With the festive season just a few weeks away, attention is focussing on the hungry xmas tum and what will be put in it this year. The latest Christmas dinner fad is set to be the "gooducken".
For those who haven't heard of it, it's the three-in-one bird, a hearty concoction of three birds, roasted one inside the other. The gooducken is a goose stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a duck. Sounds a bit sick really. These festive birds are retailing at about £185 for the largest versions.
The gooducken and other three bird roasts like the turkey stuffed with duck and pheasant are not new inventions. They reached their peak of popularity in the 19th century and were the simplification of an earlier French Royal dish that consisted of 17 birds, one inside the other, ranging in size form a bustard down to a bec-figue (warbler) stuffed with a stuffed olive. Sounds yummy!
Top TV chefs have been plugging this "fat" bird meal, with the healthy accompaniment of mushrooms. We might yet get to see a healthy upsurge in demand for the industry produce for the Christmas and New Year feast periods.
