For me, Christmas has become synonymous with turducken, a Cajun conglomeration of three boneless birds – a turkey wrapped around a duck, wrapped around a chicken. NFL legend John Madden made the Franken-bird famous during Thanksgiving Day broadcasts when he awarded the six-drumsticked beast as a trophy to the game’s MVP.

Christmas Eve was my fifth tussle with the turducken, but Heirloom LA catering delivered a completely original experience. Heirloom LA co-owner Matthew Poley is a chef who can butcher an entire pig in seven minutes flat, so he faced little resistance from fowl in producing six turduckens for various Christmas parties, including ours.

Unlike the version from Baton Rouge’s Cajun Grocer, which looks like a turkey but holds hidden surprises, Poley’s turducken arrived in a roll, kind of like a savory buche de Noel. At one end, he affixed a single turkey wing, which I guess makes Heirloom’s turducken an airline cut.

At this point, you’re probably wondering how Vitamin P factors into the Heirloom LA turducken, and it comes down to the stuffing: pork sausage. It was this fourth animal that elevated juicy slices of turducken to even greater heights. Fresh cranberry sauce added some tang that cut through the richness of Poley’s multi-bird attack.

It was our good fortune to have another great Dose of Vitamin P at the Christmas party, and it came courtesy of Eating LA blogger extraordinaire Pat Saperstein, who filled cornmeal cookie sandwiches with dulce de leche folded with banana and bits of bacon.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.

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5. Dose of Vitamin P: LudoBites Boudin Noir Terrine

1. Jane, December 29, 2009:

   Looks delicious, Josh! Glad you carried on the tradition in LA.

2. Javier, December 29, 2009:

   awh! is this what I missed out on?!

3. Joshua Lurie, December 29, 2009:

   Javier, this is only part of what you missed out on, but around the holidays, family’s bound to come first. You’re forgiven for your transgression.

This entry is filed under Dose of Vitamin P.