14 Completely Insane Dishes from History

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Rôti Sans Pareil

You might have heard of the turducken (a chicken, stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey) but have you heard of the Rôti Sans Pareil? Literally the 'Roast Without Equal', this incredible dish was first described in 1807, and consists of no less than 17 birds stuffed inside each other. Seventeen! (It's a warbler inside a bunting, inside a lark, inside a thrush, inside a quail, inside a lapwing, inside a plover, inside a partridge, inside a woodcock, inside a teal, inside a guinea fowl, inside a duck, inside a chicken, inside a pheasant, inside a goose, inside a turkey, inside a Great Bustard). It's not clear if this insane dish was ever actually made or just dreamed up to boost sales of the cookbook it appeared in: Almanach des Gourmands by Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de la Reynière. Perhaps he got the inspiration from his similarly overstuffed name.