The Dishes

Turducken

Prep time: | Cook time: | Serves 25

  • 1 Turkey
  • 1 Duck
  • 1 Chicken
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cam’s Jam: Rosemary and Fig

The Stuffing

  • 3-6 Pork and fennel sausages  (depending on the size of your bird)
  • Iggys’ sourdough breadcrumbs
  • 2-3 eggs
  • Finely chopped rosemary and sage
  • 3 minced cloves Garlic
  • 1 Spanish onion diced
  • A pinch of konbu
  • Salt and pepper to taste

The Stock

  • The bones and wing tips from the birds
  • 2 Carrots
  • Onion
  • 1/2 a bunch of Celery
  • Garlic
  • 3 Bay leaves
  • 1½ tsp Salt
  • 12 Pepper
  • 1/2 a cup of Brown Sugar
  • 4L water

The Jus

  • 2 Shallots
  • 1/2 a bottle of red wine
  • 250gms Butter (room temprature)
  • 2L of stock
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

  1. The Birds. You can ask the butcher to debone the birds for you, making sure that to keep the bones for the stock. However if you would like to try to do it yourself there are a few great youtube videos out there which show you how.  My favourite one is here (It’s mesmerising watching him do it).
  2. The steps for all the birds are exactly the same so before you do the turducken, you can try practicing a few times with a chicken and when you are comfortable you can move on to the bigger birds.
  3. Once the birds are deboned season them all well with salt and pepper and set aside while you make the stuffing.
  4. The Stuffing. The stuffing I used is based on pork sausage meat, sage and rosemary but you can get creative and use whatever you would like, perhaps incorporating nuts vegetables or even cheese!
  5. Sweat the onions and garlic then set aside to cool.
  6. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and in a large bowl combine with the other ingredients, mixing with your hands until it holds together.
  7. The Stock and Poaching. Season then roast the bones you have removed from the birds in a medium-hot oven for 40-60 mins until golden brown.
  8. Roughly chop then sautee the vegetables in the largest stock pot you can possibly find, borrow, buy or steal.  Then add all the bones and cover with water. Your pot might still not be big enough. Mine barely was. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns and season with salt.
  9. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8-10 hrs skimming the fat from the surface of the stock.
  10. Strain the stock then put back on the stove to bring back to a simmer, add ½ a cup of brown sugar then use a small crane to gently lower the trussed up birds into the stock. You will splash stock out of your pot.
  11. Poach the birds for 3-4 hrs until the meat is cooked through then remove from the stock. Make sure not to leave it in too long otherwise the bird will start to fall apart and you will have turducken stew instead (which would be delicious).
  12. Now clear space in your fridge. Take this opportunity to throw away that jar of sauerkraut that has been sitting in the back of your fridge unused for 3 months.  You won’t have any room for anything else in your fridge but that’s fine because you also need to clear space in your stomach for the enormous meal that you will soon be eating.
  13. The Jus. Sweat the shallots in butter add the red wine and reduce by half. Once reduced, add the stock and brown sugar and reduce by 2/3.
  14. Strain then whisk in the butter a little at a time until it gives it a beautiful gloss and richness.
  15. You shouldn’t have to season that much because of all the goodness that the stock has been through but if required, season to taste with salt and pepper.
  16. Final steps (finally!) Take the poached turducken out of the fridge then let it come to room temperature. Rub the skin with salt, pepper, and brown sugar then place in a medium hot oven for 1 hour. Remember it is already cooked through so you are just warming the meat through and getting a nice roasted caramelised finish to the meat.
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