MEAT & POULTRY

                                                         MEAT & POULTRY

Excerpts from Book: 

"Principles of Food Production Operations".

Introduction

Meat is the muscle tissue or simply a flesh of animal domesticated by human beings like cattle, hog, sheep etc. or flesh of wild animal hunted such as deer.It is a general term widely used for the flesh consumed by human beings; be it of animal, poultry or game birds etc. It not only includes the muscle tissue but it even covers the internal organ meats such as liver, kidney, tongue, intestine, brains etc.

The term meat is closely associated with the term mate, meaning friend with whom you share the food. In earlier context, the term meat means in general, the solid food and not the beverages.

 

During the periods of antiquity, our ancestors relied heavily and survived on plants foods about twenty lakhs years ago. But the decreasing vegetation during that time, forced then to scavenge the animal carcasses and obtain their nourishment. Animal muscle tissues being the richest source of proteins, the energy obtained from them helped hominids to get transformed into human beings with larger brains.In order to consume meat and survive easily, people in early ages hunted animals, tamed wild animals so that they can be a part of their diet whenever required.

Thus, meat became the reason for the survivals of the human beings and one of the most nutritive foods in today’s scenario.

 

Composition of Meat

The meat (muscle tissue) consistslargely of three basic components: Water, Protein and Fat.

Water: Water in the muscle tissue has the largest composition and is about 75% of the muscle tissue. Due to such large percentage of water in muscle tissue, the meat observes shrinkage when cooked and too much cooking makes the meat much drier.

Protein: Protein essential to all living cells is about 25% of the muscle tissue.

The proteins in meat are further classified as:

·         Myofibrillar Proteins: This is the most abundant proteins which includes actin and myosin, both associated with motion. It is related with relaxing and contracting of muscle.

·         Stromal Proteins: Also referred as connective tissues, it appears in muscles as collagen, elastin and in very small amount as reticulin.It basically connects individual cells and tissues to each other, and is thus associated with coordinating their actions.

o   Collagen: It is white, thin and transparent connective filament mostly found concentrated in skins, tendons and bones. It is one-third the entire protein in animal. When cooked, it gets converted into sticky gelatin thus becoming softer. Moist heat cooking methods is the most preferred method as compared to dry cooking methods to cook the collagen.

o   Elastin: It is tough and has stretchiness and is usually referred as ‘yellow’ connective tissue. It is mostly found in blood vessel walls and ligaments. It cannot be broken down with any amount of heat. Though less in quantity, it should be removed prior to cooking.

o   Reticulin: It also remains very tough inspite of very long cooking and doesn’t soften like collagen.

·         Sarcoplasmic Proteins:Referred as water-soluble proteins; it includes hemoglobin and myoglobin. Such proteins are enriched with color pigments that render red color to the meat and have a wide variety of enzymes that contribute to the ageing process. The red color of the meat is directly proportional to the myoglobin content of the meat and hence the pork and lamb with less myoglobin have pink color, whereas beef high in myoglobin is red colored meat.

Fat:The muscle tissue consists of 3% to 5% fat. The fat cells are positioned among the fibers and connective tissue and it stores the energy for the muscle fibers. The fat content may vary from animal to animal as the fat surrounding the muscles in beef may have around 30% of fat content.

Fat are of three types:

·         Subcutaneous fat: Fat below the skin (epidermis), but surrounding the muscles.

·         Intramuscular fat: Fat that is found in-between various muscles.

·         Intermuscular fat: Fat that is interspersed inside the muscle (marbling).

Fat tissues are positioned in three different parts of the body; just under the skin providing insulation and energy; in well-defined area of body cavity mostly around kidneys, intestine and heart; and lastly in the connective tissue separating muscles and bundles within muscles.

Fat is essential for three chief reasons:

Juiciness: Marbling is the deposition of fat in the form of tiny particles in muscles tissue. This deposition is found in finest meat quality and this contributes to the juiciness of the meat. It is a misconception by few that the juiciness in meat is due to moisture content. Surface fat in meat protects meat from drying out during cooking and storage as well.

Tenderness: On heating, fat melts and contributes to the apparent tenderness of the meat. It doesn’t get stiff as fibers do on heating, thus imparting desired tenderness.

Flavour: The content in fat tissues imparts distinctive and peculiar flavour to the meat tissues. The fat tissues are itself made of several dif­ferent kinds of aroma molecules, which enriches meat with flavour and aromas.

