understanding poultry and game birds

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Chapter 12

Understanding Poultry & Game BirdsCopyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved



Composition and Structure

• Poultry is the generic term for domesticated birds

• Poultry is generally the least expensive and mostversatile of all main dish foods

• It can be cooked by almost any cooking method,

and its mild flavour goes well with a variety ofsauces and accompaniments

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The flesh of poultry and game birds is muscletissue.

• Muscle tissue is composed of:

• Water (about 75%)

• Protein (about 20%)

• Fat (up to 5%)

• Other elements, includingcarbohydrate, in small quantities

• Muscles consist of muscle fibers held together inbundles by connective tissue.

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The tenderness of a piece of poultry is related to

connective tissue.• Connective tissue increases with

• Use or exercise of the muscle

• Maturity or age of the animal or bird

• Use or exercise is of less concern in poultry.

• Maturity is a major consideration when selectingpoultry, meaning, as bird gets older, bird gets tougher.

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Maturity and Tenderness



• Young, tender birds are cooked by dry-heat methods,such as broiling, frying and roasting, as well as by moistheat methods.• Older, tougher birds need slow, moist heat to be made

palatable.

• Maturity is the major factor in categorizing each kind ofpoultry

• Skin color is determined by diet and is not related to theflavor or tenderness of the poultry.

• Birds that fly have only dark meat 5


Maturity and Tenderness



Most chickens on the market are:

• Produced by large operations• Housed indoors in carefully controlled environments

• Fed scientifically monitored diets

• Free-range chickens are allowed to move around freely

and eat outdoors in a more natural environment.

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Free-Range Chickens



• No legal definition of free-range

• Free-range chickens are considerably more expensivethan ordinary chickens.

• Many people feel free-range chickens are more flavorfuland worth the extra cost.

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Free-Range Chickens



Organic: defined by the National Standard of

Canada for Organic Agriculture as foodproduced without using:• Most conventional pesticides

• Fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients orsewage sludge

• Bioengineering

• Ionizing radiation

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Free-Range Chickens



Chicken and Turkey

• ―Light meat : breast and wings • Less fat

• Less connective tissue

• Cooks faster

• ―Dark meat : legs (drumsticks and thighs) • More fat

• More connective tissue

• Takes longer to cook9


Light Meat and Dark Meat



Duck, goose, and squab

have all dark meat.• The same differences

in connective tissuehold true

• Breast muscles havemore Myoglobin (seenext slide) and thusare darker.

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Myoglobin: a protein that stores oxygen for

muscles to use during periods of great activity• Dark color of dark meat is due to Myoglobin.

• Breast muscles of birds are used for flying.

• Chickens and turkeys rarely, if ever, fly; therefore, thesemuscles do not need a great deal of Myoglobin.

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Cooking whole birds

• A major problem in roasting poultry is cooking the legsto doneness without overcooking the breast. – Roast breast side down for part of cooking time to draw

moisture/fat to breast, not away

– Baste with fat only, it protects from drying out (liquid will washaway protective fat

– Barding small birds with pork fat

– Seperating breast from leg section and roasting for differenttimes, this is done with large turkeys

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Cooking poultry parts

• Recipes take into account the different cookingcharacteristics of each part. – For example, flattened chicken breast can be sauteed quickly

and still be juicy and tender, turkey wings must be braised andhave gelatin to make a rich sauce

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Poultry is subject to federalinspection and grading

• Inspection1. A guarantee of wholesomeness (fit for

human consumption)

2. Indicated by a round stamp

3. Required by Canadian law

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Inspection and Grading



The following terms are used to classify poultry:• Kind: the species, such as chicken, turkey, or duck

• Class: the subdivision of kind, depending on age and sex

• Style: the amount of cleaning and processing• Live: almost never purchased in food service

• Dressed: killed, bled and plucked (also rarely seen in food service)

• Ready to cook: dressed and eviscerated with head and feet removed

• Whole• Cut up, or parts

• State of refrigeration: chilled or frozen

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Classification and Market Forms



Chicken• Most popular and widely eaten poultry in the

world• Contains white and dark meat• Can be cooked by almost any cooking method•

Readily available fresh and frozen

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Chicken Classes

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Class Description Age Weight Range

Rock Cornish GameHen

Young breed of chicken,tender

5 weeks orless

¾ - 2lbs

Broiler/Fryer Either sex, tender flesh,flexable cartilage

6 – 12 weeks Broiler: 1 ½ - 2 ½ lbsFryers: 2 ½ - 3 ½ lbs

Roaster Ether sex, tender flesh, lessflexable cartilage

3 – 5 months 3 ½ - 5 lbs

Capon Castrated male, very tender,

well flavoured, big breast

Under 8

months

5 – 8 lbs

Hen or fowl Mature female, tough flesh,hardened cartilage

Over 10months

3 ½ - 6 lbs

Cock or rooster Mature male, tough darkmeat

Over 10months

4 – 6 lbs



Turkey• Turkey is the second most popular

poultry in Canada• Has both white and dark meat• Has a small amount of fat

• Young turkey lends itself to beingprepared in almost any manner

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Duck• Young duckling is most often used in foodservice

operations

• Has only dark meat with a large percentage of fat• High percentage of bone to meat

• One duck will feed two people, a 4lbs duck yields 1lbsraw lean meat (4lbs chicken yields 2lbs)

• Most ducks in Canada are White Pekin, specialty itemcalled magret (mah-gray) is breast of moulard breed

• Magret breast is thicker and meatier

• Breast typically cooked rare, and leg braised or confit 21




Duck Classes

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Broiler or Fryer Young tender bird, eithersex, soft bill and windpipe

