2.2: Identifying Poultry
- Page ID
- 21234
The USDA recognizes six categories or kinds of poultry: chicken, duck, goose, guinea, pigeon and turkey. Each kind of poultry is divided into classes based predominantly on the bird's age and tenderness. The sex of young birds is not significant for culinary purposes. It does matter, however, with older birds; older male birds are tough and stringy and have less flavor than older female birds. The previous table lists identifying characteristics and suggested cooking methods for each of the various kinds and classes of poultry.
CHICKEN
Chickens are medium-sized, chunky birds with an upright stance and characterized by fleshy red combs and wattles on their heads. Males, known as cocks, are usually larger, more boldly colored, and have more exaggerated plumage than females (hens). Chickens are gregarious, omnivorous, ground dwelling birds that in their natural surroundings search among the leaf litter for seeds, invertebrates, and other small animals. They seldom fly except as a result of perceived danger, preferring to run into the undergrowth if approached.
Today's domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is mainly descended from the wild red jungle fowl of Asia, with some additional input from grey junglefowl. Domestication is believed to have taken place between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago, and what are thought to be fossilized chicken bones have been found in northeastern China dated to around 5,400 BC. Archaeologists believe domestication was originally for the purpose of cockfighting, the male bird being a doughty fighter. By 4,000 years ago, chickens seem to have reached the Indus Valley and 250 years later, they arrived in Egypt. They were still used for fighting and were regarded as symbols of fertility. The Romans used them in divination, and the Egyptians made a breakthrough when they learned the difficult technique of artificial incubation. Since then, the keeping of chickens has spread around the world for the production of food with the domestic fowl being a valuable source of both eggs and meat.
Chicken is the most popular and widely eaten poultry in the world. It contains both light and dark meat and has relatively little fat. A young, tender chicken can be cooked by almost any method; an older bird is best stewed or braised. Chicken is extremely versatile and may be seasoned, stuffed, basted or garnished with almost anything. Chicken is in- expensive and readily available, fresh or frozen, in a variety of forms.
The French Poulet de Bresse is a special category of chicken, frequently touted, as the world’s finest. The only certified-origin chicken in the world, it is a blue-legged variety raised near the village of Bresse in southeastern Burgundy. These are free-range birds fed a special diet of milk products plus sweet corn and other grains. An identifying leg band is attached to each young chick, and authentic birds will be sold with the banded leg attached. They are available in the United States, at a premium price, from specialty food importers.
DUCK
Ducks are medium-sized aquatic birds with broad bills, eyes on the side of the head; long necks, short legs set far back on the body, and webbed feet. Males, known as drakes, are often larger than females (simply known as ducks) and are differently colored in some breeds. Domestic ducks are omnivores, eating a variety of animal and plant materials such as aquatic insects, worms, small amphibians, waterweeds, and grasses. They feed in shallow water by dabbling, with their heads underwater and their tails upended. Most domestic ducks are too heavy to fly, and they are social birds, preferring to live and move around together in groups. They keep their plumage waterproof by preening, a process that spreads the secretions of the preen gland over their feathers.
Pekin ducks
Clay models of ducks found in China dating back to 4000 BC may indicate the domestication of ducks took place there during the Yangshao culture. Even if this is not the case, domestication of the duck took place in the Far East at least 1500 years earlier than in the West. Lucius Columella, writing in the first century BC, advised those who sought to rear ducks to collect wildfowl eggs and put them under a broody hen, because when raised in this way, the ducks "lay aside their wild nature and without hesitation breed when shut up in the bird pen". Despite this, ducks did not appear in agricultural texts in Western Europe until about 810 AD, when they began to be mentioned alongside geese, chickens, and peafowl as being used for rental payments made by tenants to landowners. It is widely agreed that the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the ancestor of all breeds of domestic duck (with the exception of the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), which is not closely related to other ducks).
Ducks are farmed mainly for their meat, eggs, and down. As is the case with chickens, various breeds have been developed, selected for egg-laying ability, fast growth, and a well-covered carcass. The most common commercial breed in the United States is the Pekin duck, which can lay 200 eggs a year, and can reach a weight of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb.) in 44 days.