Carbohydrate: Present in insignificant amount in meat tissues, but then to plays an important role in browning of meat during roasting, broiling or sautéing and hence it cannot be ignored.It is this carbohydrate, which plays a role in Maillard reaction, leading to desirable browning of meat.

 

Structure of Meat

The meat carcasses of any animal comprises chiefly of edible muscle tissue, fat tissue, connective tissue and bones. The meat carcass is further sub-divided into large cuts referred as primal cuts, which is further cut into small cuts called sub-primal cuts. The sub-primal cuts are cut to produce fabricated cuts as per the need and the dish. Primal cuts are seldom cooked whereas sub-primal cuts and fabricated cuts are mostly cooked.

Muscle Tissues or Fibers: It is the component which renders the meat its characteristics. It is divided into three muscles: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and smooth muscle.

Skeletal muscle –The skeletal muscle is chiefly made of muscle fibers and is responsible for overall weight of carcass. The muscles are interlaced with fibrous convective tissue known as muscle sheath and fat. The long muscle fibers with much movement yield less tender meat whereas smaller muscles with less contribution in movement yield tenderer meat.

Cardiac muscle – The muscle related to animal’s heart.

Smooth muscle – They are those found in animal’s stomach, reproductive organs and circulatory system.

Fat Tissue: Also referred as adipose tissue is the tissue where fat is accumulated and stored.The fat is heavily dependent on the feed, age or body movement of the animal. The fat deposition increases in the body with ageof the animal.

Connective Tissues: Basically the network of protein which bounds the muscle tissue. Connective tissue acts the sheath for each muscle fiber. The concentration of connective tissue is highest in meat if they are obtained from the muscles that are more in motion or movement. The breakdown of connective tissue is easier in animals of less age and as the animal ages its breakdown becomes harder. Collagen, elastin and reticulin are all connective tissues.

Bone Tissues:It primarily comprises of bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilages of the animal. Bones are the chief ingredient in preparing stock whereas ligaments, tendons and cartilages are rarely used.

 

Processing of Meat

The slaughtering of an animal is associated with several steps that facilitate the processing of meat. First the animals to be slaughtered is examined and made sure that the animal is not diseased. Then the animal is kept on starvation for next 24 hours and fed with lots of drinking water to clean their intestines and remove any feces.The animals are then cleaned and sanitized and prepared for further steps.

Stunning: It is a process which makes the animal unconscious, so that they do not feel the pain during slaughtering.The process of stunning has been changing with the passage of time. In earlier days, the animals were knocked down with heavy hammer on head so that they get unconscious. This method was replaced with shooting the animal with a captive bolt of pistol, on the front head between the eyes. In current days, the animals are treated with electric tongs passing electric shock behind the ear to make them unconscious. This is most common and popular method these days.

Slaughtering: This is the step followed just after the stunning in which the jugular vein (blood vessel in the neck) is cut. Due to stunning, the blood pressure of the animal increases allowing maximum blood to flow from the jugular veins of the animal. Maximum blood is allowed to flow from the animal and for this the animals are hung on hooks with the head facing down, allowing entire blood to drain out of the animal.

Meat Ageing: The slaughtered meat carcass must be aged to develop the tenderness in meat.The muscles of animal during slaughtering are soft. As soon as the animal is slaughtered, the rigor mortissets in leading to contracting and stiffening of muscles. Under refrigeration, the rigor mortis scatter and spread out within next 48- 72 hours. The rigor mortis is allowed to spread completely and hence all the meats are allowed to rest or age. The meat which is not allowed to rest for rigor mortis to set in or which has been frozen during this period has been referred as term “green meats”.

The meat without rigor mortis is found very tough and flavourless, when cooked. The ageing or resting contributes to tenderness of meat as marbling in meat only accounts for just 5% of tenderness.

The period after the meat is slaughtered and transported to food preparation area acts as initial ageing period. Beef and lamb are aged for longer period of time for tendering whereas pork is never aged as its fat content turns rancid. Veal is also not aged as it doesn’t have enough fat to protect it during ageing period.

The meat ageing are of two types: Wet ageing and Dry ageing.

Wet Ageing: The meats before being cut are packaged and shipped in vacuum-sealed plastic packages. It is stored in vacuum-sealed plastic bags for next 6 weeks under refrigeration to facilitate the easy break down of connective tissue Wet ageing results in loss of 1% - 2% of yield loss.

