Poultry

             Poultry, which includes turkey, chicken, duck, goose and Rock Cornish hens are now plentiful (fresh or frozen) the year round-and in a form to meet the needs of every cook. Birds range from 1-pound Rock Cornish game hens to massive turkeys weighing 25 pounds and more. There is also a wide choice of “parts- halves, quarters, breasts, legs, thighs, and drumsticks- and boneless roasts, or ground meat. In the case of long-roasting turkeys, some need little watching since they are now available pre-basted, injected with fat to keep them moist.

            Holidays and festivals are traditionally celebrated with a roast bird, but poultry is equally at home fried or combined with other flavours to make excitingly different dishes for more formal occasions. When it comes to cooking, then there are few meats to match poultry for versatility. Poultry is also one of the most economical sources of high-quality protein and serving for serving, chicken and turkey are actually lower in calories than most other meat.

  Young poultry has tender meat and can be successfully broiled, barbecued, or fried. Older or mature birds are more richly flavoured, and nutritious, but the meat is less tender and should be tenderized by braising or stewing. 

----Chicken----

                   Chicken is the ever popular fowl. In the early days of the automobile, back when people still had pride in who and what they were, when family still meant something, when we still raised their own children, and picnics were more beloved than today, Mother spent hours preceding the event disjointing and frying several birds.(of course there had to be a drumstick for every child). Then, when the golden-brown pieces were cool, she carefully wrapped each in waxed paper, ready for the picnic hamper. There are some nostalgic people who say these were the best of times and that this was chicken was chicken at its finest. But this last remark deprecates the wonderful old-fashioned Sunday dinner of roasted, stuffed chicken served with creamed pearl onions, creamy mashed potatoes, diced turnip, cranberry sauce, and fresh hot rolls dripping with butter. In the rush-rush of recent years it's become the fashion to cook small frying size (now sometimes referred to as broilers-witch would be ROASTING) chicken on the spit or to broil it on a grill. The results may be adequate for some people, but there are many, many methods (some 400) of preparing this delicate flesh that shouldn’t be neglected, and these do not include another multitude of recipes from Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, and American cuisines. Chicken lends itself to a wide choice of seasonings, flavourings, sauces, and accompaniments.

            The next time you find yourself wondering what to serve, try chicken, and try it a different way. The possibilities are almost endless

----Types of Chicken on the Market----

            As shown previously, several types of chicken are available on today’s market where fresh birds are now dressed by producers and cooled.

            The old-fashioned free range bird is again becoming very popular. Unfortunately, because they take longer to mature to market size and are thus more expensive to raise, and also, because fast food chains make less profit, the better meat birds such as the multi-purpose Rhode Island Red, and Plymouth Rock, or the true roasting chickens such as the Brahma, are yet to enjoy this resurgence in popularity which they so richly deserve. Because of the meat to bone ratio, an eight pound roasting chicken will feed more people than a ten pound turkey.

             Another type is graded for feeding which makes meat tenderer and of a uniform texture, but with inferior flavour.

            The dressed birds are again graded for size and quality, packed in boxes, and frozen hard to preserve the freshness. Before being frozen the birds are fully drawn and cleaned, ready to be cooked. The birds are wrapped and may be kept in the home refrigerator until used. Some giblets are usually wrapped separately and placed inside the body cavity Frozen poultry should be thawed only enough so the giblets can be removed.

            Prepare the chicken for roasting while still in the frozen or semi-frozen state. Fresh poultry should not be kept long uncooked.

            In markets today, many chickens are disjointed and the pieces sold separately (at a higher price). Halved or quartered chickens may also be purchased. Chicken feet are often sold and may be scalded, skinned and used for making soup, bouillon, or clear gelatine, for aspic and poultry mouse.

----Selection of Chicken----

        Chicken should be plump, with smooth, soft legs and smooth, moist skin. The lower end of the breastbone should be flexible, the skin should be easily broken when twisted, and the joint of the wing should yield readily when turned backward.

            Birds with a yellow skin are likely to be plump; those with white skins are likely to be tender (usually caged and force fed). Bruised, dry, or purplish skin is an indication of careless dressing and of age. Hard dry, scaly legs, hard breastbone, and the presence of long hairs are all signs of an old and less-tender bird.

----To Stuff Chickens or Poultry----

            Loosen breast skin at the neck from meat with the handle of a spoon and cover meat with a thin layer of stuffing. This helps to keep the breast meat moist. Fold the neck skin over back. Place remaining stuffing in body cavity lightly allowing room for expansion. Place steel pins or toothpicks across the opening. At regular intervals and lace cord around the pins to bring edges of skin together.

----To Truss----

            Insert trussing needle with cord through the body below the knee joint at base of thighs and pull cord through. Continue cord across back and pull through triangular opening made by folding wing tips up and over back. Tie tightly to hold wings close to body. Tuck end of neck skin under cord and between wings. Using another piece of cord, insert needle through legs near end of drumstick and draw cord around tailpiece, tying legs down close to body. A skewer may be inserted through body under legs as an aid in tying legs close to body. After roasting, remove pins and cord before bringing to table to serve.

            If the chicken or other poultry has little fat, if should either be larded with thin strips of salt pork or bacon laid across the breast, or covered with a cloth dipped into melted fat, being sure breast, wings and legs are well covered. Remove cloth during last 1/2 hour for additional browning. To prevent the ends of the legs burning, wind them with strips of cloth which have been dipped into melted fat.
©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan 1995. All rights reserved