(Helpful Chicken Tips )

Few foods are better choice for everyday cooking than versatile chicken—good for almost every type of cooking—economical and readily available. Here are some helpful tips for selecting and preparing chicken.

(Types of Chicken)

Poultry are classified by age and weight. Young birds are tender and cook quickly; older birds need slow cooking to tenderize them. Broiler – fryers are young birds, 7 to 10 weeks old, weight 1 ½ to 3 ½ pounds. The meat is tender, mildly flavored and best when broiled, fried, and roasted or sautéed. Roasters are 16 weeks old and weight 4 to 6 pounds. They are perfect for roasting and rotisserie cooking. Capons are young castrated roosters, weighing 5 to 7 pounds. They yield more meat, have a higher fat content and a richer flavor than roasters. Stew hens are 1 to 1 ½ years old, weight 4 ½ to 7 pounds and have tough, stringy meat. Stewing hens are excellent for stocks, soups or stew, since moist-heat preparation tenderizes them and enhances their flavor.

(What’s Available)

Supermarkets carry a wide variety of poultry cuts and products. Following are the most popular choices: Whole birds are readily available and usually have neck and giblets wrapped separately and stuffed inside. Cut-up birds, usually broiler-fryers, are disjointed whole birds consisting of two breast halves, two thighs, two wings and two drumsticks. Small broiler-fryers also come in halves and quarters. Poultry pieces are available to suit many needs. Legs are whole broiler-fryer legs with the thigh and drumstick attached. Thighs and drumsticks are cut-apart legs that are packaged separately. Wings are also sold separately. Drumettes are disjointed wing sections. Breast, popular because of their tender, meaty, sweet character, are available whole or split into halves. Boneless skinless breasts, which is convenient and quick-cooking, is great for today’s busy cook. Boneless breast, also called cutlets or supremes, chicken tenders and boneless thighs are some of the boneless cuts available. Ground poultry is popular as a low-fat replacement for ground beef or pork. Processed poultry includes canned chunks, sausage, franks and traditional deli and luncheon meats.

(Storing Chicken)

Fresh, raw Poultry can be stored in its original wrap safely for up to two days in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Poultry can be frozen safely for up to two months. For longer freezing, rewrap the chicken with plastic wrap for an airtight package, then label, date and freeze. Store Poultry in smaller, meal-size portions to reduce thawing time. Thaw frozen Poultry, wrapped, in the refrigerator. Thawing times vary depending on size of chicken pieces and package. A general guideline is to allow 24 hours thawing for a 5 pound whole bird; allow about 5 hours per pound for thawing poultry pieces. Never thaw poultry at room temperature as this promotes bacterial growth.

(Chicken Preparation Tips)

Before working with raw poultry, cutting board, utensils and hands should be clean. After working with raw poultry, wash cutting boards, knives and hands in hot sudsy water. This eliminates the risk of contaminating other foods with salmonella bacteria that is often present in raw poultry. Poultry should always be cooked completely before eating. You should never cook poultry partially, and then store it to be finished later, since this promotes bacterial growth. Broil bird 5 to 6 inches from heat and serve immediately for best results. To easily cook poultry for use in recipes that call for chopped cooked chicken, microwave 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, covered, at HIGH (100% power) 7 to 8 minutes. If poultry is still pink, microwave at 1 minute intervals until it is no longer pink in center. Never let cooked poultry stand at room temperature for more than two hours. In hot weather, reduce the time to one hour. About 1 ¼ pounds of breast meat or a 3 pound broiler-fryer yields about 2 cups chopped cooked chicken.

(Doneness Tests for Chicken)

Following are several ways to determine if Poultry is thoroughly cooked and ready to eat: For whole birds, a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, but not near the bone or fat, should register 180*F to 185*F before removing the bird from the oven. If a whole bird is stuffed, insert the thermometer into the center of the body cavity; when the stuffing registers 165*F, the bird should be done. (Chicken should be stuffed just before roasting.) Roasted whole breast are done when they register 170*F on a meat thermometer. To test bone in pieces, a fork inserted into the bird should go in with ease and the juices should run clear. The meat and juices nearest the bone may still be a little pink even though the bird is cooked thoroughly. Boneless pieces are done when the center are no longer pink; test this by cutting into with a knife.

(Don’t crowd when browning)

To brown, use a pan large enough to hold all the pieces with at least half an inch frying pan or pot. When it is crowded, the heat drops, and the pieces stew rather than brown. If your pan isn’t wide enough, brown the pieces in two batches.

(Oven Fried)

Fry to a uniformly golden brown, than transfer to baking pan and cover; bake in oven of 350*F for one hour or until tender. Uncover last 5 – 10 minutes.

(Avoid cooking poultry too long)

Perfectly cooked poultry is juicy, tender, and tempting. Unfortunately, once overcooked, it’s tough and dry. The breast is particularly susceptible to overcooking, not to mention diced chicken or turkey. Breast: Nothing beats boneless, skinless breasts for fast cooking. So I have loads of recipes for you in this website, most of which require only 10 minutes cooking time. Don’t allow the breast to overcook. Without the protection of the bone, they quickly become dry and disappointing. Turkey Cutlets: Cut from the breast, these are usually about one quarter-inch thick. Cooking takes 1 to 2 minutes per side at the most (rarely longer than 3 minutes total). If you cook them longer, they will be dry. We know it’s hard to make yourself cutlet out of the pan almost as soon as you put it in, but trust me, you’ll be glad you did. Diced Poultry: Small pieces of chicken or turkey can turn into hard little balls in a flash. Simmer or poach diced poultry at a low temperature. Never allow the liquid to boil, which makes the meat fibrous and dry.