Dry Ageing: It is process in which the fresh meats are hanged for about 4 weeks under controlled temperature, humidity and air flow to facilitate the easy break down of connective tissues by natural enzymes and micro-organism present in it. Dry ageing results in loss of 5% -20% of yield loss through moisture evaporation.

Meat Classification

Meat is basically a term used for the flesh of several animals, classified under distinct headings. Majorly, the meat can be classified or grouped under three types:

Bovines: Group related to the wild or domesticated cattle and it includes buffalo, ox, cow, bison (American buffalo) etc.

Ovines: Group related to or pertaining to the nature of the sheep and it includes sheep, goat, etc.

Swines: Group related to pig family and it includes pig, wild boars, hogs etc.

 

Depending upon the segregation of animal groups, the meats are classified as under:

Beef: Meat from cow, buffalo, ox, etc.

Lamb: Meat from sheep, goat, etc.

Pork: Meat from pig.

Poultry: Meat from chicken, ducks, goose, turkey, etc.

Game: Meat from the animal or birds hunted for food such as deer, rabbit, quail, pheasant, partridge etc.

 

Beef

Beef is essentially the meat of the wild or domesticated cattle.The beef carcass is huge and hence it is cut down to smaller cuts referred as ‘retail cuts’.The beef meat is bright red in color due to high content of myoglobin.

The meat obtained from the young animal is tenderer as compared to the meat of the older animal.The muscles which are less exercised contain less connective tissue and hence they are much tenderer and they come primarily from the middle section of the animal. On the other hand, the muscles exercised heavily are developed with more connective tissue and hence they are less tender and they are primarily obtained from the front and hind section of the animal.

The cooking methods of beef are categorized majorly as dry heat methods and moist heat methods. Dry heat methods are preferably used for cooking tender cuts of beef whereas moist heat methods are used for less tender cuts of beef.

It is assumed that the term “beef” was introduced in around 1066 by French-speaking people to English-speaking people. Before this, the meat of cow or ox was referred as cow or ox only. The old French source of beef was spelt as ‘boef’, which was derived from the latin word bos, meaning ox. After the adaptations by English people, beef term became the source of origination for many words like beefeaters, beefsteak etc.

Boxed beefis the term used for primal and sub-primal cuts of beef that are vacuum sealed and packed into card board boxes for transporting from packing plant to retailers.

The weight of the entire beef carcass ranges between 225 to 350 kg.

 

Classification of Beef:

The beef meat is classified as under:

Bull- This term is used for male cattle.

Cow- The term used for female after it has given birth to a young one.

Calf- The term used for young cow or bull.

Heifer- The term used for cow which has not calved yet.

Stag- The term used for castrated bull after maturity.

Steer – The term used for castrated bull prior to maturity and chiefly raised for meat.

Veal- The term used for young cattle till 6 months.

 

Once the beef is slaughtered, the carcass of beef is divided basically into two halves: Forequarter (the front quarter) and Hindquarter (the rear quarter). The quartered carcass is then further divided into primal, sub-primal and fabricated cuts.

Forequarter: It comprises of chuck, brisket and shank, rib and short plate.

Hindquarter: It comprises of short loin, sirloin, flank and round.

 

Diagram of beef cuts

 

Chuck:It is main cut obtained from the shoulder parts and accounts for almost 28% of carcass weight. It primarily comprises ofa portion of backbone, five rib bones and portions of blade and arm bones. The shoulder of the beef experiences a lot of movement and hence it has well-developed connective tissues, which makes it tougher as compared to other meats.

Brisket and Shank:The cut of meat located beneath the chuck and accounts for almost 8% of the carcass weight. It primarily comprises of beef’s breast (brisket) containing the ribs and breast bone and beef’s arm (the foreshank) containing the shank bone only. The shanks are generally tougher meats and contain a high percentage of collagen making it excellent for stock making.

Rib:As the name suggest, it basically comprises of ribs from 6 to 12 and accounts for about 10% of the carcass weight.The center of the rib meat part is not at all exercised and hence the meat of it is very tender. It is well-marbled and is very appropriate for preparing roasts and steaks.

Short Plate:This cut of the meat is located below the rib of the beef and accounts for almost 9% of the carcass weight. It basically comprises of rib bones and cartilage. Skirt steak is the famous fabricated cut produced from it and is best when grilled.

