Poultry
Culinary Arts I
What is Poultry
 Poultry – birds that are raised for
human consumption
 Usually less expensive than other
meat products
 USDA categorizes poultry
according to species – kind
 Chicken, turkey, goose, duck,
pigeon, and guinea
Maturity and Tenderness
 Birds age commonly called maturity
 Older poultry is tough, younger birds are tender
 Tenderness affected by amount of exercise the bird gets
 More exercise = more connective tissue (holds muscle fiber together)
 More connective tissue = tough
 Birds that rarely fly (turkey and chicken) have lighter-colored wings and
breast – light meat
 Less fat and cooks faster
 Parts of the bird that have muscle and connective tissue, such as legs abd
thighs, are darker – dark meat
 More fat and takes longer to cook
 Duck and goose mostly dark meat
 All poultry has giblets- edible internal organs
Eights Factors for making the right
choice
 Kind
 Market form
 Class
 Style
 Color
 Odor
 Inspection
 grading
Poultry Classification
Type of Poultry
Chicken
Turkey
Goose
Duck
Pigeon
Guinea
Descrition
Evaluating Poultry
 Market forms – form of poultry when it is purchased
 Fresh poultry needs to be cooked in 1 to 2 days
 Frozen poultry may be kept for up to six months
 Two classes of poultry
 Maturity – already discussed
 Gender - males are tougher than female
 Style – state of the bird when received at foodservice
 Whole or in parts, bone in or boneless, ground
 Ready-to-cook (RTC poultry) – poultry prepared and packaged
Judging Quality
 Two main ways to judge quality
 Color
 Should vary from cream to yellow
 Not be purple or green
 Dark wing tips sign of spoilage
 Do not used poultry that is spoiled
 Odor
 Should not have a strong odor
 Should not feel sticky under the wing or around joints
Inspection and Grading
 must be federally inspected by USDA to see if process is sanitary and safe
to eat
 Free from visible signs of disease
 Passes inspection earns USDA Inspection Stamp of Approval
 Grading is optional
 Uses letters to show level of quality
 Highest grade is A
 Be plump and meaty
 Clean skin with no blemishes
 No broken bones
 all feathers plucked and removes
 Not met standards, get B or C
 Used to make processed poultry products
Handling and Storage
 Handle carefully to avoid illness or spoilage
 Fresh poultry highly perishable
 Store in cold storage or pack in ice
 Use in one to two days
 Store frozen for up to six months
 At or below 0*F
 Keep in original container
 Never refreeze
 Preparing and serving whole bird, truss it
 Trussing – tying the legs and wings against the birds body
 Allows for even cooking