Turducken with three dressings and sweet potato and eggplant gravy

Bone the turkey: one incision down the spine, keep the skin intact, work the knife along the bone down the shoulder blade to the wing, remove the wing tip, cut through the ball and socket to release the thigh bone, work to the centre of the breastbone, repeat on the other side and lift out the carcass. Leave the tip end of each leg bone and the two joints of each wing in.

Break the wing two inches from the tip with a small hammer without breaking the skin, then turn the meat to the inside so the skin is outside and the bird looks like a turkey again. Chill.

Put all the turkey bones, carcass, leg bones, wing bones, neck, tail, wing tips, heart and gizzard into the biggest stock pot. Do not add the liver.

Bone the duck the same way, removing all the bones including the leg bones, then bone the chicken the same way. Add their bones to the pot.

Add the unpeeled chopped garlic, the quartered unpeeled onions and the celery to the bones, split between two pots, and fill both with as much water as they hold.

Bring the stock to a boil, skim the scum, drop to a gentle simmer for at least four hours.

For the cornbread, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, corn flour, salt and baking powder with no lumps.

Whisk the milk, beaten eggs and melted butter together, then blend into the dry ingredients until just mixed and the large lumps have dissolved; do not over beat.

Grease a 13 by 9 baking dish liberally with butter and spread the mix evenly.

Bake the cornbread at 350F until golden brown, around 50 to 55 minutes.

Skim the stock and strain it, then return it to the stock pot.

Grind the giblets fine in a food processor, fine but not mush.

Crumble five cups of the cornbread finely.

For the cornbread dressing, half-melt the butter and margarine in a Dutch oven.

Add the finely chopped onion and green pepper, celery, minced garlic and bay leaves.

After two minutes add the seasoning mix of salt, white pepper, cayenne, black pepper, oregano, onion powder and thyme. The recipe calls for half the vegetables first and the rest after five minutes; all went in at once here.

Cook five minutes, then add a cup of stock and the Tabasco.

Add the ground giblets and cook five minutes, then take off the heat.

Off the heat stir in the evaporated milk, beaten eggs and the crumbled cornbread, and turn into a greased baking dish.

Bake the cornbread dressing at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes until browned on top.

Grind the sausage in the food processor in pulses.

Heat the Dutch oven on high with the margarine.

Add half of each of the chopped onions, celery and green onions and saute until the onions are well browned, around 30 minutes.

Off the heat briefly, stir in the sausage, then back on high heat and cook until the sausage starts to brown, around 20 minutes.

Stir in the stick of butter until combined.

Add the remaining green peppers, celery, onion and the minced garlic.

Add the Tabasco, paprika and salt.

Turn down to low and cook until the newly added vegetables are tender but still slightly crisp, around 15 minutes.

Add four cups of stock, bring to a boil, reduce back to low, then stir in the breadcrumbs.

Turn into an ungreased pan and bake at 425F for an hour and a half, stirring and scraping the bottom every 15 to 20 minutes but only once the top has browned well.

Strain the oysters from their water and liquor, keeping the meat and the juice separate.

Melt the margarine in the Dutch oven.

When the margarine is half melted add half the celery, half the green peppers and half the onion and saute until the onions are browned, around 30 minutes.

Add the seasoning mix and the minced garlic and cook four minutes.

Add the remaining margarine and the remaining vegetables, the parsley, green onion and bay leaves.

Once the vegetables have softened but still have a crunch, add the reserved oyster juice; 15 minutes later turn the heat to low.

Stir in the breadcrumbs until the mixture is neither runny nor stiff, then stir in the oysters.

Spoon into an ungreased baking pan and bake at 350F for around an hour, stirring once a dark crust has formed on the surface halfway through.

Stir the finely chopped parsley, chopped green onion and softened butter into the baked oyster dressing without breaking up the oyster meat.

Spread the turkey skin side down on a flat surface, exposing as much meat as possible.

Pat three tablespoons of the seasoning mix into the turkey meat and into the flaps by hand.

Fill the leg, thigh and wing cavities with the cooled sausage dressing until full but not tightly packed, then spread an even layer over the exposed meat.

Lay the duck on top, pat about a tablespoon of seasoning mix into it, and spread four cups of the cornbread dressing evenly over it.

Lay the chicken on top, pat about a tablespoon of seasoning mix into it and spread the oyster dressing over it. Each layer should be around half an inch thick.

Lift the open turducken into a 15 by 11 baking pan, where it should fit snugly.

Fold the sides of the turkey over and sew it closed with a trussing needle and twine, stitches around one inch apart, then stitch the wings.

Turn it breast side up and rub the remaining seasoning mix over the skin. The skin is not buttered.

Roast at 190F for 12 to 13 hours, to 165F in the centre of the white meat and in the thigh.

Rest the turducken for an hour.

For the gravy, heat a cup of the rendered turducken fat in the Dutch oven and saute six cups of the chopped eggplant until translucent, browned and soft, around five minutes.

Add the remaining two cups of eggplant and two cups of chopped onion and cook until the mixture browns from the sediment scraped up into it.

Add two cups of finely chopped sweet potato and cook four minutes, then add the minced garlic and bay leaves.

Stir in three tablespoons of the seasoning mix, add two cups of stock and cook five minutes.

Add half the dark brown sugar; two minutes later add another two cups of stock.

Stirring continuously, ten minutes later add the rest of the brown sugar and two more cups of stock.

Stir another ten minutes and add two more cups of stock.

Cook 15 minutes on high, then reduce and simmer another 15 minutes.

Add two more cups of stock and simmer five minutes, then strain, pressing out as much liquid as possible.

Into a four quart saucepan with the strained gravy add two cups of chopped sweet potato, bring to a boil on high, reduce and simmer one hour.

Add two tablespoons of Grand Marnier and simmer ten minutes.

Add the finely chopped green onions, a tablespoon of the seasoning mix and the remaining two cups of stock.

Bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes, reducing to around six cups.

If the skin is pale after roasting, brush it lightly with butter and put it briefly into a 450F oven for colour.