Looking for something different for Christmas dinner this year⢠If your tradition is turkey but want to offer something a little unique, how about a turducken?
If you've never heard of it, you're probably not alone. A turducken combines a turkey, chicken and duck to create this unique dish.
Lampert's Market owners Jan and Rick Kugler said they had three orders for the relatively new dish. "It's becoming popular in this area and across the country," she said. "It's a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken with a layer of stuffing between each layer. It is all de-boned except for the legs."
When the "bird" is closed with string, it looks like a turkey " with six legs " and when sliced, you get stuffing, turkey, duck and chicken in each serving. Because duck is fatty, it helps keep everything moist.
Although the Kuglers generally use their own stuffing for the turduckens, she said one customer brought their own stuffing to be used.
While it's a new concept in this area, the idea of combining more than one bird into a singe dish is not. The tradition of putting birds into other birds can be traced back to 1807 and made by Grimod de La Reyniere for a royal feast. It started with a garden warbler and ended with a bustard.
In this country, the turducken was made popular by chef Paul Prudhomme. Although no one knows who invented the dish, it originated in specialty stores in south-central Louisiana.
Jan Kugler said when something is featured on a cooking program, they get calls. She said they got calls about turduckens after Paula Dean made one.
"We can do these year round, but they have to be ordered in advance," she said, noting the ducks must be ordered. "The last day to order them for Christmas is Dec. 19."
Like a turkey, the bird can be frozen until ready for use then prepared the same as you would when cooking a turkey. However, because of the thickness, internal temperature is very important.
"The internal temperature must reach 160 degrees," she said. "A meat thermometer is essential when cooking this."
The recommended cooking time is 15 minutes per pound plus an internal temperature of 160 degrees. "It also has to rest 30 minutes before cutting," she said.
Jan Kugler added, "A turducken is a unique Christmas treat. It looks like a regular turkey but it's a lot more."
