What could make turkey better? How about turkey stuffing? Serious Eats unveiled the turkey-stuffed turkey last week. It's a Thanksgiving take on the classic French preparation known as the ballotine.
The article explains the steps behind the classic French technique:
A bird is boned, stuffed with a forcemeat (aka sausage), rolled, and then either poached or roasted. To stuff the breasts, you first have to butterfly them.The end result is a series of rounds that alternate between the crispy outside and warmer, lighter inside -- similar to pinwheels or a stuffed roast.
The ballotine method of preparation was also the subject of the latest quick-fire challenge on Bravo's Top Chef this week. The penultimate episode was dedicated to a challenge that asked the chefs to prepare a protein inside a protein inside a protein, or as one chef noted, "a turducken." The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an amusing recap of the episode (spoiler alert: it reveals the show's finalists).
Despite John Madden's endorsement, I'm not sold on the turducken as your main dish on Thanksgiving. The chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey tends to be overwhelmed by the stuffing -- usually cajun inspired and a bit too soggy. It's a better novelty than Thanksgiving centerpiece.
But who knew that the secret to a juicier, tastier turkey was adding more turkey? This is the culinary equivalent of that scene in Speed when they decide they have to go faster to jump the subway car off the tracks. It feels like a plot hole, but it apparently results in a happy ending.
[Image via Flickr: turchod]
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