A Curious Creation
The turducken is a curious creationā¦ a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey? Oh, and donāt forget to layer it with stuffing! Interestingly, Iāve never tried a turduckenābut donāt worry ā I plan to remedy that situation for this yearās Thanksgiving.
The turducken can be made with many different stuffing variations. Thereās seafood, boudin, cornbread, jalapeno cornbread, and jambalaya stuffing to name a few. About half of my family has ties to New Orleans and Cajun culture, so I am shocked that I am just now discovering this. Where did the turducken come from? How did it enter our mainstream Thanksgiving feast traditions? Should it be allowed to overtake a traditional turkey feast?
A Long History
Stuffing birds with other birds has been a tradition in various cultures across the world for centuries. In fact, there is one recipe listed in theĀ 1807 Almanach Des Gourmands, referred to as the āroast without equal,ā that involves the use of SEVENTEEN different birds! The turducken is just one of many variations within the tradition of birds being stuffed with other birds for cooking and eating. The turducken that has become popular in todayās American Thanksgiving culture is believed to have started with Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme, who claims to have invented it in 1984 and he later trademarked the name āturduckenā in 1986. Chef Prudhomme was serving up turduckens locally and it remained more of a regional specialty until the late ā90s.
A New Tradition
So, what happened that sparked countrywide interest in this multilayered creation? Football announcer John Madden was introduced to the turducken and fell head-over-heels in love with it. Madden began talking up turducken on air during the NFL’s Thanksgiving games. This became a yearly routine of his and he even went so far as to carve up a turducken on air! This was followed by him giving them away to winning players. Americans couldnāt help but be fascinated by Maddenās acute interest in the stuffed bird, and turducken demands started appearing around the country. Today we see them being offered throughout the country by various grocers in addition to specialty shops during the holiday season.
What do you think? Are you interested in switching from turkey to a turducken?
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