Turducken Seasoning Recipes

TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lay the boned chicken skin-side down on a platter and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Lay the boned duck skin-side down on top of the chicken and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.
• Lay the boned turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Cover with a layer of cold Sausage and Oyster Dressing and push the dressing into the leg and wing cavities so they will look as if they still have bones in them.
• Lay the duck on top of the turkey skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing. Lay the chicken on top of the duck skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing.
• With the help of an assistant, bring the edges of the turkey skin up and fasten them together with toothpicks. Use the kitchen string to lace around the toothpicks to help hold the stuffed turkey together. Carefully place the turducken, breast up in a large roasting pan.
• Roast covered for 4 hours or until the turducken is golden brown. Continue to roast uncovered for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted through the thigh registers 180 degrees F. and a thermometer inserted through the stuffing registers 165 degrees F. Check the turducken every few hours to baste and remove excess liquid. There will be enough pan juices for a gallon of gravy. Carve and serve.

HOMEMADE TURKEY SEASONING

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. To use on whole turkey, rub under skin, over skin and in body and neck cavities before roasting.

TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• The day before serving, cook pancetta in large sauté pan over low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until fat is rendered and pancetta is browned. Drain on paper towels. Add sausage to pan in bite-size pieces, and cook sausage until no longer pink, breaking up into 1/2-inch pieces as you go. Drain on paper towels.
• Pour off fat in pan. Add oil, along with chopped onion, carrot and celery, and garlic and fennel seed. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add all non-bony parts of chicken and duck giblets, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until giblets are almost cooked through, about 5 minutes, turning once partway through. Raise heat to high and pour in brandy. Reduce until almost gone, then shut off heat and stir in tarragon and thyme. Remove giblets from pan and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, fold together pancetta, sausage, vegetables, giblets and bread cubes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Let cool and chill overnight.
• The next morning, lay turkey out on counter, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 1/3 of stuffing over its surface, mostly in empty center cavity between breast meat halves. Trim about 2/3 of fat from duck, leaving some fat over breast sections. Butterfly duck drumsticks. Lay duck pieces on top of turkey in their corresponding parts, fitting duck leg meat in cavity left by turkey thigh bones. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 1/3 of stuffing on duck. Lay chicken on top, again skin side down and corresponding in arrangement to turkey. Season with salt and pepper, and spread with remaining stuffing.
• Heat oven to 250 degrees. Thread a carpet or upholstery needle with 2 feet of thin twine. Sew turkey legs back into original shape, if necessary, with duck and chicken meat and stuffing inside the thighs.
• Rethread the needle with 3 feet of twine. Beginning at tail end, begin pulling sides of turkey together, reforming its body, stitching every inch or so. Have someone hold bird while you stitch. Do not sew turducken together too tightly or it will split open when cooking.
• Turn bird over; if necessary, sew together any parts of skin that may have ripped. With a 4-foot piece of twine, truss it as you would a chicken, wrapping the twine around tips of drumsticks (or loaf end), then crisscrossing it and going down around base of drumsticks. Crisscross twine under bird, then bring it up sides and crisscross it on top, wrapping it down and around wings, crisscrossing it on back side, and up again, tying it over breast.
• Season roasting pan with salt and pepper. Place turducken in pan breast side up, and season it. Place chicken and duck wings, along with as many halved onions or carrots fit, in pan.
• Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake. After 2 hours, begin checking bird every 30 minutes or so, and basting when juices form. Turn pan every now and then so it cooks evenly. When a thermometer inserted in turducken reads 130 degrees (probably about 4 or 5 hours), remove aluminum foil and turn up heat to 375 degrees. Baste every 15 minutes or so, until turducken reaches 165 degrees at its thickest point. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes or so. With sturdy spatulas, lift onto platter. Cover turducken with foil, and let sit another 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain pan juices and spoon off fat.
• Using a bread knife or carving knife, slice turducken like a loaf of bread. Serve, passing cooking juices.

TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lay the boned chicken skin-side down on a platter and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Lay the boned duck skin-side down on top of the chicken and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.
• Lay the boned turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Cover with a layer of cold Sausage and Oyster Dressing and push the dressing into the leg and wing cavities so they will look as if they still have bones in them.
• Lay the duck on top of the turkey skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing. Lay the chicken on top of the duck skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing.
• With the help of an assistant, bring the edges of the turkey skin up and fasten them together with toothpicks. Use the kitchen string to lace around the toothpicks to help hold the stuffed turkey together. Carefully place the turducken, breast up in a large roasting pan.
• Roast covered for 4 hours or until the turducken is golden brown. Continue to roast uncovered for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted through the thigh registers 180 degrees F. and a thermometer inserted through the stuffing registers 165 degrees F. Check the turducken every few hours to baste and remove excess liquid. There will be enough pan juices for a gallon of gravy. Carve and serve.

TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• To make the brine: Mix kosher salt and sugar with the water. Brine is ready when the mixture is completely dissolved. If the water is heated to quicken the process, make sure it is cooled to room temperature before placing meat in. Let the 3 birds sit in brine in the refrigerator overnight.
• Preheat roaster to 500 °F.
• Lay turkey skin side down on a flat surface. Dust turkey with House Seasoning and add 1/4-inch layer of cornbread dressing. Lay duck skin side down on top of dressing. Dust duck with House Seasoning and add 1/4-inch layer of dressing. Repeat with the chicken.
• Begin trussing up the turkey at the neck. Insert metal skewer about 1/2-inch from the edge and up through the other side. Run butcher's twine between skin and skewer and tighten to draw both sides together. Continue down to legs. With every other skewer, draw together the duck and chicken skin. Tie together turkey legs to resemble standard turkey. Dust turkey skin with paprika.
• Roast turducken for 15 minutes. Then turn the roaster down to 225 °F to finish, approximately 3 hours. Remove turducken from roaster once the internal temperature in the chicken reaches 155 °F. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
• Cut across the middle of the breast completely through. Plate thin slices containing turkey, duck and chicken.
• Cook's Notes: If using a smoker to cook, smoke at 225 °F for 5 hours, rotating every 20 to 30 minutes until internal temperature reaches 155 °F and external temperature reaches 165 °F. Try to keep the flare-ups from the fire to a minimum.
• Cornbread Dressing:
• Preheat oven to 350 °F.
• To make the cornbread, combine self-rising cornmeal, self-rising flour, buttermilk, 2 eggs and vegetable oil and pour into a greased shallow baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
• To make the dressing, crumble dried white bread slices, cornbread and crackers. Mix together and set aside. Sauté chopped celery and onion in butter until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over corn bread mixture. Add stock, mix well and add salt, pepper, sage and poultry seasoning. Add 5 beaten eggs and mix well. Follow instructions above to stuff birds.

TURDUCKEN SEASONING

Steps:

• Mix together and use as rub on poultry after rubbing the outide with butter or olive oil. Also used for the inside of each layer.

