Turducken, Chuckey, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Learn Something, Pass It On...

I make sure to use the New York Times to stay abreast of all cultural trends and "fads" in America. Their coverage of our faddish fopperies always gives me a hearty chuckle. So, of course, I was delighted today when I opened the paper and read a review of two books recently written about the oh-so-new and exciting world of professional eating.

Kobayashi Receiving His Fifth Straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Championship

Both books are funny, in different ways. Both struggle to take the measure of two Asian competitors who have eaten their rivals under the table. The amazingly slim Takeru Kobayashi, competitive eating's one bona fide superstar, makes headlines each year by showing up at the Nathan's Famous hot-dog competition in Coney Island and humiliating the American competition. In July 2004 he ate 53½ hot dogs (with buns) in 12 minutes. Second place was 38.

In third place was Sonya Thomas, a petite Korean immigrant and former Burger King manager once introduced onstage as "a cross between Anna Kournikova , Billie Jean King and a jackal wild on the Serengeti." Ms. Thomas currently holds the competitive-eating records for toasted ravioli (four pounds in 12 minutes), oysters (46 dozen in 10 minutes), eggs (65 hard-boiled eggs in 6 minutes 40 seconds) and turducken, which is a turkey stuffed with a duck that has been stuffed with a chicken. Ms. Thomas consumed nearly eight pounds of turducken in 12 minutes. She often claims to be hungry after competitions.

Oh, New York Times, this is just so ZANY, so epically... wait, turducken?

Wikipedia defines a "Turducken" thusly:

A turducken is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. The cavity of the chicken and the rest of the gaps are filled with, at the very least, a highly seasoned bread crumb mixture, although some versions have a different stuffing for each bird. Some recipes call for the turkey to be stuffed with a chicken which is then stuffed with a duckling. It is also called a chuckey.

A Beautifully Prepared Turduckeneast

Wow. I actually learned something from a New York Times trend watch article. Not only that, but the piece of information acquired just keeps giving and giving as I try to picture a Turducken in my mind. Beware of believing too much of what you read about Turducken, though, kids- the Wikipedia entries veracity is under dispute, presumably by people whose existence is so wretched, the day so unmanageably hellish, that an evening spent fact-checking turducken on an internet encyclopedia brings sweet release.

By the way, if you are interested in purchasing a Turducken, they can be purchased online from the two major vendors, Paul Prudhomme and the Cajun Grocer: If you want to make your own, you can find the instructions here courtesy of Lynn and John Salmon of New York.