In the Western world, ducks are not as popular as chickens, because the latter produce larger quantities of white, lean meat and are easier to keep intensively, making the price of chicken meat lower than that of duck meat. While popular in haute cuisine, duck appears less frequently in the mass-market food industry. However, things are different in the East. Ducks are more popular there than chickens and are mostly still herded in the traditional way and selected for their ability to find sufficient food in harvested rice fields and other wet environments.
| Class | Description | Age | Weight | Cooking Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broiler/Fryer | Young bird with tender meat; a soft bill and windpipe | 8 weeks or less | 3 lb. 8 oz.-4 lb. (1.5-1.8 kg) | Roast at high temperature |
| Roaster | Young bird with tender meat; rich flavor; easily dented windpipe | 16 weeks or less | 4-6 lb. (1.8-2.5 kg) | Roast |
| Mature | Old bird with tough flesh; hard bill and windpipe | 6 months or older | 4-6 lb. (1.8-2.5 kg) | Braise |
The duck used most often in commercial food service operations is a roaster duckling. It contains only dark meat and large amounts of fat. In order to make the fatty skin palatable, it is important to render as much fat as possible. Duck has a high percentage of bone and fat to meat; for example, a 4-pound duck will serve only two people, while a 4-pound roasting chicken will serve four people.
- duckling a duck slaughtered before it is eight weeks old
- magret a duck breast, traditionally taken from the ducks that produce foie gras; it is usually served boneless but with the skin intact
GEESE
The greylag goose (Anser anser) was domesticated by the Egyptians at least 3000 years ago, and a different wild species, the swan goose (Anser cygnoides), domesticated in Siberia about a thousand years later, is known as a Chinese goose. The two hybridize with each other and the large knob at the base of the beak, a noticeable feature of the Chinese goose, is present to a varying extent in these hybrids. The hybrids are fertile and have resulted in several of the modern breeds. Despite their early domestication, geese have never gained the commercial importance of chickens and ducks.
Domestic geese are much larger than their wild counterparts are and tend to have thick necks, an upright posture, and large bodies with broad rear ends. The greylag-derived birds are large, fleshy, and used for meat, while the Chinese geese have smaller frames and are mainly used for egg production. The fine down of both is valued for use in pillows and padded garments. They forage on grass and weeds, supplementing this with small invertebrates and one of the attractions of rearing geese is their ability to grow and thrive on a grass-based system.
They are very gregarious with good memories and can be allowed to roam widely in the knowledge that they will return home by dusk. The Chinese goose is more aggressive and noisy than other geese and can be used as a guard animal to warn of intruders. The flesh of meat geese is dark-colored and high in protein, but they deposit fat subcutaneously, although this fat contains mostly monounsaturated fatty acids. The birds are killed either around 10 or about 24 weeks. Between these ages, problems with dressing the carcass occur because of the presence of developing pinfeathers.
In some countries, geese and ducks are force-fed to produce livers with an exceptionally high fat content for the production of foie gras. Over 75% of world production of this product occurs in France, with lesser industries in Hungary and Bulgaria and a growing production in China. Foie gras is considered a luxury in many parts of the world, but the process of feeding the birds in this way is banned in many countries on animal welfare grounds
A goose contains only dark meat and has very fatty skin. It is usually roasted at high temperatures to render the fat. Roasted goose is popular at holidays and is often served with an acidic fruit-based sauce to offset the fattiness.
| Class | Description | Age | Weight | Cooking Method | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young | Rich, tender dark meat with large amounts of fat | 6 months | 6 - 12 lb. | Roast high temp. | Use in acidic sauces |
| Mature | Tough flesh and hard windpipe | Over 6 months | 10 - 16 lbs. | Braise or stew | Stews |
GUINEA
Guinea fowl originated in southern Africa, and the species most often kept as poultry is the helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris). It is a medium-sized grey or speckled bird with a small naked head with colorful wattles and a knob on top, and was domesticated by the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Guinea fowl are hardy, sociable birds that subsist mainly on insects, but also consume grasses and seeds. They will keep a vegetable garden clear of pests and will eat the ticks that carry Lyme disease. They happily roost in trees and give a loud vocal warning of the approach of predators. Their flesh and eggs can be eaten in the same way as chickens, young birds being ready for the table at the age of about four months.
A squab is the name given to the young of domestic pigeons that are destined for the table. Like other domesticated pigeons, birds used for this purpose are descended from the rock pigeon (Columba livia). Special utility breeds with desirable characteristics are used. Two eggs are laid and incubated for about 17 days. When they hatch, the squabs are fed by both parents on "pigeon's milk", a thick secretion high in protein produced by the crop. Squabs grow rapidly, but are slow to fledge and are ready to leave the nest at 26 to 30 days weighing about 500 g (18 oz.). By this time, the adult pigeons will have laid and be incubating another pair of eggs and a prolific pair should produce two squabs every four weeks during a breeding season lasting several months.