THE LEGENDARY TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• For the cornbread:
• Combine the water, sugar, and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and mix on low speed until well combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Cook's Note: Kneading the dough can also be done by hand.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Knock the air out for 30 seconds by punching it down. You can now shape the dough into a ball, then place it onto a flour-dusted baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush the top of the cornbread with egg wash, sprinkle the top with flour and coarse salt. Let it sit in a warm spot for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.
• Bake the cornbread for approximately 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
• Cook's Note: You can tell if it's cooked by tapping its bottom. If it sounds hollow it's done, if it doesn't then pop it back in for a little longer. Once cooked, place the bread on a rack and allow it to cool for about 1 1/2 hours.
• For the stuffing:
• Cube up the cooled cornbread and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the Morteau sausage and cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Add the onions, celery, pepper, and garlic and continue cooking until translucent, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the veal stock. Add in the cornbread. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the oysters and their liquid, parsley, paprika, and melted butter. Season the stuffing with salt, and pepper, to taste. Reserve the stuffing in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• To assemble the turducken:
• Spread the deboned turkey, skin-side down on a flat surface, exposing as much meat as possible. Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 3 tablespoons of the smoked paprika, patting the seasoning in with your hands. Cook's Note: Be sure to turn the leg, thigh and wing meat to the outside so you can season it too. Season the turkey with salt and pepper.
• Then stuff some of the stuffing in the leg, thigh and wing cavities until full but not tightly packed. Cook's Note: If too tightly packed, it may cause the leg and wing to burst open during cooking). Spread an even layer of the stuffing over the remaining exposed meat, about 1/2 to 3/4-inches thick. You should use a total of about 4 cups of stuffing.
• For the duck: Remove some of the fat and keep aside. Place the duck, skin-side down, on top of the stuffing, arranging the duck evenly over the stuffing. Season the exposed duck meat generously and evenly with smoked paprika, using about 1 tablespoon, and pressing it in with your hands. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Then spread about 1 cup of the stuffing evenly over the exposed duck meat, making the layer slightly less thick, about 1/2-inch thick. Repeat with the chicken and the remaining stuffing. Place an Italian truffle in the center, optional.
• Enlist someone's help to close turducken. Fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Have your helper hold the turkey closed while you sew up all the 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 to cook, breast-side up, in the pan, tucking in the turkey wings.
• Serving suggestion: Serve with Root Vegetable Mash.
• With the assistance of your helper, carefully lift the turducken into an ungreased 15 by 11-inch baking pan that is at least 2 1/2-inches deep. Cook's Note: This pan size is ideal because the turducken fits snugly in the pan and stays in the proper shape while cooking).
• Place the turducken pan in a slightly larger pan with sides at least 2 1/2-inches deep, so that the larger pan will catch the overflow of drippings during cooking. Season the exposed side of the turducken with the remaining smoked paprika, patting it in with your hands. Brush with melted butter.
• Bake the turducken at 325 degrees F, about 4 hours, until done, or until a meat thermometer inserted through to the center reads 165 degrees F. When done, remove the turducken from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes
• For the gravy:
• Place the turducken drippings in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the stock, fresh thyme, and beurre manie. Season the gravy with salt, and pepper, to taste. Let the gravy come to a boil. Turn down heat to medium-low and let the gravy simmer for 10 minutes.
• Cook's Note: Remember there are no bones to support the birds' structure.
• With strong spatulas inserted underneath the bird, carefully transfer the turducken to a serving platter and present it to your guests before carving. Be sure to make your slices crosswise so that each slice contains the stuffing and all 3 meats. Serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side and serve with the gravy and the Root Vegetable Mash, if desired.
• Cook's Notes: Stuffing and assembling the turducken can be done 1 day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.
• Beurre manie is 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour. This is used to help thicken sauces.

TRADITIONAL LOUISIANA TURDUCKEN RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Have the birds deboned by your butcher to save yourself quite a bit of time, but if you're a particularly adventurous cook you can do it yourself. Professional Cutlery Direct provides step by step instructions for deboning poultry. Just be sure to keep the wings and legs on the turkey, that way the finished turducken will still look like a turkey. It's best to prepare each stuffing ahead of time so that they have time to cool before you are ready to assemble your turducken. A basic stuffing recipe is listed below, and it can easily be adapted for any flavor that you choose. Assembling the Turducken Begin by placing the turkey skin side down and seasoning it well with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Then spread the cornbread stuffing over the turkey. Next, place the duck on top of the cornbread stuffing and spread the Cajun rice dressing over it. You will then place the chicken on top of the Cajun rice dressing and add the shrimp stuffing. Each stuffing layer should be approximately 1/2 inch thick. Any leftover stuffing can be placed in casserole dishes and baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes. Once you've stuffed each bird, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Enlist someone to help hold the turkey closed as you begin to sew up the opening. The stitches should be spaced about 1 inch apart. You finish sewing the Turducken tie the legs together, just above the tip bones. Be sure to place the Turducken breast side up while cooking. Once the turducken is assembled, place the turducken in a large roasting pan and cook in a 325 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven. Alternatively, you can place the turducken on aluminum foil or in an aluminum pan, and then cook on a 350 degrees Fahrenheit grill or smoker. Regardless of which method you choose to use you should cook the bird until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest area on the bundle reaches an internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Fahrenheit is the minimum temperature for cooking poultry, but 180 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that the turducken is fully cooked all the way through). The USDA recommends that a stuffed turkey of this size will generally take 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours to cook, but your best bet is to rely on the meat thermometer.

