Turducken Cooking Tips

TURDUCKEN--- The "turducken" is a deboned stuffed chicken inside a deboned stuffed duck inside a deboned stuffed turkey. The name is comprised of syllables from the words "turkey," "duck," and "chicken." Usually the tip end of the turkey leg bones and the first two wing joints are left on the turkey so that after assembly, the finished product resembles a whole turkey. Alternatively, the finished turducken can be a completely boneless roll with stuffing layered between each bird.

Stuffings may include cornbread dressing, sausage stuffing, oyster dressing, alligator, crawfish and shrimp. To serve, the roasted turducken is sliced crosswise so that servings consist of all the layers.

The idea for this multilayered, deboned fowl came from Louisiana where thousands of them are commercially prepared yearly. When roasting a purchased USDA-inspected turducken, follow the package directions.

When roasting a purchased frozen turducken without package directions, cook from the frozen state in an oven set no lower than 325 °F to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F to ensure a safely cooked product.

Use a food thermometer to ensure that all layers of the turducken and stuffing reach a minimum safe internal temperature of 165 °F. The thermometer should be placed at the center of the thickest part of the turducken to determine the safe internal temperature.