Chapter 5: Understanding Poultry and Game Birds

Topic outlines:
1. Composition and structure
2. Inspection and grading
3. Classification and market forms
4. Handling and storage
5. Doneness
6. Trussing method

Composition and Structure
→The muscle tissue contains:
 - Water (75%)
 - Protein (20%)
 - Fat (up to 5%)
 - Small amounts of elements and carbohydrates
 - Muscles consist of muscle fibers and connective tissue
→Young birds more tender than older birds
Birds that do fly have only dark meat 

Maturity and Tenderness
-Tenderness of a piece of meat is related to connective-tissue and its increase with the exercise of the muscle and maturity and age.
-Young,tender birds (cooked by dry heat)

"Light Meat" and "Dark Meat"
Light meat - Breast and wings
                   - less fat,less connective tissue, cooks fatster














Dark meat - Drumsticks and thighs
                  - more fat,more connective tissue,longer cooking time

1. Cooking whole birds
2. Cooking poultry parts

Free range chickens
-allowed to go outdoors,move and eat in natural environment
-organic

Major problems with roasting
-cooking the legs to doneness without overcooking the breasts
  -barding
  -basting
  -roasting separate
  -roasting birds breast down

Grading of poultry and inspection
-all poultry consumed in the U.S. is subject to USDA inspection.

Grading

- universal
-graded according to their overall quality
-from the highest to the lowest
  -USDA grade A
  -USDA grade B
  -USDA grade C
  -no bearing on tenderness or flavor
  -grade based on: (shape of carcass,amount of flesh & fat,pinfeathers,skin tears,blemishes)

Classifications and market forms
Kind - species(chicken,turkey)
Class - the subdivision of kind
Style - amount of cleaning and processing (live,dressed)
State of refrigeration - chilled or frozen

Poultry
- the collective term for domesticated birds bred for eating. ( Chickens, Ducks,Geese,Turkey )

Chicken
→most popular and widely eaten
→contain white and dark meat
→any method of cooking
→available fresh and frozen
→poussin - special bird

Turkey
→the second most popular poultry in united states
→white and dark meat
→small amount of fat
→young turkey lends itself
→breasts can be cut into cutlets or scaloppine

Duck and Geese
→have dark meat only
→mostly in food operations
→high percentage of bone to fat to meat ratio
→large percentage of fat

Squab (Pigeon)
→dark meat and well suited for broiling,sauteing
→a little fat

Guineas
→flavorful chicken
→descendent of the pheasant
→domestically raised

Game Birds and Specialty Products
-Partridges
-Pheasant
-Wild duck
-Ostrich
-Emu

Ratites
-a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones.
-example; ostrich (native to africa)

Handling and Storing
-can be purchased in many forms; fresh,portioned controlled(PC),cut-up,frozen,individually quick frozen(IQF)
-perishable
-often bring salmonella bacteria
-hazardous food
-fresh chickens and small birds (stored on ice)
-do not refreeze poultry

Doneness
- cooked well done (except for squab and sauteed duck breast)
- there is difference between well done and overcooked

Dry-Heat cooking methods
 Broiling→Grilling→Roasting→Determining the doneness of poultry (touch,temperature,looseness of joints,color of the juices)