The eternal quandary of Thanksgiving – to follow the traditional pilgrim path of turkey, or go new wave with chicken or duck? Why put yourself through such a dilemma when you can have all three? The Turducken (yes, it’s a terrible portmanteau, and yes, the word “turd” is in it) is a fusion recipe that could only come out of America, combing the three beloved holiday birds into one gargantuan meal that questions, “How much meat is too much?”
Created in 1985 by an anonymous farmer in Maurice, Louisiana, the methodology is simple: a very large traditional turkey is de-boned, stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is then stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. Additional meats (sausage, ham, bacon) can then be crammed into any remaining cavities. The result? A layer cake for carnivores, like a pregnant turkey possessed by a chicken and a duck.
Of course, as with any nouvelle creation, variations are abundant: gurducken (goose), turduckencorpheail (Cornish game hen), hotchken (hot dogs and chicken), turgoduckmaguikenantidgeonck (turkey, goose, duck, mallard, guinea fowl, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon, woodcock) and our personal endangered favorite, bustergophechiduckneaealcockidgeoverwingailusharkolanbler (bustard, turkey, goose, pheasant, chicken, duck, guinea fowl, teal, woodcock, partridge, plover, lapwing, quail, thrush, lark, ortolan bunting, garden warbler). Break into a zoo and try one tonight!
On the other hand, if this whole.... "meat incest" thing isn't quite your cup of tea, why not check out a list of restaurants we recommend for some good ol' turkey delight instead.