The three bird roast isn't something new. In fact, there are various versions of the controversial 'bird within a bird' dish - and even a fish version - but the product always sparks a love it or hate it reaction. For some, there is a definitely unease about the whole concept.
The Turducken, or three bird roast, was brought to our tables from America, according to a Chronicle Live reporter. The Christmas and Thanksgiving dish compiled a duck, stuffed in a chicken, stuffed in a turkey. Add to this some form of special stuffing, like garlic and thyme or cranberry sauce, and there you have it, the Turducken.
As reporter Aaron Morris remarked: "On the face of things, although incredibly odd, it does sound quite the spectacle". It was for this reason that when he spotted a frozen version of the main course while shopping he had to try it for himself. Thanks to Aaron, we can now enjoy a 'taste' of this dish without even turning the oven on.
An honest review of the Turducken
Setting the scene, Aaron says that he was shopping at his local Lidl when he saw the frozen version of the dish sitting in one of the the freezers in store. It was priced at £12.65, which he says is "in my opinion ideal" adding that a small turkey from the same retailer will set you back £13.49 according to their website, with a large one costing £19.99.
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Aaron points out that it is worth noting that Lidl stocks two different versions of the product under the Braemoor brand - one containing roast garlic stuffing, the other with cranberry and thyme. He said: "I opted for the latter as a self-confessed lover of cranberry sauce. It's also worth noting that both are topped with generous amounts of smoky, streaky bacon".
Get cooking
Continuing, he said: "After taking it to the checkout and heading home, I prepared it for cooking as it takes a little while...170 minutes to be exact according to the packaging - and as far as cooking goes, it's a pretty simple job to be completely honest.
"Strip off the film packaging, wrap the bird in foil and bung it in the oven on a baking tray at 200C for two hours and thirty minutes. Then you return to your oven, pour out any juices which may have secreted and bang it back in for the remainder of the cooking time.
"Embarrassingly, I was told afterwards that I should have kept the meat juices to make a gravy to go with it, but by that time they were down the sink and well on their way to the sewage system. Lidl also advise that upon completion, you plunge a knife into the centre of the bird to make sure it's fully cooked.
"You afterwards inspect your blade, and if the meat juices are red you let it cook a little longer. Thankfully for me, they were clear so it was good to go."
So far, so good, but this is where things went "a little downhill for me..." says the home cook. "As soon as I pulled back the foil wrapping, the most disgusting smell hit me dead on in the face. The scent is hard to describe in all honesty, but it was like a really filthy out of date cheese. I decided to let it sit for a little while and returned later to remove the string and start carving."
He went on. "By this time the smell had subsided substantially, but I was still off put by the putrid stench from earlier on. It was also not the most visually appealing thing to look at, with the stuffing bursting out of cavities and the meat itself looking rather pale instead of a luscious golden brown.
"As soon as I started cutting into it, I could tell that it was going to be as dry as toast - with no morsel of moisture in sight, just reams and reams of tri-colour meat and stuffing."
Now for the taste test
Giving his verdict on the taste, Aaron says that: "While each section of meat did hold a little bit of flavour, as expected it was incredibly rubbery (especially the duck) and rather bland overall. The bacon had ended up going incredibly floppy, where as I prefer mine crunchy and with a crisp, and taste wise it was incredibly salty too."
He added: "The stuffing was where the real party was at, with juicy tastes of cranberry cutting through and thyme giving it that little kick, but overall, the dish was a complete disaster. In hindsight maybe some sides and sauce might have salvaged the dish slightly, but I have my sincerest doubts."
The verdict
"Overall, I would certainly not recommend a store bought three bird roast to anyone, unless you prefer your food unusually smelly and drier than the Sahara desert. Lidl's price point may be alluring, as you could never in a million years buy a turkey, chicken and duck for less than £13 - but it's that cheap for a reason in my humble opinion.
"And I'm not a hater of the budget retailer either - I often do my weekly shop there and find most of their products second to none, but they've really missed the mark with this one.
"This Christmas, cut out all of the fancy experimentation and just get a regular old turkey to avoid disappointment - and let the Americans keep their fancy three bird roasts and other questionable inventions stateside in the future. To avoid food waste I'll be giving the rest to my dogs, who will probably enjoy it a lot more than me."
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