Christmas Meal Ideas

If you’re looking for a way to cook a perfect moist turkey, this video explains how to brine a turkey, which helps it remain moist while cooking. Howdini guru Scott Cutaneo, chef-proprietor of the four-diamond Le Petit Chateau in Bernardsville, N.J. gives step-by-step directions that explain how to brine a turkey and shows you the secret ingredients he uses, including sugar and bourbon, to make a perfect turkey every time.

Ingredients:

1 (12 pound) bone-in ham

1/2 cup whole cloves

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple rings in heavy syrup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

1 (4 ounce) jar chopped maraschino cherries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).Place ham in a roasting pan. Score the rind of the ham with a diamond pattern. Press a clove into the center of each diamond. Drain the juice from the pineapple rings into a medium bowl, and stir in the brown sugar and lemon-lime soda. Coat the ham with this mixture. Arrange the pineapple rings over the outside of the ham. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring, and secure with a toothpick.Bake uncovered for 4 to 5 hours, basting frequently with the juices, until the internal temperature of the ham is 160 degrees F (72 degrees C). Be sure the meat thermometer is not touching the bone. Remove toothpicks before serving.

Ingredients:

20 – 25 lb. whole turkey, deboned with wings and legs still intact.

5 – 6 lb. whole duckling, deboned

3 – 4 lb. whole chicken, deboned Poultry seasoning blend

Cornbread Stuffing (recipe listed below)

Cajun Rice Dressing (recipe listed below)

Shrimp Stuffing (recipe listed below)

Kitchen string Cotton thread and a large needle

Have the birds deboned by your butcher to save yourself quite a bit of time, but if you’re a particularly adventurous cook you can do it yourself. Professional Cutlery Direct provides step by step instructions for deboning poultry. Just be sure to keep the wings and legs on the turkey, that way the finished turducken will still look like a turkey.
It’s best to prepare each stuffing ahead of time so that they have time to cool before you are ready to assemble your turducken. A basic stuffing recipe is listed below, and it can easily be adapted for any flavor that you choose.
Cornbread Stuffing
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

4 cups cornbread (crumbled)

1/2 lb. chopped chicken livers

1/2 lb. chopped chicken gizzards

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

Poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper (add according to taste)

Butter or olive oil for sauteing vegetables

Chicken broth

Brown chopped chicken livers and gizzards over medium heat in cooking oil.

Add celery, onion, and bell pepper cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Add crumbled cornbread to vegetables and meat. Pour chicken broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.
Cajun Rice Dressing
2 Tbsp. cooking oill

b. ground beef

4 cups cooked white rice

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 clove minced garlic

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cups beef broth

Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)

Brown ground beef over medium heat in cooking oil.

Add celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic cook until soft.

Season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning.

Add the cream of mushroom soup to the pot and heat through. Mix cooked rice with beef and vegetables.

Pour beef broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Shrimp Stuffing
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

4 cups cooked rice

2 lb. chopped shrimp (raw)

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped celery

1 clove minced garlic

1 can diced tomatoes

Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)

Dash of red (cayenne) pepper

Saute celery, onion, and bell pepper until soft.

Pour in diced tomatoes.

Add chopped shrimp, cook until slightly pink.

Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Combine with cooked rice. Add a little water if stuffing seems dry. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.
Assembling the Turducken:

Begin by placing the turkey skin side down and seasoning it well with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Then spread the cornbread stuffing over the turkey. Next, place the duck on top of the cornbread stuffing and spread the Cajun rice dressing over it. You will then place the chicken on top of the Cajun rice dressing and add the shrimp stuffing. Each stuffing layer should be approximately 1/2 inch thick. Any leftover stuffing can be placed in casserole dishes and baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes.
Once you’ve stuffed each bird, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Enlist someone to help hold the turkey closed as you begin to sew up the opening. The stitches should be spaced about 1 inch apart. You finish sewing the Turducken tie the legs together, just above the tip bones. Be sure to place the Turducken breast side up while cooking.
Once the turducken is assembled, place the turducken in a large roasting pan and cook in a 325 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven. Alternatively, you can place the turducken on aluminum foil or in an aluminum pan, and then cook on a 350 degrees Fahrenheit grill or smoker.
Regardless of which method you choose to use you should cook the bird until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest area on the bundle reaches an internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Fahrenheit is the minimum temperature for cooking poultry, but 180 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that the turducken is fully cooked all the way through). The USDA recommends that a stuffed turkey of this size will generally take 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours to cook, but your best bet is to rely on the meat thermometer.