Transcript Poultry Selection and Storage

FACS Standards 8.5.1, 8.5.2, 8.5.3, 8.5.4, 8.5.5, 8.5.6, 8.5.7
Kowtaluk, Helen and Orphanos Kopan, Alice. Food For Today. McGraw Hill-Glencoe. 2004.
Types of Poultry
Chicken
Light and dark meat; light meat leaner
and milder flavor
 Bird’s age determines tenderness and
cooking method to use
 Broiler-fryer – most tender and most
common; cook by any method
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Roaster – raised to be roasted whole;
slightly larger and older than broiler-fryer;
yields more meat per pound
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Stewing Chicken – older, mature bird; less
tender; must be cooked in moist heat
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Rock Cornish game hens – young, small
chickens of a special breed; less meat
than other chickens; one hen per serving;
can be broiled or roasted
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Capons – desexed roosters under 10
months old; tender, flavorful; best when
roasted
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May be labels fresh or frozen
Fresh – never been stored below 26oF
Frozen – chilled to below 0oF
Turkey
Larger than chickens; stronger flavor
Light meat is leaner, more tender, milder
flavor
 Several choices when purchasing a whole
bird – differ mainly in size
 All suitable for roasting – most common
method for cooking
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Beltsville or fryer-roaster – smallest with
average weight between 5 and 9 pounds;
not always available
 Hen turkeys – female; weigh between 8
and 16 pounds
 Tom turkeys – male; weigh up to 24
pounds
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Whole turkeys sold fresh or frozen
Also buy turkey parts – drumsticks,
thighs, wings
 Turkey breast sold bone-in, boneless, cut
into tenderloins and cutlets
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Ducks and Geese
All dark meat; very flavorful; relatively
high in fat
 Usually only whole, frozen ducks and
geese sold
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Ground Poultry
Can find ground chicken and turkey
If labeled “ground turkey breast” or
“ground chicken”, both the flesh and skin
were used
 “ground turkey breast meat” or “ground
chicken meat” – ground without the skin
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Ground chicken and ground turkey can be
used in place of ground beef, but is a
drier, blander product
Giblets
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Liver, gizzard (stomach), and heart
Processed Poultry
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Turkey processed into ham and bacon
Turkey and chicken processed into
frankfurters and other types of sausages
Inspection and Grading
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Inspected and graded by the USDA
Grading – voluntary as with meat
Marks on label or on wing tag
Grade A most common in supermarkets –
practically free of defects, has good shape
and appearance, meaty
Buying and Storing
Look for plump, meaty bird
Skin should be smooth and soft
Color may vary from creamy white to
yellow, depending on food eaten by bird
 Use poultry within 1-2 days in refrigerator
 For longer storage, freeze
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