food

Introducing the Turducken: This year's ultimate Christmas dinner.

Christmas in Australia means one thing for most families – seafood. Lines of people and cars circle local seafood stores as families buy up big, choosing prawns and other shellfish to tuck into on what is normally a hot day, pausing between bites to fan themselves.

We like a good Christmas ham too, comparing glaze recipes for months in advance. And don’t even get us started on our favourite Christmas puddings.

Now a new Christmas food has arrived and it’s threatening the traditional Australian Christmas lunch table like nothing before.

Introducing: The Turducken

A Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck which is stuffed with a chicken stuffed with gourmet stuffing. All bones have been removed and the mix of animal fats and flavours and layers offers up flavours never before combined. This Christmas-Franken-food is the invention of award winning Sydney butcher Adam Stratton who started making the three-bird roast seven years ago.

The Turducken takes four hours to cook. Image via tendervalue.com.au.

Why are we only hearing about it now?!?

Adam runs the successful Tender Gourmet Butcher chains in Hornsby, Macquarie Park and Bondi Junction. He recently wore the green and gold of Australia while competing in the world butchering Olympics on the Gold Coast.

“With a Turducken, you get a bird, inside a bird, inside a bird. It’s a three bird protein powerhouse,” he said. “Three birds are always better than one. Once you’ve had a Turducken – you’ll never return to a single bird roast. It’s completely off the planet – but the orders are piling in already,” he said

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“Last year, we sold about 1500. It was our biggest year ever. Making Turducken is an art form and I’m the conductor. This year is going to be our biggest year yet. I reckon we’ll get through about 2000.”

A Turducken weighs about five kilograms, takes about four hours to cook and can feed between 12-16 people. It retails for $130.

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Inside each rolled layer of deboned free range poultry is a generous serving of seasoning, including: sage and onion, fig and pistachio and mixed savoury fruits. The entire roast is then carefully wrapped with several layers of smoky bacon

“You’ll definitely need a long sleep after knocking off one of these for Christmas lunch,” he said. “My strong recommendation is to go light on the chips, dips and Christmas nuts beforehand because a Turducken is a show stopper in every sense of the word.”

Orders can be made online through the Tender Value website, IF YOU DARE!