A guinea or guinea fowl is the domesticated descendant of a game bird. It has both light and dark meat and a flavor similar to pheasant. Guinea is tender enough to sauté. Because it contains little fat, a guinea is usually barded prior to roasting. Guinea, which is relatively expensive, is not as popular here as it is in Europe.
TURKEY
Turkeys are large birds, their nearest relatives being the pheasant and the guineafowl. Males are larger than females and have spreading, fan-shaped tails and distinctive, fleshy wattles, called a ‘snood’ that hang from the top of the beak and are used in courtship display. Wild turkeys can fly, but seldom do so, preferring to run with a long, stratling gait. They roost in trees and forage on the ground, feeding on seeds, nuts, berries, grass, foliage, invertebrates, lizards, and small snakes.
The modern domesticated turkey is descended from one of six subspecies of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) found in the present Mexican states of Jalisco, Guerrero and Veracruz. Pre- Aztec tribes in south-central Mexico first domesticated the bird around 800 BC, and Pueblo Indians inhabiting the Colorado Plateau in the United States did likewise around 200 BC. They used the feathers for robes, blankets, and ceremonial purposes. More than 1,000 years later, they became an important food source.[29] The first Europeans to encounter the bird misidentified it as a guineafowl, a bird known as a "turkey fowl" at that time because it had been introduced into Europe via Turkey.
| Class | Description | Age | Weight | Cooking Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fryer/Roaster | Immature bird of either sex; tender meat, smooth skin | 16 weeks or less | 4-9 lb. (2-4 kg) | Roast, sauté, pan-fry |
| Young | Tender meat; less-flexible breastbone | 8 months or less | 8-22 lbs. (3.5-10 kg) | Roast or stew |
| Yearling | Fully mature bird; reasonably tender meat; course skin | 15 months or less | 10-30 lb. (4.5-13 kg) | Roast or stew |
| Mature | Older bird; course skin; tough flesh | 15 months or older | 10-30 lb. (4.5-13 kg) | Stew; ground processed products |
Commercial turkeys are usually reared indoors under controlled conditions. These are often large buildings, purpose-built to provide ventilation and low light intensities (this reduces the birds' activity and thereby increases the rate of weight gain). The lights can be switched on for 24- hrs/day, or a range of stepwise light regimens to encourage the birds to feed often and therefore grow rapidly. Females achieve slaughter weight at about 15 weeks of age and males at about 19. Mature commercial birds may be twice as heavy as their wild counterparts. Many different breeds have been developed, but the majority of commercial birds are white, as this improves the appearance of the dressed carcass, the pin feathers being less visible.[30] Turkeys were at one time mainly consumed on special occasions such as Christmas (10 million birds in the United Kingdom) or Thanksgiving (60 million birds in the United States). However, they are increasingly becoming part of the everyday diet in many parts of the world.
Turkey is the second most popular category of poultry in the United States. It has both light and dark meat and a relatively small amount of fat. Younger turkey is economical and can be prepared in almost any manner.
QUAIL
The quail is a small to medium-sized, cryptically colored bird. In its natural environment, it is found in bushy places, in rough grassland, among agricultural crops, and in other places with dense cover. It feeds on seeds, insects, and other small invertebrates. Being a largely ground- dwelling, gregarious bird, domestication of the quail was not difficult, although many of its wild instincts are retained in captivity. It was known to the Egyptians long before the arrival of chickens and was depicted in hieroglyphs from 2575 BC. It migrated across Egypt in vast flocks and the birds could sometimes be picked up off the ground by hand.[33] These were the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), but modern domesticated flocks are mostly of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) which was probably domesticated as early as the 11th century AD in Japan. They were originally kept as songbirds, and they are thought to have been regularly used in song contests.
In the early 20th century, Japanese breeders began to selectively breed for increased egg production. By 1940, the quail egg industry was flourishing, but the events of World War II led to the complete loss of quail lines bred for their song type, as well as almost all of those bred for egg production. After the war, the few surviving domesticated quail were used to rebuild the industry and all current commercial and laboratory lines are considered to have originated from this population.
Modern birds can lay upward of 300 eggs a year and countries such as Japan, India, China, Italy, Russia, and the United States have established commercial Japanese quail farming industries. Japanese quail are also used in biomedical research in fields such as genetics, embryology, nutrition, physiology, pathology, and toxicity studies. These quail are closely related to the common quail, and many young hybrid birds are released into the wild each year to replenish dwindling wild populations.
Livers, Gizzards, Hearts, and Necks
Livers, gizzards, hearts and necks are commonly referred to as giblets and can be used in a variety of ways.
