Fowl Ballotine (Turducken) with Twice Baked Potato
If you want an alternative to turducken or the normal turkey dinner for this thanksgiving than this might be the challenge you’ve been looking for. It looks complex and difficult, it is a bit technical, but if you have a little patience it is something you can achieve. This was a recipe I made when the bocuse d’ or was going on, for those of you who don’t know what bocuse d’ or is it is the a competition from chef’s around the world to see who can make the most spectacular and technically challenging food (Think olympics for cooking). Well this was my home challenge for that time frame, I would consider myself a technician when it comes to cooking, I like to think that I can do a lot of things well, but a technician might be a bit of a stretch. Regardless this was my attempt. Here is the recipe for “turducken” I hope you enjoy it!
Recipe Ingredients
Chicken mousse
2 extra lg breast (1 1/3 lb)
4 garlic cloves
1 egg white
1/3 cup plus more if needed cream
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
Salt (2-3 tsp)
Turkey mousse
1 lb turkey tenderloin
1 egg white
1/3 cup cream
3 tbsp of fresh chives
2 tbsp fresh dill
Salt and pepper
2 duck breast
Salt and pepper
Chicken skin from the whole chicken
Chicken/duck jus see recipe
Twice baked potato
Quinoa
Recipe Instructions
For the ballotine,
Remove the skin from the chicken and reserve from the chicken, trim and discard excess fat. Try to keep the skin as whole and intact as possible. First make the mousse. Place the chicken breast in a food processor along with all the seasonings. Puree until smooth, then while food processor is still running add egg white and then drizzle in the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Test the seasoning by cooking a small amount of the chicken mousse in a small saute pan with olive oil, (You have to make sure it tastes good before you stuff the turducken) cook for 3 minutes on each side taste it and adjust the seasoning if needed. Then place in the refrigerator to keep cold. Clean out the food processor and do the same process with the turkey and ingredients. Then place in the refrigerator to keep cold.
Then take 2 long overlapping pieces of plastic wrap (2 ft ) and lay flat on your prep table. Take all the chicken skin and make a rectangle with it in the middle of the plastic wrap. Take chicken breast mousse and place flat on top of the skin in the same rectangle form (leaving a little extra skin around the edges). Then spoon or pipe the green turnkey mousse in the middle of the chicken breast mousse. Season the duck breast and cut in half lengthwise and place down the middle of the both mousses. (You should have a large white mousse that is fairly smooth and flat. Then a green turkey mousse running down the middle flat, and smooth. Then on top of the green mousse should be two strips of raw skinless duck breast that have been cut in half, just to give you a mental visual) Then using the plastic wrap and your hands roll the ballotine or turducken up into a log. Using the plastic wrap, roll it as tight as possible twisting the ends to make a really tight log. You can tie up both ends with string. Then place the log into a sous vide bag and seal up air tight ( you can add some butter if you desire to the bag). Place in the refrigerator for an hour to help firm up if you have the time. Other wise place in a 140 degrees water bath for 2- 2 1/2 hours. Then take out and rest.
Take the ballotine out of the sous vide bag. In a large cast iron skillet add 1/3 cup of oil for pan frying. Season the ballotine aggressively with salt on the outside. Then place into the medium hot skillet and brown all the way around until a deep golden brown. Take the ballotine out of the skillet and allow to rest. it should look something like this, as you can see I didn’t make my mousse perfectly symmetrical around the duck breast but you get the idea
I finished the dish with twiced baked potatoes, quinoa salad, and roasted brussel sprouts along with a jus. Serve and enjoy!
