It’s a lot of fun to let your guests think you’re serving them a regular holiday turkey. When you start to carve the “turkey,” they’ll be quite surprised to see you cut through its “bones”!
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Servings
Serves 24-30 people
Ingredients
1 chicken (3-4 pounds)
1 duckling (5-6 pounds)
1 turkey (15-20 pounds)
2 pounds duck or chicken giblets
2½ pounds Chef Paul Prudhomme's Andouille Smoked Sausage
1½ pounds shrimp, peeled
9 cups celery, chopped (total)
7 tablespoons garlic, minced (total)
8 cups green bell peppers, chopped
12 cups onions, chopped (total)
2 garlic heads, whole
4½ pounds medium onions, whole (about 6)
3 pounds sweet potatoes, whole (about 4)
2 pounds whole eggplants (about 2)
3 whole eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
5 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
7½ teaspoons baking powder
7 bay leaves
¾ cup corn flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
6 cups very fine dry breadcrumbs, unseasoned (preferably French bread)
21 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic®
4 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic®
7 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic®
1 teaspoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Vegetable Magic®
11 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Pepper Sauce®
1 (15x11inch) baking pan, at least 2 1/4 inches deep
1 pan larger than the 15x11 inch pan
3 metal or bamboo skewers
6 sheet pans
vegetable oil
aluminum foil
1 small hammer
1 duckling (5-6 pounds)
1 turkey (15-20 pounds)
2 pounds duck or chicken giblets
2½ pounds Chef Paul Prudhomme's Andouille Smoked Sausage
1½ pounds shrimp, peeled
9 cups celery, chopped (total)
7 tablespoons garlic, minced (total)
8 cups green bell peppers, chopped
12 cups onions, chopped (total)
2 garlic heads, whole
4½ pounds medium onions, whole (about 6)
3 pounds sweet potatoes, whole (about 4)
2 pounds whole eggplants (about 2)
3 whole eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
5 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
7½ teaspoons baking powder
7 bay leaves
¾ cup corn flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
6 cups very fine dry breadcrumbs, unseasoned (preferably French bread)
21 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic®
4 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic®
7 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic®
1 teaspoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Vegetable Magic®
11 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Pepper Sauce®
1 (15x11inch) baking pan, at least 2 1/4 inches deep
1 pan larger than the 15x11 inch pan
3 metal or bamboo skewers
6 sheet pans
vegetable oil
aluminum foil
1 small hammer
How To Prepare
NOTE: The above is a complete list of everything you will need to make the Turducken.
The complete Turducken recipe* can be found in Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking! Cookbook. You can purchase the cookbook and a sampling of four of our seasoning blends (2-oz. Poultry Magic®, 2-oz. Meat Magic®, 2-oz Seafood Magic®, and 2-oz. Vegetable Magic®) for only $19.95! *Please note: Our 4-PK Sampler is not sufficient to make the entire Turducken Recipe, and additional seasoning and ingredients are needed. If you have questions about items needed for preparation, please give us a call toll-free at 1-800-457-2857.
Since the Turducken takes about 8 hours to cook (and then it needs to cool at least 1 hour before it's carved), you will need to plan your time wisely. First, be sure your oven temperature control is accurate by using (or purchasing) an inexpensive oven thermometer to monitor the oven's temperature instead of relying on the oven temperature control. Otherwise, your Turducken may take considerably less or more time than you have planned.
The quickest way to prepare your Turducken is to get friends or family members to help make the dressings and de-bone the fowl. (If you're on your own, you will need to allow more time for preparation of the Turducken.) We get letters every year from "Turducken Teams" - friends and relatives who gather together to make (and eat!) their Turduckens as a group activity! It might be fun to take pictures along the way so that you can look back and have "Turducken" memories year-round!
It's also nice to serve additional dressing in bowls at the table, so our dressing recipes will make about 8 cups extra of each dressing. If you do not want to serve extra dressing with your Turducken, you can cut each dressing recipe in half.
