1. Understanding Poultry and Game Birds
Chapter 12
Understanding Poultry and Game Birds

2. Chapter Objectives
1. Explain the differences between light meat and dark meat, and describe how these differences affect cooking.
2. Describe four techniques that help keep chicken or turkey breast moist while roasting.
3. Define the following terms used to classify poultry: kind, class, and style.
4. Identify popular types of farm-raised game birds and the cooking methods appropriate to their preparation.
5. Store poultry items.
6. Determine doneness in cooked poultry, both large roasted birds and smaller birds.
7. Truss poultry for cooking.
8. Cut up chicken into parts.

3. Composition and Structure
The muscle tissue contains:
Water (Approximately 75% water)
Protein (20%)
Fat (up to 5%)
Small amounts of elements and carbohydrates
Remember that muscles consist of muscle fibers held together by connective tissue.
Young birds are almost always more tender than older birds.
Birds that do fly always have only dark meat.

4. Maturity and Tenderness
Remember, we learned that tenderness of a piece of meat or poultry is related to connective-tissue and that connective-tissue increases with
Use or exercise of the muscle
Maturity and age of the animal or bird
Young, tender birds are cooked by dry heat methods, such as broiling, frying, roasting and moist methods. Older tough birds are primarily cooked by moist heat.

5. “Light Meat” and “Dark Meat”
Dark Meat – Drumsticks and Thighs
More Fat
More connective Tissue
Longer cooking time
Light Meat - Breast and Wings
Less fat
Less connective tissue
Cooks faster
1. Cooking whole birds
2. Cooking poultry parts

6. Free-Range Chickens
Are allowed to go outdoors and move and eat freely in a natural environment
NOTE: There is no legal description of free-range
Many people think they are worth the cost
A term related to free-range is organic

7. A Major Problem with Roasting
A major problem with roasting is cooking the legs to doneness without overcooking the breasts. Consider:
Roasting birds breast down for part of the time
Basting with fat only
Barding
Roasting separately

8. Cooking Poultry Parts
Many recipes have been developed to prepare poultry parts, like wings, drumsticks, and boneless chicken breasts.

9. Grading of Poultry and Inspection
All poultry consumed in the U.S. is subject to USDA inspection
A guarantee of wholesomeness
Required by law
This ensures that products are produced under strict sanitary guidelines and are wholesome and fit for human consumption

10. Grading Grading is voluntary but virtually universal.
Birds are graded according to their overall quality
Grades from the highest to the lowest
USDA grade A (the Best)
USDA grade B
USDA grade C
The grades have no bearing on tenderness or flavor
Grade is based on:
Shape of carcass
Amount of flesh
Amount of fat
Pinfeathers
Skin tears, cuts, broken bones
Blemishes and bruises

11. Classifications and Market Forms
Kind - Species, such as chicken, turkey, or duck
Class - The subdivision of kind, depending on age and sex
Style - Amount of cleaning and processing: Live, dressed, whole, in parts, and ready-to-cook
State of Refrigeration: Chilled or frozen

12. Poultry
Poultry is the collective term for domesticated birds bred for eating. It includes:
Chickens
Ducks
Geese
Guineas
Squabs
Turkeys
Goose
Pigeon

13. Chicken The most popular and widely eaten poultry in the world
It contains white and dark meat
Can be cooked by almost any cooking method
It is readily available fresh and frozen
Poussin - a special bird, similar to Rock Cornish game hens, weighs 1 pound (454 grams); expensive.

14. Turkey Turkey is the second most popular poultry in the united States
It has both white and dark meat
It has a small amount of fat
A young turkey lends itself to being prepared in any manner
Breasts can be cut into cutlets or scaloppine.

15. Duck & Geese
The roasting of duck & geese is mostly in food service operations
Duck & geese have only dark meat
Duck & geese have a high percentage of bone to fat to meat ratio
Duck & geese have a large percentage of fat

16. Squab (Pigeon) Thr young pigeon is commercially referred to as a squab
It is dark meated and well suited for broiling, sautéing or roasting
Squab has very little fat so it will benefit from barding g

17. Guineas Are domestically raised Descendent of the pheasant
Tastes like flavorful chicken

18. Game Birds and Specialty Products
Quail
Partridges
Pheasant
Wild Duck
Ostrich
Emu

19. Ratites
Ratites are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones. They include Ostrich (native to Africa), and Emu (native to Australia) and Rhea (native to South America).

20. Handling and Storing Poultry can be purchased in many forms:
Fresh
Frozen
Cut-up
Portioned controlled (PC)
Individually quick frozen (IQF)
Extremely perishable
Do not cross-contaminate
Often carries salmonella bacteria

21. Handling and Storing (cont’d)
All poultry is a potentially hazardous food
Fresh chickens and small birds can be stored on ice or at 32 to 34° F for no more than four days
Frozen poultry should be held at 0° F and can be held for six months
Frozen items should be thawed under refrigeration
Do not refreeze poultry

22. Doneness
Domestic poultry is almost always cooked well done (except for squab and sautéed duck breast).
There is a difference between well done and overcooked.

23. Dry-Heat Cooking Methods
Broiling
Grilling
Roasting
The four methods used to determine doneness of poultry
Touch
Temperature
Looseness of joints
Color of the juices

24. Copyright ©2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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