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mad max does turduckhen w/ hemostats!!

mad max beyond eggdome
mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
so, for the past couple of months, the spawn's roomie has been saying that when she comes to visit, she wanted an egged turduckhen. . .. so this past week, sarah came down for a visit, and the pressure was on!!! . ..on saturday, i made my first ever turduckhen, and it came out really good. .. .so here goes ....

first, on friday night, i deboned a turkey and a duck. . .this was actually fairly easy. ..i sliced right down the backbone of each bird and basically peeled the bird away from the skellital cage of the turkey. ..the hardest part was separating the thigh bone and wing bone from the skelliton of the turkey ..once i did that, the rest was pretty easy . ..on the duck, i simply cut off the wings and drumsticks, and separating the thigh bones was pretty easy .... oh, and my first 'cheat', i simply bought a package of de-boned chicken thighs instead of de-boning a whole chicken ..

so here are the deboned birds layed out ....

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the other thing i did friday night was start a pot of stock using the carcasses of both the duck and the turkey, along with a couple of onions and celery sticks. . .i let that simmer all night long so that i would not only have the stock for mad max gravy, but also to use for the stuffing ...let me tell you, even with all the mad max stock i've made in the past, this stock made with both turkey and duck was simply THE BEST STOCK EVER!! . ...

on saturday morning i got up and first made two batches of stuffing . ..second "cheat" here. ..i used a box of stouffers sage stuffing, and a box of stouffers corn bread stuffing . ..but two things here, 1. i used the turkey/duck stock as the liquid for the stuffing which added great flavor, and 2. i added a pound of grilled up anduille sausage in with with the sage stuffing, and 3. i added in about half a pan of day old corn bread to the cornbread stuffing and again, used the stock as the liquid for the stuffing. ..

so now it was time to layer everything up. .. first, the turkey, then the sage/sausage stuffing, then the duck, then the corn bread stuffing, then the chicken . oh, and on each bird a good seasoning of dizzy tsunami spin and emerl's essence . . .trying to get that cajun thing going. .



now for the fun part, pulling it all together. ..and here is where the hemostats came in handy ... .this is really a four hand job. ..two to pull it together and two to truss it up, but all my extra hands were still in the fart sack on saturday morning, so i was on my own. ... .so i pulled the skin of the turkey on around, and pinched it up with the hemostats. ..worked great. . .. i then used two metal scewers to tie it up the back. ..worked great ...

jan08pics012.jpg

then i turned it over, and it already had a pretty good looking shape to it. ..i only had to 'mold' it a little bit to make it look like a turkey. . .one thing i did have was a tear in the skin, so using my trusty hemostat, and some butcher's string, i performed a little 'surgery' ...not bad if i do say so myself ;)

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last thing i did prior to putting it in the egg was to take a couple of sticks of butter, and add some of the tsunami spin and emerl's essence for a nice 'cajun' butter. ..

jan08pics017.jpg

now for the egg. ..my set up was a good load of lump with a big chunk of pecan wood (thanks wise one), then my spider with pizza stone, then my adjustable rig (just like i did for my thanksgiving turkey). . .i had read different things about roasting temps for turduckhens, from 250 degrees up to 375 degrees ....i went with about 300 degrees dome temp, letting it creep up to about 350 near the end . ...for my turducken, which probably weighed around 20 pounds all together, it took about 7 hours to be done. .. KEY POINT HERE. .you have to take multiple temp reading with a thermopen to make sure you hit the duck and the chicken in the center to make sure ALL the meat hits at least 160 . ..i was able to do this without the turkey breast drying out. ...it was all perfect. ...here is a pic at about the three hour mark. ...

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and here is the spawn and roomie sarah, admiring my handiwork. ..

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and, TA DA. . .the finished product. .. it was absolutely fantastic. .. may have been one of the best things i've made, and that was the spawn's take on it. . .it sliced up beautifully, and while the drippings were no good for gravy (way too much duck fat in the pan), that turkey/duck stock made for one of the best batches of gravy ever. ...the duck really added a depth of flavor that we haven't experienced before. ..

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gee, aren't you glad i'm back!!!

Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Damn Max,I wish you didn't learn how to post pics so quick. Any leftovers? I can be there in eight hours.Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • well, actually we did. .. tonight, took one of those pre made pie- crusts ... took some of the mad max gravy, added some heavy cream to it, then cut up some of the left-over turduckhen, put it all together in the pie crust, and baked it for an hour. .. .

    jan08pics028.jpg

    jan08pics029.jpg

    waa laa, turduckhen pot-pie. .. . this was simply outstanding!! sure, come on down, there is about a 1/3 of the pie left. . .got it waiting for you. .. :woohoo:
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Max,

    By the time I get there it will be gone for sure. Next time I go to CT I'm gonna call.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Basscat
    Basscat Posts: 803
    TurDuckHen Pot Pie :woohoo: That's truly off the hook, dude. It's great to have you back on the forum, Max, we've missed you!
  • JLOCKHART29
    JLOCKHART29 Posts: 5,897
    I could have told you about the drippings.Don't like turkey preticularley but yours looks great. Duck kills the turkey tast. :laugh: My wife doesn't like duck itself but loves the dressing using duck drippings. Last Thanksgiving I smoked 4 duck with alot of wood smoke for 45 min. at 200 degrees then let my wife finnish cooking them with the dressing to catch drippings. Duck makes the best drippings. Hear's pic of couple fresh squellers(wood duck) I did last week just to eat. Most wild duck is dry but Egg keeps it moist w/o wrapping w/ bacon. NEW08008.jpgNEW08019-1.jpg
  • actually, when i do the mad max turkey, i get fabulous drippings for gravy (its really the key to great gravy), but my turduckhen drippings were basically just duck fat, no real 'juices'. .. i think thats cause a lot of the juices really come from the carcass of the bird, which of course is missing here, and the fact that the stuffing absorbs some of the juices as well. .. .but like i said, the duck sure did add to the flavor of the stock. ...good stuff!!
  • That is coming back with a BANG. Way to go. I've had Turduckens before but just weren't impressed with them. I may have to take your lead and do one of my own.
  • Beanie-Bean
    Beanie-Bean Posts: 3,092
    Max, I really enjoyed this post, especially your surgical handiwork with the hemostats and the sutures. B)
  • Max,
    I'm glad to see your back with your pictures and post of your cooking!
    My Best,
    Ross :)
  • Michael B
    Michael B Posts: 986
    Beautiful job Max.
    You have way more patience than I do.
    And your handy work looks a lot better than ones I’ve seen that were done by ‘professional’ turduckhen builders.
  • That is awesome Max!!!! I have never seen a pictorial of a turduckhen!! Hoss
  • Marvin
    Marvin Posts: 515
    Beautiful presentation and description. One of the best posts tht I've read in 5 years. Thank you!
  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
    You really know how to make an entrance, don't you? Welcome back!

    What an impressive cook, and great pictures too. Looks like you'll be holding a dual-purpose hotline next holiday season.

    That last picture is still one of my favorite pics of all tijme - you just look like you're in shock - I bet you were sweating almost as much as you were during this interview:

    eggfest_max1_web.jpg

    Heee!

    TRex
  • irishrog
    irishrog Posts: 375
    Well done Max.
    I think it's the thought of the preperation that puts people off making (building) their own turduckens, but as you say it is relatively easy when you have a good knife and a little patience.
    My experience was similar to yours, but on my second turducken I had problems with the heat not penetrating to the centre of the bird, as the bread stuffing acted as an insulator. Maybe it was the gravy in the stuffing in yours which conducted the heat and helped the heat to penetrate.
    I now use a stuffing with plenty of sausage meat which works well, and adds a further dimension to the final flavour.
    Well done on the pic/tutorial, it takes away much of the mistique and makes this dish more user friendly.
    Regards from Ireland, roger
  • Rascal
    Rascal Posts: 3,923
    Wow, looks great! Thanks for the cookin' lesson! Is there some way that you're most informative presentation can be saved so we can come back to it in the future (like on TNW"s site, perhaps?

