Some of you may already know of my love for Turducken. Someday, I plan to make one from scratch, which involves deboning three birds (and that's just to start), but until I have the kitchen space to do this, I'm going to stick with getting pre-prepared Turduckens when the craving strikes. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to try a Turducken — you can read about that adventure here. This year, I was fortunate enough to be offered yet another Turducken opportunity from the folks at Echelon Foods.

Thawed and ready to roast

I learned a few things from my prior Turducken experience: first, a full-on Turducken barely fit into the largest roasting pan my scaled-down NYC apartment oven cold handle. Also, said NYC apartment is not large enough to fit enough people to eat an entire Turducken.  So this time, I chose wisely. In addition to their full-size Turduckens, Echelon offers when they call a Turducken Premium Roast: "De-boned duck and chicken breasts are wrapped up with sausage stuffing into a whole turkey, also deboned. In this case: the turkey's wings and drumsticks are removed, and it is then formed into a football-sized roast." The roast serves 8-10 (still too many for a sit-down dinner in my apartment, frankly) and comes with two stuffing options: Italian, or chicken-apple sausage. I opted for the latter (surprise!).

Before

After

It arrived frozen, and following the directions on the website, I defrosted it in the refrigerator for 4 days and cooked it with their high temperature method — set atop a roasting rack, with a mix of white wine and water in the roasting pan, at 350 degrees, basting occasionally, until it reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. The end result was a beautifully bronzed roast, with enough drippings to make gravy.

Upon carving, the meat was tender and moist, the chicken apple sausage lending a hint of sweetness to the mix, and impressive looking to boot. The roast was a wise choice; no challenges regarding oven or roasting pan space and plenty of food for 10 people (assuming you serve it with sides). If you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary to jazz up your holiday season (or to mix it up at next year's Thanksgiving), I'd suggest giving it a try. Don't tell your guests how simple it is to prepare — that'll be our little secret.

The only place to be on Sunday. Want more info? Get it here. And get tickets here. Back the rack. See you there.

Make sure you have a drink today. Why? Because you can. From 1920 to 1933, although private consumption of alcohol was not illegal, the sale, production, transportation and importation of alcohol were, making it somewhat difficult for the average citizen to consume at home. Today marks the 80th anniversary of the passage of the 21st Amendment, known by many as Repeal Day, as it repealed the 18th Amendment, which started Prohibition. Cheers!