game dishes

Lesson Overview

• Lesson 2 focuses on preparing poultry and game dishes.

Learning Objective

• LO # 1: Perform Mise'en Place Selecting and Purchasing Poultry and Game

  • Poultry includes various fowl such as:

    • Chicken

    • Turkey

    • Duck

    • Pigeon

    • Quail

Classification of Poultry and Game

• Main poultry types and their uses:

  • Chicken: Meat, eggs

  • Duck: Meat, eggs, feathers

  • Turkey: Meat

  • Goose: Meat, feathers, eggs

  • Quail: Meat, eggs

  • Pigeon: Meat

  • Guinea Fowl: Meat

  • Wild Duck: Meat, feathers

  • Pheasant: Meat

Types of Chickens and Other Poultry

• Categories based on age, sex, and breed:

  1. Broiler or Fryer: Young, tender chicken (9-12 weeks).

  2. Roaster: Older chicken (5-6 months).

  3. Capon: Surgically desexed male chicken (under 8 months).

  4. Stag: Male chicken (under 10 months) with coarse skin.

  5. Hen or Stewing Chicken: Mature female chicken (>10 months).

  6. Cock or Rooster: Mature male chicken with toughened meat.

  7. Jumbo Broiler: Large chicken (approx. 4 kg) typically available during holidays.

Other Poultry Varieties

• Peking Duck: Noted for tender meat, originated from China.

• Duck (Itik): Popular dish in Rizal, often fried.

• Squab: Young pigeon with tender meat.

Selecting Good Quality Poultry and Game

• Types to consider:

  1. Live Poultry

  • Characteristics: clear eyes, soft feet, soft breast bone tips.

  2. Whole Poultry

  • Must have intact heads, feet, viscera; clean appearance.

  3. Dressed Poultry

  • Must be well-fleshed, smooth skin, no objectionable odor.

  4. Ready-to-Cook

  • Cut and marinated or seasoned poultry.

  5. Poultry Parts

  • Divided into dark (drumsticks, thighs) and white (breasts) meat, giblets included.

Nutritional Value of Poultry and Game

• Poultry is high in protein (e.g., chicken has 22.6% protein).

• Contains dark and white muscles:

  • Dark Muscles: Legs, thighs, wings; richer in fat and flavor.

  • White Muscles: Breast; less fat, often preferred for its lighter flavor.

• Variety Meats: Includes gizzard, heart, kidneys, liver.

Preparation of Poultry for Cooking

• Steps involved:

  1. Slaughter and Bleeding: Process of killing the animal.

  2. Scalding: Immerse in boiling water for skin removal.

  3. Defeathering: Removing feathers by plucking.

  4. Evisceration: Removal of internal organs.

  5. Deboning: Removing bones from meat.

Market Forms of Poultry

1. Live Poultry: Healthy and alert.

2. Whole Poultry: Criteria similar to live.

3. Dressed Poultry: Head, feet, blood, feathers, and organs removed.

4. Drawn Poultry: Chilled or frozen dressed poultry.

5. Ready-to-Cook: Packed poultry parts (wings, thighs etc.).

Different Cuts of Poultry

• Whole Chicken: Available fresh or frozen.

• Halves: Split from front to back.

• Breast Quarters: Includes wings; all white meat.

• Split Breast: Wing removed.

• Boneless, Skinless Breast: Skinned and deboned.

• 8-Piece Cut: Whole bird cut into multiple parts.

• Legs and Thighs: Separated as needed.

• Giblets: Includes heart, liver, neck.