If you're inexperienced at de-boning fowl, start with the turkey; because of its size, you can more easily see the bone structure. After de-boning the turkey, the duck and chicken will go much faster. And 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!
For those of you who may be intimidated by de-boning, you can ask your local butcher to do it. Just tell the butcher to de-bone everything except the turkey drumsticks and wings.
STEPS FOR MAKING THE TURDUCKEN
An Important Note About Refrigeration: As you complete the steps for making the Turducken, you will be refrigerating the fowl and dressings. It is very important to keep the meats as cold as possible before preparing them, and to chill all the finished items as quickly as possible after preparing. The best way to accomplish this is to spread the prepared items (or lay them flat in the case of the de-boned fowl) on a sheet pan and place them in the coldest part of your refrigerator. While the items are chilling, keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible.
STEPS TO BE DONE ONE DAY AHEAD
- Prepare Corn Bread for the Cornbread Dressing.
- De-bone the turkey, chicken and duck
- Bring the water to a simmer and prepare the Poultry Stock
- Prepare the Roasted Vegetables for Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
- Prepare the Andouille Sausage Dressing.
- Prepare the Cornbread Dressing.
- Prepare the Shrimp Dressing.
- Assemble the Turducken - See Detail Below
"TURDUCKEN" DAY!
9. Bake the Turducken - See Details Below
10. Let the Turducken rest for 1 hour before serving
11. While the Turducken is resting, bake the extra dressings
12. Prepare the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
[]TURKEY: Spread the turkey, skin down, on a sheet pan exposing as much meat as possible. Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 4 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 also.)
Stuff each leg cavity with about 1½ cups of the Cornbread Dressing, pressing it into the cavities with your fingers or the round handle of a wooden spoon. Pack each cavity well, but not too tightly. (If too tightly packed, it may cause the skin to burst open during cooking.)
Stuff each wing cavity with about 1 cup of the cornbread dressing, pressing it in as before.
Fill the center of the breast cleavage with about 1 cup of the cornbread dressing. Shape the dressing with your hands to fit the space and smooth it so that it is level with the rest of the breast meat. Shape 2-3 cups of the dressing into an even layer over the remaining exposed meat, about ¾-inch thick. (Do not put any dressing over the exposed skin flap at the neck.) You should use about 8 - 9 cups dressing. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
DUCK: Place the duck, skin down, on a sheet pan. Season the exposed duck meat generously and evenly with about 3 tablespoons Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Then, place the Andouille Dressing on the duck meat, using the same technique as before, filling and leveling the cleavage area first, then making an even layer over the meat, about ½-inch thick. You should use about 4 cups dressing. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
CHICKEN:Arrange the chicken, skin down, evenly on a sheet pan. Season the exposed chicken meat generously and evenly with about 1 tablespoon Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Repeat the filling process with the Shrimp Dressing, using about 3 cups of dressing and making the layer about ½-inch thick. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
ASSEMBLY: Have the 3 skewers, 15 x 11-inch baking pan and the larger pan nearby for the next steps. Starting with the chicken: Roll one side of the chicken around the dressing towards the middle. Repeat with the other side, returning the bird to a chicken shape. If necessary, use a skewer to hold the flaps together.
Place the rolled up chicken on top of the stuffed duck, placing it in the center and rolling up the duck meat around the chicken. Use a skewer to close the flaps of the duck. When the duck is securely skewered, pull out the skewer from the chicken.
Place the rolled up duck/chicken on top of the turkey, placing it in the center and rolling up the turkey meat around the duck/chicken in the same way as before. Fold the sides (and neck flap) of the turkey together and secure them by piercing them onto the tip of the skewer to close the bird. Invert the 15 x 11-inch baking pan and place it over the top of the Turducken. Pull out the skewer and press down so that the pan is firmly wedged on top of the bird. Enlist another person's help to carefully turn the Turducken over so that it is sitting breast side up in the 15 x 11-inch pan. Roll up two pieces of aluminum foil and place them under the front and back openings of the Turducken (this will help to keep the stuffing from falling out of the openings.) Cover the tips of the wings with aluminum foil.
