Sous-Vide Turducken?? No, we're not crazy.

We at FoodieDFW love Thanksgiving! Like a lot!! We love the pies, the rolls, the sides, the stuffing. We LOVE the secret family recipe cranberry relish! Pretty much everything. Except for the traditional turkey. Neither of us are huge fans, as it usually turns out a bit dry no matter how you cook it. A couple of years ago, we solved this problem by making an easy and juicy Turducken, and we're happy to share our secret with you.

The secret is the magic that is sous-vide cooking. For those of you that don't know what sous-vide is, it's essentially vacuum-sealing food you plan on cooking, then submerging that package in a precisely-heated water bath until the food is cooked to perfection. The food never gets over-done, as it stays at exactly the temperature you set. And it never dries out, because it is sealed in the vacu-seal bag, and juices can't escape. So yes, dear reader, we are encouraging you to make a sous-vide Turducken. You'll do great. We believe in you!

Now, on to the fun part. BTW, this is definitely a two-person job. Maybe even three (two to work, one to give moral support). For starters, lay 5-6 pieces of cooking twine across your baking sheet (use a baking sheet to keep juices from running everywhere). Next, you're going to need to butterfly and season a turkey breast. You can use whatever seasoning you prefer. We go for the traditional rosemary / thyme / salt / pepper mixture. Lay the same on top of the cooking twine sitting in the baking sheet, and coat the top with a thin layer of stuffing (we use jalapeno pecan stuffing). Next, butterfly and season the duck breasts. We recommend using two large duck breasts for each turkey breast. Lay the butterflied duck breast on the stuffing, and coat the top with another layer of stuffing. Next--you guessed it folks--comes the chicken. We recommend using three large chicken breasts. Butterfly all three, season them, and lay them out on top of the stuffing-smeared duck breast. Follow up with one last layer of stuffing.

Now, you are thinking--this wasn't so bad. I didn't have to de-bone a turkey, a duck, or a chicken. This is WAY easier than normal Turducken. Well, you're right, up until now. Here's where a second set of hands comes in handy--pun intended. You've got to roll this giant meat monster into a neat roulade (roll). Use the cooking twine previously laid out--along with a friend, relative, or loved one willing to pull, push, and/or squeeze raw poultry--into a secure roll. You may need to "tuck in" the ends to keep the stuffing from squeezing out. It wouldn't hurt to add some extra twine lengthwise at this point.

Now that you've got a giant Turducken rollup, what to do with it? Well, that's the easy part. Place into a (large) vacuum-seal bag, and seal until the plastic looks a bit like Rick Springfield's leather pants.

Place your newly-sealed Turducken into a water bath set at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Let sit in the water bath (fully submerged) for at least three hours. Drink some wine. Relax. Watch football. Come back in three hours.

Once the Turducken is fully cooked, all you need to do is cut open the bag, drain any juices (reserve for gravy) and lightly brown the outside of the Turducken in a skillet to provide a bit of color. Once the rest of your Thanksgiving meal is finished, simply slice and serve!