Here’s another one for the books, folks. The extent of the human imagination, and appetite, truly is limitless. Don’t ever believe that you’ve seen it all. The largest known dish on any menu has been recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as stuffed whole camel. Yes, that is correct. A whole camel stuffed. It doesn’t end there, either. It’s not simply stuffed the way something small time, like a turkey, would be stuffed. This camel is stuffed with two sheep, or lambs, which, in turn, are stuff with around 20 chickens which are stuffed with fish. Can a proper explanation really be given?
The meal, whose original name is unknown, originates in the Middle East as a traditional Bedouin dish. It has since been dubbed with the title of “camel Turducken” and is sometimes used as the dish of choice for weddings and special parties in places like Saudi Arabia. For people who are unfamiliar with the original term, Turducken is a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. This is a buckle popper for most Americans, but would probably be considered an appetizer for this crowd. Naturally, this collation of a Chinese Box in meal form is not something that can simply be whipped up in an instant. This mass of meat has to be boiled and then roasted over burning charcoal until the camel meat is crisp and succulent. Where is the meat boiled? Do we really want to know what is large enough to boil a stuffed camel? The whole process, surprisingly, only takes 24 hours. A week wouldn’t have been completely unimaginable. When the ensemble is complete the camel is served on a silver platter, of course, and the guests are left to inhale the meat using whatever utensil they feel is necessary, until nothing is left but bones and New Year’s resolutions.
According to Snopes, a myth-busting website, the recipe to make camel Turducken is actually in a cook book called International Cuisine and is listed as a Saudi-Arabian dish. So, if you ever want to impress a group of 80 to 100 guests, this book will give you all of the necessary ingredients and cooking instructions to help you fulfill this desire. The same site also gives reference to Richard Sterling’s book entitled The Fearless Diner in which he describes his meeting with Sven Krause, executive chef at a high- class Bangkok restaurant, who tells, in detail, of actually cooking and serving this meal while working in Saudi Arabia.
