An osturducken is a roast made by stuffing an ostrich with a turducken, a roast made by stuffing a duck with a chicken and stuffing this roast inside a turkey. The concept of stuffing animals with other animals is not new and the process of making an osturducken requires boning the birds involved and can take over 12 hours to cook.
An osturducken is a roast made by stuffing an ostrich with a turducken. Far from being a new species of bird, a turducken is a roast that is made by stuffing a duck with a chicken and stuffing this roast inside a turkey. As you can imagine, an osturducken is an extremely large roast, requiring a huge group of people to consume, and most reports of osturducken are apocryphal. Just building such a roast would take at least two days.
The concept of stuffing animals with other animals is far from new. The Romans, for example, loved preparing elaborately stuffed roasts with poultry and lamb. Stuffed poultry roasts were prepared in many parts of Europe for festivities during medieval times, often incorporating exotic birds such as swans and peacocks. These roasts undoubtedly inspired turducken, which emerged in the American South in the later part of the 20th century. Once the turducken was developed, the osterducken would have been the logical next step in the eyes of some ambitious cooks, integrating the largest known bird on Earth into an already extravagant dish.
The process of making an osturducken begins with boning the birds involved. This creates sheets of frayed flesh and skin. Many cooks like to leave the skin on for more flavor, although some choose to remove it for various reasons. The meats are then seasoned and can also be marinated. Some people like to brine the meat to create a rich, savory flavor that will also hold in the moisture as the osturducken cooks.
The construction of the roast begins with the ostrich being laid out, skin side down and covered in a layer of batting. Then the turkey is layered on top, followed by a layer of stuffing and so on until the chicken has been covered in stuffing. Next, the meats are rolled into a block which is sewn together. Some people like to leave the legs off the ostrich for aesthetic reasons, so that the finished roast more closely resembles an actual bird.
The fillings used in an osturducken can be incredibly diverse. They may include seafood, sausage, an assortment of vegetables, fruits such as oranges and pears, mushrooms, and other ingredients. Many people like to use distinctly different flavored fillings on each layer for variety, and the filling is also often spicy.
Cooking an osturducken can take over 12 hours and requires a very large oven that maintains a stable temperature. The dish also needs to be basted periodically, to keep it moist. Once the osturducken is roasted, it is allowed to rest for half an hour or more and then carved for the table.
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