 

Short Loin:The short loin is located just behind the rib and is the front portion of the beef loin and it accounts for almost 8% of the carcass weight. It primarily consists of 13^th rib and a portion of the backbone. Many sub-primal and fabricated meats are cut from this portion which is very tender and most-relished cuts as well.

Short loin when cut across the bones produces famous club steaks, T-bone steaks and porterhouse steaks.

The whole tenderloin (comprising certain parts of short loin and sirloin both) also yields cuts such as head, chateaubriand, tournedos and fillet mignon.Tenderloin is the tenderest meat cut of beef which is used for classical steaks.

Head–Mostly trimmed off and used for hamburgers preparations.

Chateaubriand –Center of the fillet and accounts for about 15% of the tenderloin fillet weight. It can even be carved on gueridon trolley in front of the guest and served to them from there. It has about 350-500 gms of weight.

Tournedos–The cut very adjacent to chateaubriand and weighs almost 60-80gms slices. It is also used in the preparation of steaks in thea’ la carte order.

Fillet mignon–This is the last cut of the tenderloin fillet and weighs just 30-40 gms of slice. This tail end is also used for steak preparation.

Sirloin:It is located in between the short loin and the round and accounts for almost 7% of the carcass weight. It primarily comprises of back bone and hip bone.It yields boneless and with bone roast pieces, which are very tender and flavourful.

Flank: This is the boneless meat cut located just below the loin and it accounts for almost 6% of the carcass weight. It gives a small piece of meat known as hanging tenderloin. Flank is a tender cut of meat.

Round: The piece obtained from the last part of the hind quarter and it accounts for almost 24% of the total carcass weight. It contains the round, shank and tail bones. This piece is flavourful and tender as well. It gives very good results when it is roasted.

 

Steak:Steak is a slice of beef usually cut from the fillet, rump or sirloin. It has varying thickness and is very tender and flavourful. They are usually broiled and they develop a well-browned exterior, while retaining the juicy interior.Steaks are cut from various parts of the animals and few famous steaks are as such:

Entrecote steaks:It is also referred as rib steaks and is usually obtained from the ‘between the two ribs’. It is of very prime quality, well-marbled and tender. It should be grilled, broiled or fried and of 1.5 cm thickness with a slight margin of fat. It weighs approximately 120-150 gm.

Double sirloin steaks:It is obtained from the sirloin of the beef and is usually thicker and heavier than the entrecote steak. Its thickness is 2.5 cm and weighs approximately 250 gm.

Porter house steak:It is also cut from the sirloin part and comprises of very generous portion. It thickness is around 4 cm and weighs around 650-650 gm.

T-bone steak:It is T-shaped and cut individually from the porter house steak.

Fillet steak:Fillet steak is of prime importance and gives many steak cuts such as head steak, tournedos, chateaubriand, fillet steaks and fillet mignon. All steak cuts are of different sizes and weight, of which chateaubriand is the heavier weighing about 350-500 gm.

Minute steak: This cut is from the sirloin or rump and batted to ½ cm thickness. 

Rib-eye steak: This cut is from the bone less fore-rib of beef or the rib end of the sirloin. Usually, the fat of it is removed.

 

Cooking Specifications for Steak: The steak is cooked to various degree and they are as such:

 

Blue: In this stage of cooking, the core temperature is just 29^oC and blood flows out of it, when cut. It is also called very rare or au bleu.

Rare: Here, the meat will be much underdone and the core temperature is up to 51^oC. It is termed saignant in French.

Medium rare: It is very similar to rare but slightly more cooked and the core temperature is up to 60^oC.

Medium: In this stage of cooking, meat is cooked and is very juicy. The core temperature is up to 65^oC and when meat is cut, it is of pink colour with pink juice oozing out of it. It is termed A Point in French.

Medium well: It is very close to well done and the core temperature is up to 70-75^oC.

Well-done: Here, meat is cooked and firm and the core temperature is up to 77^oC or above. It is termed Bien cuit in French.

 

Lamb

Lamb is the term used for the meat of sheep butchered when they are less than one year old.The lamb meat has a very distinctive peculiar flavour and is used in many delicious dishes.Since, the lamb is the meat of a fairly young sheep the marbling is not seen in the muscle tissue and hence extreme care is taken to cook it tender and juicy.The weight of the lamb carcass is between 20 and 35 kg.

 

Classification of Lamb:

The lamb meat is classified as under:

Lamb: The term used for sheep meat under one year of age.

