POULTRY

Chef Devashish Pandey
Certified Culinary Instructor and
Master Culinary Trainer

POULTRY
Poultry is the collective term for domesticated birds which are farm
raised only for eating, e.g. chicken, duck, goose & turkey.
Poultry is cheapest among all meats, hence, all food outlets from
luxury hotels to restaurants & even cafeterias use chicken to feed.
Beside cost, it is also very popular among diet conscious people
because, they are lower in fat & cholesterol than other meats.
Poultry is such meat, which can be cooked by any method & its
mild flavor goes well with many sauces & accompaniments.
Before start cooking them, one should know well about the muscle
composition, classification of poultry, handling & storing methods.

MUSCLE COMPOSITION
Muscle tissue for poultry is similar to muscle of mammals or other
animals.
Poultry & meat-both are made up of 75% water, 20% protein, 5%
fat & other elements e.g. carbohydrates, minerals in small quantities.
Unlike red meat, poultry meat do not have Marbling (fat situated
between & within the muscles).
Instead, poultry fats are found just under the skin, inside the cavity
& near its tail, which can be easily removed, thus poultry is healthier.
Similar like mammals, poultry muscles especially which do much
hard work than other parts are tough e.g. Leg is tougher than breast

Most poultry have white /light pink flesh, thus they are known as
white meat, but few poultry have little darker flesh e.g. pigeon.
The flesh color depends on how much myoglobin pigment it
contains & that is decided by amount of hard work each bird does.
Chicken & Turkey generally do not fly or do not work hard much
thus they have little myoglobin & flesh color is lighter than Pigeon.
Dark meat also contain less fat & more connective tissue, hence
their cooking time is longer than white meat.
In the next slide will discuss about different classes of poultries
are available in the market.

CLASSIFICATION OF POULTRY
Unlike India, all foreign countries follow a classification based
on USDA (United States Dept Of Agriculture) opinion.
USDA classifies poultry into 6 categories, they are as follows
POULTRY
Chicken Duck Goose Guinea
Pigeon
Turkey
In India, Chicken, Duck, Goose & Turkey are only considered as
poultry; Pigeon, Guinea & all other birds are considered as game.
However each poultry category subdivided into different classes
based on bird’s age & tenderness.

CHICKEN
POUSSIN (Poos san)
Small chicken weigh around 400-450 grams; consumed within 5-6
weeks; very tender; good for roasting; also called spring chicken.
BROILER
Chicken weighing around 900 grams-1.5 kg; consumed between 6-12
weeks, they are hybrid chickens; they are farm raised only for meat.
Poussin
Broiler (farm raised) chicken

HEN
Mature female chicken aged between 10 months -1 year; having
weight between 1-1.5 kg; mainly raised at home for egg & meat
COCK
Mature male chicken of same age is known as cock; they are
mainly raised at home; they are also known as ‘Rooster’.
CAPON
It is a mature male cock, that has been castrated to improve the
quality of its flesh, but weighed between 1.5-3 kg.
Rooster

OTHER POULTRY
DUCK
Duck meat usually tougher than chicken.
They are best cooked by braising or roasting at slow temperature
TURKEY
This is the largest among all poultry.
This is usually roasted & eaten during Christmas
& New Year; in Hindi, it is called “chinai murghi”
GOOSE
It contains dark meat & has very fatty skin;
It is usually roasted & it’s lever used for making
Pate de foie gras (patay da fwa gra)

GAME
The word ‘Game’ means birds or animals which are hunted & killed
only for food or sports e.g. wild boar, venison (deer)
It was considered as basic staple for nomadic tribes for many
centuries; since then it has been a staple or remained as tradition.
The meat of the game animal is tough & have less fat because
these animals live wild & do lots of exercise to escape from opponent
The type of game found vary from country to country e.g. zebra,
bison are widely eaten in Africa, in India game hunting is banned.
Game is classified into following categories, they are discussed in
next slide.

