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By Susan Selasky
Detroit Free Press | Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
What shall we have for Thanksgiving this year?
How about a turducken?
A turducken is a trio of birds -- tur (turkey), duck (duck) and en (chicken) -- all nestled together.
It sounds like the beginning of a tall tale: There once was turkey that lost all its bones and was stuffed with a duck that swallowed a chicken. They were all separated by a spicy, flavorful stuffing and then seamed back together in one meaty package.
All that meat comes at a price -- it's at least three times more expensive than a traditional turkey. And that's without the shipping fees.
Last year, reader John Smeekens of Clinton Township, Mich., called the Detroit Free Press Test Kitchen looking for a local source for turducken.
"I read an article about it in the Michigan United Conservation Clubs magazine and Googled it and I couldn't believe the number of hits on it," says Smeekens. "It really sounded interesting, and who would have ever thought to take a duck, stuff it with a chicken and stuff that inside a turkey?"
But instead of for Thanksgiving or Christmas, Smeekens ordered it for New Year's Day from Tony Chachere's in Louisiana. He got a holiday pack that came with a 12-pound turducken, 1 pound of shrimp, 2 pounds cornbread dressing, 2 pounds rice dressing, 8 ounces of Tony Chachere's seasoning and a Creole cookbook. Without shipping, it was $59.95.
This year, the Free Press ordered a turducken to see what all the fuss is about. After all, John Madden, the NFL commentator, is a huge fan. Southern sweetie Paula Deen has featured her own on the Food Network and is including one in upcoming episodes.
Folks from French Market Foods in Louisiana, from which we ordered the Free Press turducken, say their expert meat cutter can debone a turkey in two minutes and a chicken in one minute. French Market Foods produces turduckens (and other meats) for private labels and is the retail operation for Tony Chachere's products.
"We sell 65,000 to 70,000 a year," says Scott Arrant, an owner of French Market Foods. "It's almost 100 percent yield on it. It's a great product; people who order from us order over and over again."
With its solid meat and huge portion of breast meat, turduckens need a long, slow cooking method so that the meat doesn't dry out.
The instruction to our turducken said it should be cooked at 350 degrees covered for 4 hours; then cooked 1 hour uncovered so the skin browns. It took every bit of that, and did turn out moist. We were advised to cook the turducken in a tight roasting pan. (Turduckens are held together only by the skin of the turkey. If it's allowed to expand, there's a chance it will split during roasting.)
When it was all done and ready to eat, tasters raved about the aroma and the look of the golden brown turducken. The flavor was moist and delicious and fans of duck loved the flavor combination.
Turduckens have been around since the '80s, mainly in the South. They are very popular in Louisiana. Some sources say it all started with the famous Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme
A recipe for turducken can be found in "The Prudhomme Family Cookbook: Old-time Louisiana Recipes," by the 11 Prudhomme brothers and sisters (the book is out of print but may be found used).
An Internet search also listed a 2005 National Geographic article pointing to Herbert's Specialty Meats in Maurice, La., as another early source of turducken publicity. Herbert's Web site (www.herbertsmeats.com) says the turducken was invented 25 years ago.
In Louisiana, turduckens are available year-round; they are popular not only for Thanksgiving, but for New Year's Day and Super Bowl parties. In places like Michigan they are hard to come by.
But at family-owned Peacock's Poultry Farm in Troy, Mich., manager Lora Preston has been making her version of a turducken for several years, after seeing one on TV.
"I started doing them for me and my family," says Preston. "Customers started watching me do it and now I do them on a preorder basis."
Preston makes hers using a boneless turkey breast with the skin on, along with boneless and skinless duck and chicken breasts and stuffing in between.
"I do mine boneless because I didn't want the waste," says Preston. "I like that you have three different meats when you slice it and you have no bones to deal with."
Peacock's, turducken is $12.99 a pound. Preston can make them with small (about 5-6 pound) or large (10-12 pound) turkey breasts. For Thanksgiving orders, Preston suggests two weeks' notice.
And she's flexible on the stuffing.
"Depending on the customer's preference I use Pepperidge Farms with organic celery and onions and I can do a pork sausage," she says. "I can do a cornbread stuffing or white/wheat bread stuffing."
Where to buy turducken
If you're interested in serving turducken for Thanksgiving, here are several suppliers. When ordering, be sure to allow enough time (at least several days) for shipping and thawing.
Some of these places listed here also offer a turducken roll. It's a smaller product without the legs and wings of the turkey.
* samsclub.com: Sells the Tony Chachere's brand online only. A 12-pound turducken with Creole cornbread and pork rice dressing is $48.37.
* cajungrocer.com: A 15-pound turducken with Creole pork sausage and cornbread stuffing is $64.95.
* tonychacheres.com: A 15-pound turducken that will feed about 20 people is about $70. It's stuffed with cornbread stuffing and pork rice dressing.
* herbertsmeats.com: An 8- to 10-pound turducken with cornbread dressing and pork sausage stuffing is $62.95.
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