Fun with Turducken

See also:
December 4 - In Pursuit of Turducken
December 22 - Pride of Turducken
December 24 - Adventure with Turducken
December 25 - Fun with Turducken
December 26 - Christmas Eve with Turkducken
December 27 - Boxing Day with Turkducken
January 31 - Turducken at Large


It's Christmas morning here. The Boy and I have exchanged presents. He did all his shopping by himself this year, and he was an incredible help before and throughout dinner last night. I was amazed. And in awe, watching The Boy turn into Young Man. He even presented me with a bouquet of fresh flowers just before dinner.

The turducken cooked at 225F from 7:35 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Half way through, I put a lid on the roasting pan to prevent it from burning. When I took the bird out of the oven to rest before serving, I noticed the bottom of the bird was sitting in pan juice. I had read instructions to drain the dripping midway through cooking but forgot to do it. So Sis-in-law (SIL) and I drained the pan. We put a saucepan in the sink and poured the juice into it. SIL had to hold on to the bird so it wouldn't fall. When the tilt of the pour angle became too awkward, Bro took over holding back the turducken. The roasting pan must've collect eight cups of dripping.

I wanted to make gravy in the roasting pan so I could scrape up the burnt fat and charred crud that give gravy such a nice flavour. I wanted to transfer the bird to another roasting pan so it can finish draining. SIL found it difficult to lifted the bird on its own, so she lifted the bird with the wire rack under it.

By 6:00, everyone had arrived. There were 18 of us, though five were kids under 10. We were now ready to transfer the turducken onto a serving platter. That meant moving the turducken off its wire rack and onto the platter. The bird felt wobbly, it had no backbone. SIL grasped the bird on its sides, I held it in tact at the bottom, and Sis pushed down the rack so it wouldn't come off the pan with the bird. It took three of us to transfer the spineless bird to a serving platter.

When garnished, the turkey looked almost normal. You would never know it's pregnant with duck and chicken. And stuffing.