CLASSIFICATION OF GAME
GAME
Furred Game Feathered Game
FURRED GAME
These are wild animals that have fur on them e.g. Deer, Wild
Boar, as well as smaller animals e.g. Hare, Rabbit, etc.
FEATHERED GAME
These are wild birds that have that have feather on them e.g.
Partridge, Pheasant, Ostrich, Quail.

PROCESSING STEPS RELATED TO POULTRY
SINGEING (sinjaying)
DRESSING THE BIRD
This refers to removing the skin of the bird for some preparation,
because, for many classical dishes, bird is cooked with skin also.
Once the bird is killed, after feathers are plucked,
still some small feathers will be stuck to the skin.
Singeing is a process to remove the excess
feathers by exposing the bird over an open flame.
Aging process for rabbits

TRUSSING
It is a process tying a whole chicken before roasting; if that need to
be served whole or carved in front of customer.
To truss a whole chicken, it’s legs & wings has to be tied with
thread such way, so that it keeps it’s shape during & after cooking
Tie both the legs with
thread
Tie the wings with
extended thread part
Then put a knot to
secure the thread

AGING ?
WHY AGING IS DONE ?
After a few hours of an animal’s death, the body joints harden &
become locked in places, that stage is known as Rigor Mortis.
The rigor mortis stage disappears after 2-3 days during aging
period; also produces well flavored & tender meat.
So aging is done to improve the tenderness & flesh quality.
It is a process of keeping the animal
after slaughtering in cold temperature
(18-20ºC) to tenderize meat.
The aging period can be for 2-3 days.

But, after slaughtering, if eaten immediately, we may feel like
having fresh meat, but it produces a hard & tasteless meat.
In India, we do not aged meat or buy aged meat, unlike foreign
countries, in India quality of meat are not judged before & after.
WHICH ARE THE ANIMALS AGED & WHICH ARE NOT?
Game (both birds & animals) & all domestic large animals e.g.
cow, lamb etc are aged, whereas, poultry birds are not aged.
It is because, all game stay wild & do lot of exercise to escape
from opponent attackers, hence their flesh is very tough.
Whereas, most poultry are farm raised & do not work hard, hence,
poultry flesh is naturally tender & do not require aging.

WHY GAME ARE AGED WITH THE SKIN ON?
All domestic animal such as cow, lamb etc after slaughtering,
when they are kept for aging, the skin is removed from the body.
But in case of game, when they are kept for aging, bacteria
attack easily & which does not happen in case of domestic animal
Hence leaving the skin or feather or fur on the body protect the
animal from bacterial contamination.
Aging process for rabbits

BUTECHERING METHOD FOR POULTRY & GAME
Unlike large animal, smaller game & poultry birds do not have such
complicated cuts & names.
Butchering methods for poultry & smaller game are almost same
except minor differences.
As we have discussed before, poultry is softer than all animals,
hence, all poultry cuts can be cooked by any methods.
But as game is tougher; they are mostly cooked by long moist heat
e.g. braising or stewing, hence game is usually cut into curry cuts.
It can also be roasted at slow temperature by barding or larding
the body to retain the moistness, as it has less fat than other animals

CUTTING METHOD FOR RABBIT
Remove the hind legs from back portion Remove the forelegs
Cut the entire body into pieces
after removing hind legs & forelegs Ready cut pieces of rabbit

DIFFERENT CUTS FOR POULTRY
Method of Cutting Chicken in Half

Method of Cutting Chicken into Curry Cuts / 8 pcs
Remove the leg from the
breast cutting through thigh
joint
Cut the breast into 2 halves
We now got 4 quarters from
a whole chicken
Now each individual leg is
cut into two halves
Now each individual breast
is cut into two halves
Thus we get 8 pcs from a
whole chicken

Method Of Preparing Supreme Cut From Breast

COOKING METHOD FOR POULTRY
As discussed before, as poultry birds are naturally tender, they
can be cooked by any methods (dry heat & moist heat).
DRY HEAT COOKING METHODS FOR POULTRY
Broiling & Grilling
Roasting
Sautéing
Pan Frying & Deep Frying
MOIST HEAT COOKING METHODS FOR POULTRY
Poaching
Braising & Stewing

