Whole Boneless Thanksgiving Turkey – As Close to Turducken as I’ll Ever Get

If you’re a turkey, and you’re getting boned-out, there’s a good chance you’re about to become Turducken, which in this chef’s opinion, is one of the most overrated recipes of all time. When was the last time you sat down in a restaurant and thought, “I hope the chef’s doing a turkey, duck, chicken trio.”

However, the idea of removing those pesky bones before your bird makes its grand entrance may be worth considering. Not only do you get an impressive looking roast to wow the table, but carving is significantly easier. I didn't have time to show here, but of course you are making a killer turkey stock with all those bones, so that's another advantage. Also, if you're worried about losing flavor, don't. This tastes virtually identical. 

If you’ve ever found yourself hacking up a perfectly good turkey in front of the family, while flop-sweat drips onto the mangled meat, then this approach may be for you. Sure, it takes a good hour to prep, but that’s pretty much where the hard work ends.  

These types of videos are near impossible to edit into any reasonable length, but the good news is this is a lot easier to do than I make it look. Just go slow, and keep that knife against the bone, and you’ll be fine. By the way, chickens make an affordable and delicious thing to practice on.

I’ve included my “prop” stuffing below, which was great. It’s more the style you’d see in a stuffed pork chop, but as I said in the video, your favorite stuffing will work beautifully.

I’ve also posted a bonus video below that goes into more detail on the tying technique. So, if you’re looking for a new and exciting challenge for Thanksgiving, I hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

Notes:

• My turkey was about 15 pounds, but this will work on any sized bird.
• I wanted to try salt only on the outside, without butter or oil, like in our salt chicken recipe, just to see what would happen, but nothing did. So, feel free to slather on the butter.
• You’ll need about 3-4 cups of prepared stuffing depending on the turkey.
• My pan sauce was nothing more than the drippings with a big splash of cream, reduced until slightly thickened, and strained.  

Procedure:

Start in a 450 F.  oven for 15 minutes

Reduce to 325 F. until you get an internal temperature of 150 F. (mine took about 1 1/2 hours more)

For the stuffing I used:

1 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup finely minced onions, sautéed golden

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup turkey or chicken broth, or enough to moisten

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary leaves

Bonus Knot Tying Video