(Yellow-Skinned Poultry)

Some varieties of supermarket poultry have a yellow tint to their skin, which is a result of the bird’s feed. I have found that the color doesn’t affect flavor, but the golden-hued poultry does seem to brown better than its fair-skinned counterpart.

Golden-Brown Skin

If you’re nearing the end of the roasting time and your chicken as brown as you’d like, slide it under the broiler for the last few minutes of cooking. The skin should crisp right up.

Quick-kitchen method for carving chicken

To cut up a roast quickly, use primarily your hands and a pair of kitchen scissors. Breast: Start with a knife. Cut along one side of the breast bone and then slide the knife blade along the bone, cutting the meat off the bone as you go. After that use scissors. Break the wing joint attached to the bird and cut through it so that the wing stays attached to the breast meat. Cut the breast in half crosswise. Do the same with the other breast. Legs: Bend each leg back exposing the joint. Break the joint and cut through it and along the backbone to release the leg from the carcass. Cut it into drumstick and thigh.

Helpful Roast Chicken Chart

(Poultry from around the world)

Occasionally, in the Italian countryside, you may still catch a glimpse of a pheasants with its beautiful plumage and the long tail feathers. Cock pheasants have bright, iridescent blue and green feathers, while hens are browner and less dramatic looking. Pheasant farming is still unknown in Italy, and while pheasants are something of a rarity, so they are regarded as a luxury. They are not hung, but are eaten almost as soon as they are shot, so their labor is less gamy than in some other countries. Although pheasants are expensive, they are meeting meaty birds for their size, so a cock pheasant will feed 3 to 4 people and a hen pheasant 2 to 3.

Hen pheasants are smaller than Cocks, but meat is juicier and the flavor is finer. Young hen pheasants can be roasted with or without a stuffing, but cock birds are more suitable for casseroles. Pheasant breast can tend to be dry, so it should be well wrapped with bacon or thickly smeared with butter before roasting. A big pat of butter place inside the cavity will help to keep the flesh moist. For special occasions, pheasants can be stuffed with canned fruits or pomegranate seeds and nuts. Pheasant breasts can be sautéed and served with a wine or balsamic vinegar sauce, but they can sometimes be rather dry.

(Quail)

These small migratory birds are found in the southern part of Europe during the summer months. Wild quails have the reputation of being so stupid that they never run away from hunters, but stay rooted to the spot as sitting targets. As a result, they have become a very rare, and most of the birds now available are farmed. They are very small (you need to serve one person) and have a delicate, subtly gamy flavor. Farmed quails have less flavor than the wild birds and the benefit from adding flavorings, such as grapes.

(Guinea Fowl)

Guinea fowl are extremely decorative birds with luxuriant gray and white spotted plumage. They are originally from West Africa, but now are farmed all over Europe, so that although they are technically game, they are classified as poultry. They taste similar to chicken, but have a firmer texture and a more robust flavor.

Guinea fowl are hugely popular in Italy, where they are served in much the same ways as chicken. The flesh of an adult guinea fowl is firmer than that of a chicken, so it is best to wrap it or cover the breast with bacon slices before roasting. The breasts are sometimes sautéed and served with the pan juices mixed with balsamic vinegar, or with a sauce of cream and Marsala. The birds can be roasted or pot roasted whole, or cut into serving pieces and put into a casserole with mushrooms (wild mushrooms are especially delicious) or herbs. A favorite autumn dish in Tuscany is guinea fowl braised with chestnuts.

(Duck)

You can find duck frozen in your local market. The popular roasting size is 4 to 7 pounds. If you can find fresh duck a simple test can be used in buying fresh duck is to pinch the windpipe. If robbery, it is a young bird; if it cracks, it is too old. If you buy it frozen make sure you buy far enough in advance to allow to thaw overnight or up to 1 1/2 days in the refrigerator; or allowing 5 1/2 hours at room temperature; or 2 to 3 hours in a pan of cold water with slow stream of cold water running over it. Ducks have more fat than chicken, meat is all dark, and there is a little bit of flesh from bones. For example, a 4 pound bird serves about four people.

Helpful Duck Roasting Chart

(Goose)

When buying goose you will want to also pinch the windpipe if it is robbery it is a young bird, if it cracks it is too old to roast. Popular roasting sizes are eight to fourteen pounds. When trussing the legs and wings of a goose is often too small to truss. So loop a cord around her leg ends, and tie 3 inches to 4 inches apart. Then the bird is ready to roast. To test for doneness, shortly before goose is to be done, grasp end of the leg bone. If thigh joint moves easily the bird is done. Also drumstick meat will be very soft when pressed between fingers. Do not pierce the meat with a fork.

Helpful Goose Roasting Chart

(Turkey)

When it comes to buying frozen turkey make sure that you buy it far enough in advance to allow about six hours per pound to thaw in refrigerator or let it stand in a pan of cold water with slow stream of cold water running over it for three hours, then completely thawing the bird in the refrigerator for 12 to 20 hours. When it comes to buying a fresh bird choose one was clean waxy skin and few pinfeathers, also no discoloration, and well fleshed breast and legs. Most turkeys are already cleaned and drawn, but if that is not the case make sure to have the bird drawn, with giblets cleaned, and with neck cut off close to the body. Have the neck skin left intact for stuffing. When stuffing a turkey it is best before roasting or several hours in advance. Make sure to cool the stuffing before placing in the bird. Refrigerate as soon as stuffed.

Helpful Turkey Roasting Chart