POULTRY

Poultry
The meat of all domesticated birds are termed as
“poultry” and chicken is the most poultry consumed. Other
species include turkeys, duck, pigeons and geese. They are
usually famous, as not only their meat is consumed but also
their eggs moreover;they are cheaper compared to pork and
beef.
CLASSIFICATION OF POULTRY
Chickens:Chickens sold on the market may be male or
female, and differ in the age at which they are slaughtered
and their weight. The younger chickens coming to market are
classed as broilers/fryers, roasters, capons, and cornish game
hens.

Type Breeds
Broiler Pure: Rhode Island, Barred
Plymouth Rock, Cornish Hybrid;
SASSO, HUBBARD-GRIMUAD
Layers Pure: leg horns (brown and
white), Rhode Island, Barred
Plymouth Rock, Sussex Hybrid;
Dominant, Dekalb Brown, Hy-
line Brown, Shaver Brown,
Bovans Brown, Lohmann Brown,
ISA Brown.
Native Chicken Paroakan, Banaba, Darag,
Joloanon, Camarines, Bolinao,
Boholano, Zampen

Source; Philippine National Standard for Free Range Chicken,

Bereau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (Kitchen and
Basic Food Preparation by Cornell, Daryl & Yao, Clair)

Broilers/Fryers: These are actually chickens slaughtered under

ten weeks of age and of either sex. They are used for broiling
and frying, as the names imply but they can also be used for
other types of cooking.
Roasters: These are the
chickens slaughtered at 9 to 11 weeks of age. They are older
and larger than broilers/fryers. Because of age, their
breastbone is less flexible due to calcification.
Capons: Capon are neutered male chickens that usually reach
the market under 4 months of age weight 12 to 14 pounds.
Cornish
Game Hens: Breeding of Cornish hen with other common breeds
such as White Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, or Barred Plymouth
Rock, results to Cornish game hens. They are slaughtered as 5
to 6 weeks. Their meat is always very tender.
Mature Chickens: Mature chickens are those slaughtered over 10
months of age. Example of mature female chicken are hens,
fowls, baking chickens or stewing chickens and mature male
chickens include cocks or roasters. Their meat is usually
tougher, skin is thicker and breastbone less flexible. Mature
chickens are best in stews, soups and other slow cooking
dishes.
Turkeys: Turkeys today are descendants of Meleagris
gallopavo. It is mostly us in Thanksgiving day of America,
making it the second most popular poultry meat in the U.S.A.
They can be classified into fryer- roasters, young hen and
toms.
Duck: Duck is the second largest poultry industry that
provides income to farmers through egg and meat production in
the Philippines. It is raised in the country for its products
such as balut (boiled embryonated egg) and salted egg. Breeds
of duck include Pekin duck, Muscovy duck, Indian runners,
Khaki Campbell and Moulard duck.
Other Poultry Product: Other birds such as guinea fowl, squab
(young pigeon), quail, and pheasant are also sometimes
consumed. Occasionally these birds may be served in
restaurants or special entrees. The immature version of these
birds is preferred for consumption.

COMPOSITION OF POULTRY
The composition of poultry (muscle tissue, connective tissue,
etc) is similar to meat (see previous chapter). Poultry such
as turkeys and chickens have both white and dark meat. This is
because of the presence of myoglobin in their muscle.
Myoglobin content contributes to lightness “white” and the
darkness of their meat.

The breast of domesticated chickens and turkeys are usually

considered as “white meat” because they do almost no flying
Wild birds such as ducks have darker.

Types of Styles of Poultry

The market present a number of different types and styles of
poultry. Fresh, frozen cooked, sliced, canned or dehydrated
are examples of types of poultry. Style describes if the
poultry is live, dressed and read-to-cook.

 Dressed: Poultry product that have blood and feathers but

removed craw. The craw is the pouch-like gullet of bird.

 Ready-to-cook: This are eviscerated poultry product.

They are free of blood, feathers, head and feet. It is
usually what is found in the supermarket.
 Convenience: For convenience, smaller pieces such as
halves, breasts, drumsticks, thighs, and wings of both
chicken and turkey are available.

Figure 8.1 Cuts of Chicken

Table 8.1 Cuts of Chicken

Whole Whole Chickens are marketed

Chickens either fresh or frozen.
Halves The bird is split from front
to back through the backbone
and keel to produced 2
 halves of approximately
equal weight.
Breast Quarters Halves may be further cut
into which include the wing.
A breast quarter, including
portions of the back, is all
white meat.
Split Breast A breast quarter with the
wing removed.
Split Breast without Back A breast quarter with wing
and back portion removed.
Boneless, Skinless Breast Split breast that has been
skinned and deboned.
8-piece cut The whole bird is cut into 2
breast halves with ribs and
back portion, 2 wings, 2
thighs with back portion and
2 drumsticks. The parts may
be packaged together and
labelled as whole cup-up
chicken. These usually sold
without giblets.
Whole chicken Wing The Whole Chicken Wing is an
all-white meat portion
composed of three sections;
the drumette, mid-section
and tip
Wing Drumettes The first section between
the shoulder and the elbow
Wing mid-section with tip The flat center section and
the flipper (wing tip)
Wing mid-section The section between the
elbow and the tip, sometimes
called the wing flat or mid-
joint.
Whole Chicken leg The whole chicken leg is the
drumstick-thigh combination.
The whole leg differs from
the leg quarter in that it
does not contain a portion
of the back
Boneless, skinless leg Whole chicken leg with skin
and bone removed.
Thigh The thigh is the portion of
the leg above the knee
joint.
Boneless, skinless thigh Thigh with skin and bone
removed.
Drumsticks Drumsticks include the lower
portion of the leg quarter
 (the portion between the
knee joint and the hock).
Giblets Includes heart, liver and
neck.