Place the Turducken pan in the larger pan with sides at least 2½-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 3 tablespoons more Meat Magic, patting it in gently. Refrigerate the Turducken until ready to bake.
STEP 9. Bake the Turducken
Place the Turducken in the oven. Bake at 225°F until done, about 8 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted through to the center reads 165°F.
At 4 hours: Cover the Turducken with aluminum foil.
At 7 hours: STEP 12: Prepare the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
At 8 hours: Check temperature in the center of the Turducken. When the interior temperature reads 165°F, remove the Turducken from the oven.
STEP 10: Let the Turducken rest for 1 hour before serving
While the Turducken is resting, bake the extra dressings.
STEP 11: Bake the extra dressings
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
Remove covers from the three dressings and place them in the oven.
Drain all the drippings from the Turducken and add them to the gravy.
At 8:40 hours: Check the dressings. If they are not browned on the top, increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
At 9 hours: Remove the Dressings from the oven.
Carve the Turducken.
With strong spatulas inserted underneath (remember there are no bones to support the bird's 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. Cut each slice in half for serving. Serve with a scoop of each dressing and ½ cup of the gravy, or serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side.
The complete Turducken recipe* can be found in Chef Paul Prudhomme's Always Cooking! Cookbook. You can purchase the cookbook and a sampling of four of our seasoning blends (2-oz. Poultry Magic®, 2-oz. Meat Magic®, 2-oz Seafood Magic®, and 2-oz. Vegetable Magic®) for only $19.95! *Please note: Our 4-PK Sampler is not sufficient to make the entire Turducken Recipe, and additional seasoning and ingredients are needed. If you have questions about items needed for preparation, please give us a call toll-free at 1-800-457-2857.
Since the Turducken takes about 8 hours to cook (and then it needs to cool at least 1 hour before it's carved), you will need to plan your time wisely. First, be sure your oven temperature control is accurate by using (or purchasing) an inexpensive oven thermometer to monitor the oven's temperature instead of relying on the oven temperature control. Otherwise, your Turducken may take considerably less or more time than you have planned.
The quickest way to prepare your Turducken is to get friends or family members to help make the dressings and de-bone the fowl. (If you're on your own, you will need to allow more time for preparation of the Turducken.) We get letters every year from "Turducken Teams" - friends and relatives who gather together to make (and eat!) their Turduckens as a group activity! It might be fun to take pictures along the way so that you can look back and have "Turducken" memories year-round!
It's also nice to serve additional dressing in bowls at the table, so our dressing recipes will make about 8 cups extra of each dressing. If you do not want to serve extra dressing with your Turducken, you can cut each dressing recipe in half.
If you're inexperienced at de-boning fowl, start with the turkey; because of its size, you can more easily see the bone structure. After de-boning the turkey, the duck and chicken will go much faster. And 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!
For those of you who may be intimidated by de-boning, you can ask your local butcher to do it. Just tell the butcher to de-bone everything except the turkey drumsticks and wings.
STEPS FOR MAKING THE TURDUCKEN
An Important Note About Refrigeration: As you complete the steps for making the Turducken, you will be refrigerating the fowl and dressings. It is very important to keep the meats as cold as possible before preparing them, and to chill all the finished items as quickly as possible after preparing. The best way to accomplish this is to spread the prepared items (or lay them flat in the case of the de-boned fowl) on a sheet pan and place them in the coldest part of your refrigerator. While the items are chilling, keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible.
STEPS TO BE DONE ONE DAY AHEAD
- Prepare Corn Bread for the Cornbread Dressing.
- De-bone the turkey, chicken and duck
- Bring the water to a simmer and prepare the Poultry Stock
- Prepare the Roasted Vegetables for Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
- Prepare the Andouille Sausage Dressing.
- Prepare the Cornbread Dressing.
- Prepare the Shrimp Dressing.
- Assemble the Turducken - See Detail Below
"TURDUCKEN" DAY!