BROILING & GRILLING
Broiled & grilled poultry should have a well browned surface &
should show crosshatched grill bar marks.
It should be tender, moist & juicy; it must be marinated before
cooking to improve flavors & also basted frequently during cooking
Marinate the chicken
pieces
Cook the chicken on
griller
Serve the cooked
chicken with sauce

ROASTING
A well roasted poultry has beautiful brown color on surface &
crispy skin, but inside is tender & juicy.
If the poultry is to be served whole or carved in front of guest,
then it must be trussed before roasting to retain it’s shape.
Place the marinated chicken on a
wire rack before putting in oven
Roasted chicken is ready to serve

PROCEDURE FOR CARVING A ROAST CHICKEN
Cut through leg joint with
the help of a carving fork
Remove the leg Hold the breast with fork &
cut through the wing joint
Remove the entire breast
portion
Entire chicken is now cut
into 4 quarters
Cut each quartered piece
into 2 parts to make 8 pcs

SAUTÉING
Sautéed poultry should be tender & juicy, it’s flavor develops by
browning the meat.
Additional flavor comes from a sauce made by deglazing the pan
with wine or stock.
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PAN FRYING
Pan fried poultry pieces must be coated with flour, that creates a
crispy golden brown surface & juicy flesh.
Dipping the chicken pieces into
milk; it can be beaten egg also
Passing them into seasoned flour;
it can be bread crumbs also
Add the flour coated chicken
into hot oil
Turning the chicken, so that it
cooks evenly

MOIST HEAT COOKING METHODS FOR POULTRY
POACHING
Poached poultry should be moist, tender; though cooked in
water, over cooking will cause tough flesh.
During cooking, poultry’s flavor is transferred to the cooking
liquid, which can be used to make sauce for finished product.
Arranging the
breast in a pan
Thickened with
roux & cream
Add stock, herbs &
spices to chicken
Plating the poached
chicken with sauce

BRAISING & STEWING
Braised & Stewed poultry should be moist & tender; the poultry
is always served with the liquid in which it was cooked.
Few examples of braised & stewed poultry dishes are; Chicken
Cacciatore, Coq Au Vin (COCK A VA), Chicken Fricassée.
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STORAGE OF POULTRY & GAME
Poultry is highly perishable, as it contains deadly salmonella
bacteria, only way to get rid of this the perfect temperature.
Fresh poultry must be stored at 0 - 4ºC in chiller & can be kept
at the same temperatures for up to 2 -3 days.
Frozen poultry is stored at -18ºC or below (the colder the better)
& can be kept for up to 6 months.
Frozen poultry should be thawed keeping them in refrigerator.
Never cook the poultry that is still frozen; it will be impossible to
cook the product evenly & also may not destroy the bacteria.

HOW TO CHECK MEAT IS COOKED
4 methods are used to find out whether the meat is cooked or not
1.TOUCH & PRESS
A very undercooked flesh will feel mushy & have finger print on the
flesh.
Slightly underdone flesh will feel spongy & will not spring back
when your finger is removed
Properly cooked flesh will feel firm to the touch & will spring back
but slowly when finger is removed.
Overcooked flesh will feel very hard & will spring back quickly
when finger is removed.
Checking the doneness of
meat by pressing with finger

2. CHECKING DONENESS BY MEAT THERMOMETER
Insert the thermometer in thickest part of the flesh, internal temp
should be 74ºC-80ºC, it indicates, the flesh is properly cooked.
3. LOOSENESSOF THE JOINTS
When the poultry with bone is properly cooked, bone will start
releasing flesh, that indicates the flesh is cooked.
4. COLOR OF JUICES
When the flesh is cooked, it will release clear juice on skewering on
joint part; if it remains partially raw, it will release pink colored juice.