TURDUCKEN*

Steps:

• Make the three dressings, then refrigerate.Cover the dressings tightly, and refrigerate them for 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 for 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 of the cornbread dressing, and about 3 cups of the oyster dressing. It's also nice to serve additional dressing from bowls at the table, so we've told you in the list of ingredients how many times to multiply each dressing recipe to have plenty extra.If you're inexperienced at boning fowl, start with the turkey because of it's size, you can more easily see the bone structure. After boning the turkey, the duck and the chicken will go much faster. Remember, each time you do a Turducken it gets easier it doesn't take magical cooking abilities, it just takes care. What is magical is the way people eating your Turducken will feel about your food!NOTE: If you're really inexperienced with boning fowl, and this is scaring you off from making the Turducken, have your butcher do it for you. That's really the hardest part -- the rest is fun!BONING THE FOWLIt's 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 more dry.3. Allow yourself plenty of time, especially if you're a beginner. And even if you're 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 the right -- before doing the other side.5. Use a sharp boning knife and use mainly the tip stay close to the bone at all times with the knife. 6. It's worth the time and effort!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 closely 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" -- the 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 thigh bone from the carcass you should now be able to open the bird up 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 breast bone. Then very carefully separate the skin from the breast bone 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 of the turkey, with the turkey still breast down. When both sides are finished, carefully remove the carcass. Save carcass for stock or gumbo.Remove the thigh 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 thigh bone as one unit. To do this, cut the meat away form around the thigh bone first, using the knife tip then, holding the thigh bone up with one hand, use the other hand to carefully cut the meat away from around the leg-thigh joint. (Don't cut through this joint, and don't worry if it seems as if you're leaving a lot of meat around the joint -- it can't be helped, and besides, it will add flavor to the stock you make with the bones!)Then use the blade of the knife to scrape the meat way from the leg bone remove the leg-thigh bone. With your hands or the knife, one by one remove as many bin 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 regular turkey again. Refrigerate.TO BONE THE DUCK:Place the duck, breast down, on a flat surface and follow the same procedures you did to bone the turkey, except this time you will remove all of 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, leaving the wing's 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, be careful not to cut the skin.Trim some of the excess skin and fat from around 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 3 tablespoons of the Creole seasoning, patting the seasoning 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 1/2 to 3/4-inches 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 Creole seasoning, using about 1 tablespoon, and pressing it in with your hands. Then spread the cold cornbread dressing evenly over the exposed duck meat, making the layer slightly less thick than the andouille dressing, about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the chicken and the oyster dressing.Enlist another person's help to carefully lift the open Turducken into an ungreased 15 x 11-inch baking pan that is at least 2-1/2 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 life 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 the 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 in the other side. Then tie the legs together, just above the tip bones. Leave the turducken to cook, breast side up, in the pan, tucking in the turkey wings.Place the Turducken pan in a slightly larger pan with sides at least 2-1/2-inch deep, so that the larger pan will catch the overflow of drippings during cooking. Season the exposed side of the Turducken with about 2 tablespoons of Creole seasoning, patting it in with your hands. Refrigerate until ready to bake.Bake the Turducken at 190°F, about 12 hours, until done, or until a meat thermometer inserted through to the center reads 165°F. (NOTE -- there's no need to baste, but you will need to remove accumulated drippings from the Turducken pan every couple of hours so that the lower portion of the turkey doesn't deep fry in the hot oil. When done, remove the Turducken from the oven and let rest and cool for 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the gravy with some of the pan drippings and the reserve 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. Be sure to make your slices crosswise so that each slice contains all three dressings and all three meats. Serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side.