Chapter 12
Understanding Poultry
and Game Birds
1
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.
2
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.
3
Maturity and Tenderness

Remember, we learned that tenderness of a
piece of meat or poultry is related to
connective-tissue and that connectivetissue 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.
4
“Light Meat” and “Dark Meat”
Light Meat - Breast
and Wings
Less fat
Less connective tissue
Cooks faster
Dark Meat –
Drumsticks and
Thighs
More Fat
More connective Tissue
Longer cooking time
1. Cooking whole birds
2. Cooking poultry parts
5
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
6
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
7
Cooking Poultry Parts
Many recipes have been developed
to prepare poultry parts, like wings,
drumsticks, and boneless chicken
breasts.
8
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
9
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
10
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
11
Poultry

Poultry is the collective term for
domesticated birds bred for eating. It
includes:
 Chickens
 Ducks
 Geese
 Guineas
 Squabs
 Turkeys
 Goose
 Pigeon
12
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.
13
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.
14
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
15
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
16
Guineas



Are domestically raised
Descendent of the pheasant
Tastes like flavorful chicken
17
Game Birds and Specialty Products






Quail
Partridges
Pheasant
Wild Duck
Ostrich
Emu
18
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).
19
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
20
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
21
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.
22
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
23
Copyright ©2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Clip art images may not be saved or downloaded and
are only to be used for viewing purposes.
24