TurDuckEn Help!

[Hassihand]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has made a Turducken from scratch in the Bradley? If you don't know what I'm talking about it is a deboned turkey stuffed with a deboned duck stuffed with a deboned chicken (and layers of stuffing in between each!)

Canadian Thanksgiving is approaching and I'm dying to try this in the BDS. There are lots of recipes on the web and advice on deboning, brining, and prep etc but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I grabbed a picture to see what a marvel this thing can be!!!

[KyNola]

You mean like this? :D


I did what I would call a "cheater" version.  I took a boneless turkey breast, pounded it flat, topped with jambalaya and spices, then boneless duck breasts pounded flat, jambalaya, boneless chicken breasts pounded flat, jambalaya.  Rolled up, wrapped in bacon and tied to hold together.  Rolled smoke and cooked at 250 until done.

Was much easier than deboning those birds.  I would have destroyed them trying to debone them.

[ExpatCanadian]

I've done a few TurDuckIns....  but only in a regular oven.  I very much like the idea of smoking one, however my main concern would be the long smoke/cook time required for such a solid conglomeration of meat.  From a food safety point of view, you might think it can be treated similar to a Butt or a Brisket.....  but these latter 2 are single muscle meats which are for the most part bacteria free on the inside, except where they may have been pierced or injected as part of the preparation process.  The process of making a TurDuckIn involves a lot of manual handling, which inevitably is going to trap bacteria inside the roast between the layers.... no matter how strict ones food handling regime is.  The problem compounds itself even more if you add stuffing to the equation as the guy who made the one in your photo has done.  This COULD result in enough of a problem during a long slow cook in a smoker to be of concern.

Personally...  I think if I were to try this, I would crank the smoker to it's highest temperature and roll the smoke for your desired length of time...  but I would then transfer to a regular oven and cook the way you would a normal stuffed bird (which is kind of similar...  you've got what would normally be a hollow bird, filled with something to make it one solid mass).  You really don't want that interior to linger any longer than necessary in the 40^oF-140^oF zone.....

Hope this helps, and doesn't discourage!  Very much looking forward to the results!  You've reminded me, I've got to get my Turkey ordered...  they can be hard to find this time of year in the UK.  They are more geared towards American Thanksgiving and Christmas over here when it comes to Turkeys.

[smoker pete]

You mean like this? :D


I did what I would call a "cheater" version.  I took a boneless turkey breast, pounded it flat, topped with jambalaya and spices, then boneless duck breasts pounded flat, jambalaya, boneless chicken breasts pounded flat, jambalaya.  Rolled up, wrapped in bacon and tied to hold together.  Rolled smoke and cooked at 250 until done.

Was much easier than deboning those birds.  I would have destroyed them trying to debone them.

KyNola,  What flavor bisquettes did you use and for how long?  Approximately how long did it take at 250?  Did the smoke get past the turkey into the duck and chicken?  Looks really great and something I'd like to try in the near future.

[Habanero Smoker]

I smoked cooked a Tony Chachere's Tur-Duc-Hen in my Bradley. I was testing out how the second element would work. It turned out pretty good.

A Tur-Duc-Hen made from whole boneless birds, as ExpatCanadian pointed out you need to cook at a higher temperature. Which means you should maintain your smoker at least at 275°F or higher to be on the safe side, but not higher then 310°F. That will be hard to do with a Bradley with only one element. You may want to start off in the smoker and finish in the kitchen oven.

[KyNola]

Pete,
With the bacon wrapping the entire thing the smoke did not penetrate down into the duck and chicken but there was plenty of smoke on the bacon and turkey so when you took a bite the smoke flavor was as though it was all the way through.  Both Expat and Habs make good points about the temp concern but I attempted to solve one of the problems by cooking the jambalaya completely and letting it cool before using in the turduchen.  I would do exactly the same thing if I were using stuffing.  Cook it until it's done and let it cool and then spread it in between the layers of the turduchen.

I used hickory pucks.  I honestly don't recall the total time in the Bradley.  I think it pretty much took all afternoon though.

[smoker pete]

KeyNola ... Thanks for the follow up.  I've always wanted to do a TurDuckEn but the thought of boning a Turkey, Duck, and Chicken has always scared me off.  I like your "cheater" version and will be looking to do me one soonest.

[KyNola]

My pleasure Pete.  Cool thing about turduchens is you can make them your own.  Choose the spices you like best.  Choose the filling you like best, jambalaya, stuffing and what goes in the jambalaya or stuffing.  Crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage.  It's all up to you!

[Hassihand]

Thanks for all the help...definitely going to go take the BDS/Normal over route. Bradley on high-ish temp and a few hours of smoke then transfer to the oven until IT of 160 (in the chicken) and last 1/2 hour on high heat to crisp up the skin. Once it rests for 30 or so min the IT should be at the desired 165.

I like the idea of the "cheater version" but gonna try my hand at deboning and going from scratch.

pics & story to follow!

[Habanero Smoker]

.... Both Expat and Habs make good points about the temp concern but I attempted to solve one of the problems by cooking the jambalaya completely and letting it cool before using in the turduchen.  I would do exactly the same thing if I were using stuffing.  Cook it until it's done and let it cool and then spread it in between the layers of the turduchen......

Your Tur-Duc-Hen would be safe to fully cook in the Bradley. Yours does not have as much mass as one made with whole boneless poultry.

Hassihand;
When you transfer to the oven, I would use an oven temperature of 375°F. That is the temperature from Tony Chachere's directions. Those directions state to keep it covered until the last half hour of cooking. So you may want to consider that after you transfer to the oven.