Thanksgiving Turduckhen

This year we decided to cook a turduckhen, a gluttonous dish invented in New Orleans, consisting of a partially de-boned turkey, stuffed with a deboned duck, which in turn is stuffed with a deboned chicken. Each layer of poultry is separated with a cornbread and sausage dressing. We ordered the turducken from Herbert's Specialty Meats in New Orleans and had it shipped frozen.

The turducken needs to be roasted for 8-9 hours at a low heat to make sure that it is cooked through without over-cooking the outside. Here it is just out of the oven. The shape is a bit different than a turkey because most of the bones have been removed:





To carve the turduckhen, it is first sliced lengthwise. You can see each of the layers of stuffing:


Then each half is sliced across so that each slice contains each of the layers of stuffing. The slices make a beautiful presentation:


We will soon see if it tastes as good as it looks. Wines that we serve for Thanksgiving are American. The turducken is highly seasoned and requires a big wine. We will try pairing it with a 2005 Girard Syrah.

Happy Thanksgiving.