Turducken

Ingredients:

Bird

• 1 cup coarse salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 liters of water
• Turkey weighing 8-9 kg, with skin, but without bones, except for the legs
• Homemade seasoning, recipe below
• Cornbread Stuffing, recipe below
• Duck weighing 1.3 - 1-8 kg, boneless
• Chicken weighing 1.3 - 1-8 kg, boneless
• Paprika

Homemade seasoning

• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Cornbread

• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 0.5 tbsp. self-raising wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sour milk or kefir
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Filling

• 7 slices of white bread, toasted in the oven
• Cornbread
• 1 pack of saltine crackers
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tbsp. seasonings for poultry
• 5 eggs, beaten

Preparation:

1. Brine:
   
   Mix the salt and sugar with water. The brine is ready when the mixture has completely dissolved. If you heated the water to speed up the process, let it cool to room temperature before adding the birds. Place 3 birds in the brine and refrigerate overnight.
   
2. Preheat an electric broiler to 260°C.
3. Place the turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Sprinkle with homemade seasoning and spread a 0.5 cm thick layer of bread stuffing on top. Place the duck skin-side down on top of the stuffing. Sprinkle the duck with homemade seasoning and spread a 0.5 cm thick layer of bread stuffing inside. Repeat with the chicken.
   
   Homemade seasoning:
   
   Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
   
4. Start closing the turkey at the neck. Insert a metal skewer about 1 cm from the edge and up through the other side. Thread twine between the skin and the skewer and pull tight to bring the two sides together. Continue sewing, working your way down to the legs. With each subsequent skewer insertion, also connect the duck and chicken skin. Tie the turkey legs together to make it look like a regular turkey. Sprinkle the turkey skin with paprika.
5. Roast the turducken for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 230°F (110°C) and roast for approximately 3 more hours. Remove the turducken from the roaster when the internal temperature reaches 150°F (68°C). Let the bird rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
   
   
   Outdoor cooking
   
   If you choose to smoke your turducken, smoke it at 230°F (110°C) for 5 hours, turning the bird every 20-30 minutes, until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 155°F (68°C) and the external temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
6. Cut the breast completely across the center. Then slice it so that each piece contains turkey, duck, and chicken.
   
   

   Corn stuffing (Filling)

   
   Preheat oven to 175°C.
   
   To make cornbread, combine all ingredients and pour the batter into a greased shallow pan. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
   
   To prepare the filling, crumble dried slices of white bread, cornbread and crackers. Mix everything together and set aside. Sauté finely chopped celery and onion in butter until the onion is translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the bread mixture. Add the broth, stir well, and season with salt, black pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Next, prepare the stuffing.