Turducken

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A boned dish made by stuffing a chicken inside a duck, which is then stuffed inside a turkey and roasted together
2. A layered poultry roast in which a whole deboned chicken and duck are enclosed within a deboned turkey
3. An elaborate Cajun-style holiday roast combining three birds, one nested inside another, from turkey down to chicken

Etymology: Turducken is a portmanteau of three birds: turkey, duck and chicken, nested one inside another. The boning and stuffing sequence is the heart of the dish. A deboned chicken goes inside a deboned duck, and that pair goes inside a deboned turkey, with the gaps packed with stuffing before roasting. The name itself is a blend built the same way. "Turkey" is the oldest part of the chain. It traces back through Medieval Latin "Turcia" and Anglo-Norman "Turkye" to Middle English "turkye", a name that came from the Ottoman-era association of Turkey with the bird's arrival in Europe. "Duck" descends from Old English "dūce", and "chicken" from Old English "ċicen". Blending these three words gave the dish its name.