A turducken is a layered Thanksgiving meal that consists of a deboned turkey, duck and chicken that is often stuffed with season breadcrumbs (stuffing) and some sort of sausage if the heart desires.  It can be braised, grilled on the barbecue or in some parts of the country deep-fried alongside a normal turkey.

Figure 1 | The Thanksgiving Turducken

After each National Football League (NFL) game played on Thanksgiving (always at Detroit, Dallas and some third home field), the broadcasting station wheels out a mobile table full of sides such as mashed potatoes, stuffing and a corn dish along with the turducken centerpiece to which the most valuable player(s) are interviewed and presented with their choice of food.  The NFL tradition goes back to the late John Madden’s, who was a former coach turned broadcaster, infatuation with the turducken and his willingness to honor the player of the game with the annual Turducken Trophy. Over the years, many have won the award that is now integrated into the fold of being part of the traditional Thanksgiving lore.  In the energy sector, the month of November has its own turducken going in where tur(n)key is the weather as warmer conditions early in the month tend to give way to frigid cold temperatures as the holiday events are in full swing.  We have the renewable duck curve that is sort of old news now but still present in several markets as the penetration percentages continue to be increasing compared to the overall power demand numbers.  Finally, we have the chicken (and egg) situation associated with the natural gas landscape where production levels are being compared to the key demand components such as power burns and rescom (heating).