Under 8weeks

2 – 4 lbs

Roaster duckling Young bird, either sex, lessflexable cartilage

Under 16weeks

4 - 6 lbs

Mature duck Ether sex, tough flesh andhard bill and windpipe

Over 6months

4 – 6 lbs



Goose• Has a large percentage of very fatty skin• Has only dark meat• Usually cooked at high temperatures to render

the fat• Popular at the holidays and often served with

an acidic fruit-based sauce

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Guinea Classes

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Young guinea Domestic relative ofpheasant, tender

3 – 6 months ¾ - 1 ½ lbs

Mature guinea Tough old bird Up to 12

months

1 – 2 lbs



Pigeon Classes

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Squab Very young pigeon withtender meat

3 – 4 weeks Under 1 lbs

Pigeon Older pigeon with tough,

dark meat

Over 4 weeks 1 – 2 lbs



Game Birds

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Class Description Weight Range

QuailFr: caille

Small birds, meaty breasts butlegs have little meat, gamy, 2birds for 1 main course

4 – 5 ounces

PartridgeYoung Fr: perdreauMature Fr: perdrix

Similar in size to cornish hen,tender when young

Around 1 lbs

PheasantFr: faisan

Delicate light coloured meat,similar to chicken, dry ifovercooked

2 – 2 ½ lbsYoung: under1lbs



Ratites• Ratites are a family of flightless birds with

small wings and flat breastbones• They include

– Ostrich (native to Africa, largest bird) – Emu (native to Australia, second largest bird) – Rhea (native to South America)

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Ratites

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Ostrich Emu Ostrich Meat Chart



Ratites• Ratite meat is classified as red meat

• It has a cherry-red colour with a flavoursimilar to beef but a little sweeter, and asoft texture

• The meat is low in fat and calories• The birds are normally slaughtered at 10-13 months of age

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Ratites• Ratite meat is prepared like veal or wild

game• Because it is low in fat, care must be

taken to avoid overcooking

• Ratites are best cooked to rare tomedium

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Fresh poultry is extremely perishable

• It should arrive in vacuum packs or be packed in iceand kept in ice until used

• Ideally, use poultry within 24 hours of receiving• Never hold it for more than 4 days

• Poultry often carries salmonella bacteria.• Wash all equipment and cutting surfaces after handling poultry

to avoid contamination of other foods.

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Handling and Storage

Fresh Poultry



Store frozen poultry at 0 °F ( – 18 °C) or lower until itis ready to thaw.

• Thaw in original wrapper in refrigerator• Allow 1 to 2 days for chickens

• 2 to 4 days for larger birds

• If pressed for time, thaw in cold, running water in originalwrapper

• Do not refreeze thawed poultry.

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Handling and Storage

Fresh Poultry



Internal temperature, as tested with athermometer, is the most accurate guide todoneness.

• The thermometer should be inserted into the thickestmuscle of the inner part of the thigh, away from the

bone.• The recommended safe internal temperature for roast whole

poultry is 185 °F (85 °C)

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DonenessIntro to Poultry

Large Roasted Birds

http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school/lessons/382-poultry-fundamentals

http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school/lessons/382-poultry-fundamentals



When cooked by any method, doneness isdetermined by:

• Looseness of joints• The leg moves freely in its socket

• Clear juices

• Juices inside the cavity of a roasted bird are clear yellowrather than cloudy and red or pink.

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Doneness

Smaller Birds



When cooked by any method, doneness isdetermined by:

• Flesh separating from bone• Muscles begin to pull away from bones, especially breastbone

and leg bones

• Excessively shrunken flesh means it is overcooked and dry

• Firmness to touch• Test with finger pressure as you would a steak

• This method is especially useful for sautéed boneless chickenbreasts.

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Doneness

Smaller Birds



Trussing: tying the legs and wings against thebody to make a compact, solid unit

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Trussing Methods

• Trussing has two main

purposes:1. Even cooking

• Extended legs and wingscook too quickly

2. More attractiveappearance

• Especially whenpresented or servedwhole or carved in thedining room



• Place the chicken breastup, with the neck endtoward you. Tuck the first

joint of the wings behindthe back.

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Trussing Methods

• Press the legs forwardand down against thebody.



• Pass the center of alength of twine under thehip bone just ahead of thetail.

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Trussing Methods

• Bring the twine up andacross the ends of thelegs.



• Pass the twine under theends of the legs asshown, and pull tight.

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Trussing Methods

• Bring ends of the twinetoward the neck end ofthe bird. Pull firmly on thetwine while pressing onthe breast portions with

the thumbs as shown.



• Tie the twine tightly.

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Trussing Methods

• The stub of the neck holdsthe twine in place,preventing it from slippingbehind the back.



The Trussed Chicken

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Trussing Methods



• Hold the chicken up by thetail. Cut through the bonesto one side of the backbone,all the way to the neck.

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Cutting Up Chicken

• Split the chicken open.

Splitting Chicken for Broiling



• Pull out the breastbone orkeel bone —this helps thechicken lie flat and cookevenly.

• Cut off the back bone asshown.

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Cutting Up Chicken

Splitting Chicken for Broiling



Portion-sizeCornish game hens

are left whole.

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Cutting Up Chicken



• Spread the chicken open andspread through the bones onone side of the backbone.

• Place the chicken on the cuttingboard breast up. Split thechicken down the center of thebreast with a heavy knife.

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Cutting Up Chicken

Cutting chicken into quarters and eighths, bone in



• To cut into eighths, cut thedrumstick and thigh apart atthe joint.

• Pull the leg back and cut off theentire leg section. Repeat withthe other half. The chicken isnow in quarters.

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Cutting Up Chicken

Cutting chicken into quarters and eighths, bone in

understanding poultry and game birds

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