until it reduces to about 3 cups, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes about 3 cups.
BASIC FOWL AND GAME STOCK
About 5 gallons cold water (see Note)
6 medium onions, unpeeled and quartered
1 stalk celery, separated into ribs
1 large head garlic, unpeeled and halved crosswise to expose meat
1 to 2 pounds bones and necks from the turkey, duck and chicken or use 10 pounds backs, necks and/or bones from chickens, guinea hens, ducks, geese, pheasants (for all fowl, the giblets, excluding livers, may be used), rabbits, squirrels or other fowl or game
NOTE: Always start with cold water. Enough to cover all the ingredients.
Place all ingredients in a very large stockpot; bring to a boil over high heat, then gently simmer at least 4 hours, preferably 8 (unless otherwise directed in a recipe), replenishing the water as needed to keep about 4 gallons of liquid in the pan. Strain, cool and refrigerate until ready
to use. Makes about 4 gallons. (NOTE: Remember, if you are short on time, that using a stock simmered 20 to 30 minutes is far better than using just water in any recipe.)
Copyright by Chef Paul Prudhomme