    Rascal
  • i was thinking of getting with the wiz and posting the whole thing with him, kinda like the mad max turkey. . . stay tuned.. ..
  • I thought she was Italian not Irish?
  • i did have a fair amount of liquid (stock) in the stuffing, so it was good and wet. ...i did have to make sure that when i poked the bird with my thermapen that i got it into the innermost meat. ..fortunately when the chicken thighs in the center hit 165 or so, the turkey breast meat was still only 170 and good and moist .. ..

    i also think roasting at around 300 degrees worked really well, keeping the outsite meat from getting done too quickly ... made for good even roasting ....
  • thanks jason. . ..i was just frustrated with the new forum, but now that i'm on, its not too bad. . . .

    hope all is well with you . ...
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    I'll admit, I thought the first few pics were more "Alien Meets Frankenstein" (Frahn-ken-steen?) than BBQ, but the result looks great, Max. Way to make a splash on your triumphant return.
  • BENTE
    BENTE Posts: 8,337
    so you just happen to have two sets of hemostats just sitting around?????? yea right ;) i believe you ;) no wonder you cook so much :lol: :silly: :woohoo:

    happy eggin

    TB

    Anderson S.C.

    "Life is too short to be diplomatic. A man's friends shouldn't mind what he does or says- and those who are not his friends, well, the hell with them. They don't count."

    Tyrus Raymond Cobb

  • LOL. .. yep, i do ... . my wife had to have a minor procedure done recently, and when they opened the "kit", there were two pair of hemostats in there (along with a pair of good suture cutting scissors which we also took). .. the hospital has to throw them away (they can't even sterilize them anymore), so i asked the doctor if i could have them. ..figured they'd come in handy at some point when bbq'ing .... he looked at me like i had two heads but then let me take them. .. .and wonder of wonders, saturday, they were the PERFECT tool for the job :) :cheer:
  • As always, WOW!

    Do you happen to remember how large the Turkey and duck were? And how much chicken did you use?

    Have you thought of making a cookbook?
  • the turkey was a 16 pounder, the duck was a 6 pounder and i used 5 chicken thighs .. .plus the two boxes of stouffers stuffing and one pound of anduille sausage. .. i figured after removing the carcassas of the turkey and duck, the whole thing weighed in at around 20 - 21 pounds. . ..

    here is a pic of all the layers prior to pulling it together and skewering it up the back. ...

    jan08pics010.jpg

    i should do some kind of on-line cookbook sometime, but i don't have the time, know-how or energy. .. i will probably work with the naked whiz to set this one up on his site though, along with the mad max turkey and prime rib that already reside there ....
  • BENTE
    BENTE Posts: 8,337
    man i know you and your love slave are really alike now that you two have the same color hair maybe next time there is a photo op you sould ask her to have a bikini with her :laugh: :laugh:



    BTW is there any way you can email me that picture i asked for from eggtoberfest?

    happy eggin

    TB

    Anderson S.C.

    "Life is too short to be diplomatic. A man's friends shouldn't mind what he does or says- and those who are not his friends, well, the hell with them. They don't count."

    Tyrus Raymond Cobb

  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    First of all, I'm glad you're back! Great pic of Sidney and her buddy!

    That cook looked absolutely fantastic. I didn't read where you stated how it long took in total time and how difficult it was. I don't know if I could even find some of those ingredients. You did a great job and it looked so uniform during the cook.

    Ok, now after the accolades...I have to admit that you found a real clever way to conceal the hemostat ownership issue. IF, I ever get some, that's what I would use them for too..no really!

    Great cook my friend. I sure missed see your posts.
  • thanks todd .. ..actually, all the ingredients (or easy variations) are readily available. ... you oughta be able to be to buy a turkey, duck and chicken at your local grocery (this time of year, the turkeys and ducks are in the freezers). .. stouffer's stove top stuffing is pretty easy to come by. ...and if you can't find some anduille sausage, go with some sweet or hot italian, or even basic jimmy dean's. .. . and for seasoning, i went with dizzy pig tsunami spin and emeril's essence which i bought at the local safeway as well. . ..easy peasy ...

    as for the hemostats, you never know when something like that would come in handy. ...they were sure the perfect tool for the job. ...

    alwasy good to be back. .. i was keeping track, just took me a while to figure it out. ..