It all started about 3 months ago when a friend said "you know what you should do in your oven, a Turducken".
What exactly is a Turducken? Also known as a three bird roast, a turducken is a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, further stuffed into a deboned turkey. It needs to be slow cooked so that the chicken is cooked well without drying out the turkey.
We searched locally to buy the birds but couldn't find anyone so purchased it from Canter Valley, a gourmet poultry supplier https://www.cantervalley.co.nz/#. Providing fantastic service, they sent it in the mail on Monday with instructions to defrost in the fridge for the Saturday cook. We were pretty excited, we had people coming to enjoy it with us, hot rocks purchased to regulate heat and the day clear to monitor the oven.
The oven was fired at 11am to warm it up and get a good ember base. Then following the instructions provided, the birds were put in at 1pm with a thermometer inserted into the middle of the chicken. The birds would be cooked when it reached 74 degrees. Using the dampers, hot rocks and apple wood we managed to maintain the correct heat to slowly cook the birds.
What was the verdict? We didn't have high expectations - we had read and heard horrible experiences - the turkey was so dry, the duck skin too chewy, it tastes disgusting and so on. Yet again The Kiwi Outdoor Oven shone through, and to our pleasant surprise, the Turducken was a huge success, moist and tender. Still being eaten on sandwiches the balance of the birds will be made into a curry as per tradition ... according to the friend that started this whole thing...