9. Bake the Turducken - See Details Below
10. Let the Turducken rest for 1 hour before serving
11. While the Turducken is resting, bake the extra dressings
12. Prepare the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
[]TURKEY: Spread the turkey, skin down, on a sheet pan exposing as much meat as possible. Sprinkle the meat generously and evenly with a total of about 4 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 also.)
Stuff each leg cavity with about 1½ cups of the Cornbread Dressing, pressing it into the cavities with your fingers or the round handle of a wooden spoon. Pack each cavity well, but not too tightly. (If too tightly packed, it may cause the skin to burst open during cooking.)
Stuff each wing cavity with about 1 cup of the cornbread dressing, pressing it in as before.
Fill the center of the breast cleavage with about 1 cup of the cornbread dressing. Shape the dressing with your hands to fit the space and smooth it so that it is level with the rest of the breast meat. Shape 2-3 cups of the dressing into an even layer over the remaining exposed meat, about ¾-inch thick. (Do not put any dressing over the exposed skin flap at the neck.) You should use about 8 - 9 cups dressing. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
DUCK: Place the duck, skin down, on a sheet pan. Season the exposed duck meat generously and evenly with about 3 tablespoons Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Then, place the Andouille Dressing on the duck meat, using the same technique as before, filling and leveling the cleavage area first, then making an even layer over the meat, about ½-inch thick. You should use about 4 cups dressing. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
CHICKEN:Arrange the chicken, skin down, evenly on a sheet pan. Season the exposed chicken meat generously and evenly with about 1 tablespoon Meat Magic, pressing it in with your hands. Repeat the filling process with the Shrimp Dressing, using about 3 cups of dressing and making the layer about ½-inch thick. Return the stuffed bird to the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dressing in a baking pan. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
ASSEMBLY: Have the 3 skewers, 15 x 11-inch baking pan and the larger pan nearby for the next steps. Starting with the chicken: Roll one side of the chicken around the dressing towards the middle. Repeat with the other side, returning the bird to a chicken shape. If necessary, use a skewer to hold the flaps together.
Place the rolled up chicken on top of the stuffed duck, placing it in the center and rolling up the duck meat around the chicken. Use a skewer to close the flaps of the duck. When the duck is securely skewered, pull out the skewer from the chicken.
Place the rolled up duck/chicken on top of the turkey, placing it in the center and rolling up the turkey meat around the duck/chicken in the same way as before. Fold the sides (and neck flap) of the turkey together and secure them by piercing them onto the tip of the skewer to close the bird. Invert the 15 x 11-inch baking pan and place it over the top of the Turducken. Pull out the skewer and press down so that the pan is firmly wedged on top of the bird. Enlist another person's help to carefully turn the Turducken over so that it is sitting breast side up in the 15 x 11-inch pan. Roll up two pieces of aluminum foil and place them under the front and back openings of the Turducken (this will help to keep the stuffing from falling out of the openings.) Cover the tips of the wings with aluminum foil.
Place the Turducken pan in the larger pan with sides at least 2½-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 3 tablespoons more Meat Magic, patting it in gently. Refrigerate the Turducken until ready to bake.
STEP 9. Bake the Turducken
Place the Turducken in the oven. Bake at 225°F until done, about 8 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted through to the center reads 165°F.
At 4 hours: Cover the Turducken with aluminum foil.
At 7 hours: STEP 12: Prepare the Sweet Potato Eggplant Gravy.
At 8 hours: Check temperature in the center of the Turducken. When the interior temperature reads 165°F, remove the Turducken from the oven.
STEP 10: Let the Turducken rest for 1 hour before serving
While the Turducken is resting, bake the extra dressings.
STEP 11: Bake the extra dressings
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
Remove covers from the three dressings and place them in the oven.
Drain all the drippings from the Turducken and add them to the gravy.
At 8:40 hours: Check the dressings. If they are not browned on the top, increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
At 9 hours: Remove the Dressings from the oven.
Carve the Turducken.
With strong spatulas inserted underneath (remember there are no bones to support the bird's 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. Cut each slice in half for serving. Serve with a scoop of each dressing and ½ cup of the gravy, or serve additional bowls of the dressings on the side.
