My First Turducken

Last fall, when I was reading The Essential New York Times Cookbook, I giggled when I read the Turducken recipe. A turkey stuffed with a duck and a chicken?  It struck me as monstrously excessive and I just knew that My Pirate would love it.  So, I showed him the recipe and he wanted to try it.  When we learned that My Kid and his lovely girlfriend would be joining us for Thanksgiving (hooray!) I decided to splurge on making a Turducken.

Now, I normally try to cook all new (to me) recipes for Thanksgiving, but this year I decided to go with all old comfy recipes and focus all of my energy on the Turducken.  I put a Papa Murphy's Cowboy pizza in the back fridge for a back up dinner, just in case we crashed and burned.  And I served My Pirate a glass of his kryptonite (rum and coke) before we started, because I didn't want to risk a visit from Super Charlie.

I purchased my free range turkey, chicken, and duck from New Seasons and they deboned them for no added cost.  Another reason to love New Seasons!  New Seasons sells assembled Turduckens, but I wanted the adventure of assembling our own.

The garden gnomes look skeptical at our bag of deboned turkey, duck, and chicken!

First, I made a savory batch of stuffing.  Then, we placed our largest cutting board beside the sink and Charlie assembled the Turducken while I took bad (sorry!) pictures and seasoned the different layers with salt, pepper, and cayenne. 

1.  Lay out the turkey.  Season it.

2.  Add a layer of stuffing.

3.  Add the duck and chicken and repeat the process.

Those garden gnomes are still looking skeptical.

Steel yarn needles work great at stitching up a Turducken!

4.  Stitch up the Turducken.  It takes two sets of hands to push the roast together and stitch it.  

We carefully placed the Turducken in the pan.  And I added a turkey lacer pin to help hold it together.   We refrigerated the Turducken over night.  Then I slid it into the oven early on Thanksgiving morning.

And it was done right on time!

I served the first course of Sweet Potato Jalapeño Soup, while the Turducken rested on the countertop under a foil tent for 30 minutes.  

Then My Pirate carved it while I made the gravy.  The Turducken gravy was the best batch of poultry gravy that I've ever made.  It was simply amazing!  My Pirate is hoarding the leftovers.  Seriously, he wouldn't send any home with My Kid.

Look at all those delicious layers!

My first Turducken was delicious, but it needs a few added tweaks.  I recommend brining all three birds overnight before assembling it and swaddling the skin in a layer of bacon or prosciutto.  Next time, I'll add a layer of blanched kale with each layer of stuffing.  And make a different stuffing for each layer.  

Here's the link to the recipe at the New York Times.  I enjoyed the adventure of making and serving our Turducken.  But, My (sweet) Kid said that he still prefers my roasted chicken. And I agree.  However, the memory of the amazing Turducken gravy will stay with me.  I wonder what we'll make next year for Thanksgiving.  Any suggestions?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope that your day is filled with fun and delicious gravy.  

                                                                                    Our first Turducken.

We are making our first Turducken, a monstrous roast of deboned chicken and duck nestled inside a deboned turkey with loads of stuffing between the layers.  We might just crash and burn.  Papa Murphy's pizza is in the back fridge, just in case.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  

Community Garden Shopping

Come join me at the new Community Grown website and follow along as I search for a new community garden plot for next summer!  Here's my first post of the series.

Do you have a favorite community garden in the Vancouver area?  I'd love to hear about it!

My Poetry Post Readers Want More Poems!

My poetry post has sat empty for two months.  Yes, two whole months.  I’m a slacker.  What else can I say?  It’s been at the bottom of my task list for the past two months.  I’d start to work on it but, inevitably, I’d be interrupted by Barnaby taunting me with some form of contraband in his mouth. Last month, he was obsessed with the cardboard roll inside the roll of toilet paper.  And this month, he’s hunting my scarves and rain jacket.  He’s sneaky and quick, that one.  Fortunately, he'll hand over anything for a spoonful of yogurt.

Earlier this week, I was out front pruning back some Japanese Coltsfoot leaves that had toppled over in the rain and onto the driveway.  A blue sedan pulled up to my curb with a family of four inside and their dog.  The man rolled down his window and waved me over to the car.

He looked over my shoulder at the poetry box and asked, “What gives?”

I hung my head with a smile and confessed, “I’ve been slacking. I’ve been meaning to get to it.”

“It’s just wrong to have an empty poetry box. I’ve been hoping to see someone out here so that I could ask about it. We loved the poems that you were putting in it.  I even brought a copy of the E.E. Cummings poem home to my wife.”

“I carry your heart...very romantic,” his wife commented with a smile and touched his hand.

 So, here is my new picture and poem in my poetry box.  I promise to do my best to keep it full.  I had no idea that it mattered so much to my neighbors.

Love in Autumn

It is already Autumn, and not in my heart only,

The leaves are on the ground,

Green leaves untimely browned,

The leaves bereft of Summer, my heart of Love left lonely.

Swift, in the masque of season, the moment of each mummer,

And even so fugitive Love’s hour, Love’s hour to live:

Yet, leaves, ye have had your rapture, and thou, poor heart, thy Summer!

By Arthur Symons

Tail of Two Giants

Barnaby has a dog park friend, Tugg (as in Tugboat) the Great Pyrenees.  They both weigh 120+ pounds and are a great match.  I don't imagine costly vet bills when Barnaby slaps Tugg with his paws, or watch for a panicked expression to wash over his owner's face.

I only smile as I watch them slow motion wrestle and play until they are exhausted.  (Unless a small dog with bells on runs by and then Barnaby will run huge circles until the offending creature has moved on. Barnaby is terrified of small dogs with bells.) I'm always happy to see Tugg and his parents at the dog park. It's important to have someone your own size to pick on at the dog park.