Gizzards (a bird's second stomach), hearts and necks are often used to make giblet gravy. Gizzards are sometimes trimmed and deep-fried; hearts are sometimes served sautéed and creamed. Necks are very flavorful and can be added to stocks for flavor and richness. Liver hearts and gizzards are not added to stocks, however, because of their strong flavors. Chicken livers are often used in pates, sautéed or broiled with onions and served as an entree.
Foie Gras
Foie gras is the enlarged liver of a duck or goose. Considered a delicacy since Roman times, it is now produced in many parts of the world, including the United States. Foie gras is produced by methodically fattening the birds by force-feeding them specially prepared corn while limiting their activity. Fresh foie gras consists of two lobes that must be separated, split and deveined. Good foie gras will be smooth, round and putty-colored. It should not be yellow or grainy. Goose foie gras is lighter in color and more delicate in flavor than that of duck. Duck foie gras has a deeper, winy flavor and is more frequently used than goose foie gras. Fresh foie gras can be grilled, roasted, sautéed or made into pates or terrines. No matter which cooking method is used, care must be taken not to overcook the liver. Foie gras is so high in fat that overcooking will result in the liver actually melting away. Most foie gras is pasteurized or canned and may consist of solid liver or small pieces of liver compacted to form a block. Canned foie gras mousse is also available, often with truffles, which are a natural accompaniment.
Preparations
Generally, French preparations of foie gras are made over low heat, as fat melts faster from the traditional goose foie gras than the duck foie gras produced in most other parts of the world. American and other New World preparations, typically employing duck foie gras, have more recipes and dish preparations for serving foie gras hot, rather than cool or cold.
In Hungary, goose foie gras traditionally is fried in goose fat, which is then poured over the foie gras and left to cool; it is also eaten warm, after being fried or roasted, with some chefs smoking the foie gras over a cherry wood fire.
In other parts of the world, foie gras is served in dishes such as foie gras sushi rolls, in various forms of pasta or alongside steak tartare or atop a steak as a garnish.
Cold preparations
Traditional low-heat cooking methods result in terrines, pâtés, parfaits, foams and mousses of foie gras, often flavored with truffle, mushrooms or brandy such as cognac or Armagnac. These slow-cooked forms of foie gras are cooled and served at or below room temperature.
In a very traditional form of terrine, au torchon ("in a towel"), a whole lobe of foie is molded, wrapped in a towel and slow-cooked in a bain-marie. For added flavor (from the Maillard reaction), the liver may be seared briefly over a fire of grape vine clippings (sarments) before slow-cooking in a bain-marie; afterwards, it is pressed served cold, in slices.
Raw foie gras is also cured in salt ("cru au sel"), served slightly chilled
A pastry containing fatty goose liver and other ingredients is known as the "Strasburg pie" since Strasbourg was a major producer of foie gras. The pie is mentioned in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair as being popular with the diplomatic corps.
Hot preparations
Given the increased internationalization of cuisines and food supply, foie gras is increasingly found in hot preparations not only in the United States, but also in France and elsewhere. Duck foie gras ("foie gras de canard") has slightly lower fat content and is generally more suitable in texture to cooking at high temperature than is goose foie gras ("foie gras d'oie"), but chefs have been able to cook goose foie gras employing similar techniques developed for duck, albeit with more care.
Raw foie gras can be roasted, sautéed, pan-seared (poêlé) or (with care and attention), grilled. As foie gras has high fat content, contact with heat needs to be brief and therefore at high temperature, lest it burn or melt. Optimal structural integrity for searing requires the foie gras to be cut to a thickness between 15 and 25 mm (½ – 1 inch), resulting in a rare, uncooked center. Some chefs prefer not to devein the foie gras, as the veins can help preserve the integrity of the fatty liver. It is increasingly common to sear the foie gras on one side only, leaving the other side uncooked. Practitioners of molecular gastronomy such as Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck restaurant first flash-freeze foie gras in liquid nitrogen as part of the preparation process.
Hot foie gras requires minimal spices; typically black pepper, paprika (in Hungary) and salt. Chefs have used ‘fleur de sel’ as a gourmet seasoning for hot foie gras to add an "important textural accent" with its crunch.
Consumption
Foie gras is a regarded as a gourmet luxury dish. In France, it is mainly consumed on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year's Eve réveillon dinners, though the recent increased availability of foie gras has made it a less exceptional dish. In some areas of France foie gras is eaten year-round.Duck foie gras is the slightly cheaper and, since a change of production methods in the 1950s to battery, by far the most common kind, particularly in the US. The taste of duck foie gras is often referred to as musky with a subtle bitterness. Goose foie gras is known for being less gamey and smoother, with a more delicate flavor.