ASK FLUFFIESAREFOOD
Volume 2 Number 2
Happy Monday, Fluffherders! It’s January 8th, 2085, and time for another edition of Ask FluffiesAreFood, the advice column that seeks to answer questions of fluffherders and fluffy eaters everywhere! If you have a question, just ask here!
guodzilla asks:
do you have any recipes/suggestions for preparing fluffducken?
For those of you who don’t know, Fluffducken is a modern twist on engastration, or the practice of putting one kind of meat animal inside of another. In the 18th and 19th Centuries this was done by hosts to show off their wealth and largesse. In the 20th and early 21st Centuries this took the form of a particular dish called Turducken, which was a turkey, stuffed with a duck, in which was stuffed a chicken, and then the whole thing roasted as a unit.
After the disasters of 2010-2030 American cuisine took a huge hit. It wasn’t until the 2040s that Americans felt free to experiment again with new cuisines, enabled by cheap fluffy meat. Riffing off of the EUSA holiday tradition of roasted fluffy with foal sausage stuffing, other American chefs experimented with different combinations. The success of Fluffducken, roasted fluffy stuffed with boneless duck and chicken, was a surprise, as the flavor profiles of turkey and fluffy are very different. Nonetheless, this dish, which premiered at the New Cotton Gin eatery in New Orleans, became a signature dish of Confederate dining, and eventually spread to the EUSA. When Louisiana changed hands after the Texas-Confederate War, the dish caught on in Texas and then from there spread to Mexico and the West USA.
You can make your own Fluffducken at home! Here’s a recipe I use:
FLUFFDUCKEN
1 fluffy (8 to 10-pound), deboned except for the skull, shaved
1 duck (4 to 5-pound), deboned
1 chicken (3 to 4-pound), deboned
2-3/4 cups prepared savory bread stuffing, at room temperature, divided use
2 cups prepared cornbread stuffing, at room temperature, divided use
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
4 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, cut in quarters
6 fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons browning sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 apple
Have the fluffy, duck, and chicken already deboned (save the bones for stock) before you begin to assemble the fluffducken. Keep all of the meat refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Do not assemble fluffducken until you are ready to bake it in order to avoid foodborne illness from contaminated stuffing.
Measure out 2-1/4 cups of bread stuffing and set aside. Place remaining 1/2 cup of bread stuffing in another bowl and add 1/2 cup of the cornbread stuffing along with the whole berry cranberry sauce, and pecans. Toss gently to combine. Place remaining 1-1/2 cups cornbread stuffing aside. You should have 3 separate stuffings.
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine butter, garlic, sage, and thyme until herbs are finely chopped.
Run your hand under the fluffy’s skin to separate and make a pocket, but do not separate skin completely from the meat. Distribute the butter herb mixture evenly under the skin.
Rub the outside of the skin of the fluffy with the browning sauce (promotes even browning but doesn’t add flavor), then the olive oil. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Flip the fluffy over so it is open and skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Spread bread stuffing evenly over fluffy cavity. Place duck on top of bread stuffing, skin-side down.
Spread cranberry nut stuffing on top of open duck cavity. Top with chicken, skin-side down.
Spread cornbread stuffing on top of the open chicken cavity. Skewer the back of the chicken closed. Bring up the sides of the duck to cover the chicken. Skewer the back of the duck closed. Repeat process with the fluffy. Carefully turn the fluffducken over, so it is seam-side down and back-side up. Remove all skewers except the last one holding the fluffy together.
Place the apple into the mouth of the fluffy, and press jaws together so that the teeth bite into it.
Place fluffducken in a heavy roaster. Roast 3 to 4 hours, until meat thermometer inserted in the very center of the chicken stuffing, reaches 165 F. Baste once per hour with pan juices. If fluffducken begins to get too brown, tent loosely with heavy-duty aluminum foil that has been coated with vegetable spray.
Let fluffducken rest 30 minutes before carving. To serve, slice fluffducken across the breast to show off each layer.
Pairings: roasted or mashed sweet potatoes, roasted or pan-fried brussels sprouts, red wine.
Ask FluffiesAreFood is a service of the Fluffherders’ Association of America. If you have a question about raising, slaughtering, or eating of fluffies, you may comment here.