Mutton: The term used for sheep meat over one year of age.

Ram/Hogget: The term used for male lamb under one year.

Ewe: The term used for female lamb under one year.

Wether: The term used for castrated male sheep.

Spring lamb: the term used for very young sheep which has not been fed grains or grass.

 

Once the lamb is slaughtered, it is cut into various primal cuts such as shoulder, breast, rack, loin and leg.

Lamb being slaughtered at an early age, it is fairly tender and is suitable for almost any type of cooking methods.

 

Diagram of lamb cuts

 

Shoulder:This is one of the larger cut of lamb meat and accounts for almost 30% of the total carcass weight. It consists of four rib bones, arm, and blade and neck bones. Generally the shoulder bones are cut into pieces such as chops, diced or boned and then roasted or braised accordingly. It is very difficult for the entire shoulder to cook and then carve it, due to its bone and muscle anatomy.

Breast:This portion of the cut includes rib, breast and shank bones and accounts for almost 17% of the total carcass weight.The breast cut of the lamb is used in stuffed and braised preparation with either the boneless or with bone cuts. The fore shank part of the lamb is full of meat content.

Rack:Hotel rack is the term usually used for primal lamb rack, located in between shoulder and loin. It accounts for almost 8% of the total carcass weight. The rack cuts are trimmed so that the ribs can easily be fabricated into chops, which can easily be grilled, broiled or roasted.

Loin:located in between rib and leg part, loin accounts for almost 13% of the total carcass weight. It comprises of 13^th rib, loin eye muscle, flank and tenderloin. This cut is very tender and flavourful.

Leg: Posterior part of the carcass, which accounts for almost 32% of the total carcass weight. It basically consists of backbone, round and shank bones, hip and tail part. The leg part of the lamb is never used as a whole and is generally cut into two legs either partially or fully boned. This cut is suited to almost every style of cooking methods.

 

The cut of lamb is cut into various fabricated cuts and is available in following cut configuration:

Foresaddle: It is specifically the front part of the carcass, divided from between the 12^th rib and 13^th rib and it basically contains the shoulder, breast, rack and foreshank.

Hindsaddle:It is the rear part of the carcass which is detached by cutting it from the foresaddle and it basically contains the loin and leg.

Back: it is usually a single united piece with trimmed rack and loin section.

Bracelet: This cut contains the hotel rack connecting the breast section cut.

 

 

Pork

Pork is the term used for the meat of domesticated pig butchered when they are less than one year old. Generally, it is the common perception and fact that the pig feeds on garbage and sewage waste and the term “domesticated pig” means the pig which are especially reared for meat production for human consumption.

The weight of the pork carcass is between 50 and 100 kg.

 

 

Classification of Pork:

The pork meat is classified as under:

Hog: Castrated male pig.

Pork:The term used for castrated male pig older than 5 months.

Boar: The term used for the meat of male pig.

Suckling pig: The term used for baby pig of 6-8 weeks fed on milk.

 

Once the pork is slaughtered, it is cut into various primal cuts such as jowl, shoulder, Boston butt, belly, loin and fresh ham.

 

Diagram of Pork cuts

 

Jowl:Jowl is the cut of pork obtained from the chin of the hog.Jowl Bacon is the cut which is prepared from the cheeks of the pig and the jowl portion of the cut accounts for almost 8% of the total carcass weight.

Shoulder:Referred as “picnic ham”, it is located in the lower portion of foreleg and it accounts for almost 20% of the total carcass weight. It contains the arm and shank bones. In spite of being the fact that the hog is slaughtered at a very young age, the shoulder cut is actually the least tender cut of hog.It is preferred to be cooked by barbequing method, sautéing or stewing. The foreshank is also termed as “shoulder hock” and is cooked mostly by smoking method.

Boston butt:This square cut is located just above the shoulder cut and accounts for almost 7% of the total carcass weight.Containing a great amount of fat content, this meat cut is very tender. The boneless Boston butt is smoked and referred as a “cottage ham”.

Belly:Belly is the main cut located below the loin and accounts for almost 16% of the total carcass weight. It contains spareribs, and the belly part.When the belly is separated from the spareribs and cured and smoked, it yields bacon.

Loin:The loin cut is obtained from behind the Boston butt and contains the whole rib section, loin and a partial section of sirloin area, and it accounts for almost 20% of the total carcass weight.The cut such as partial blade bone from shoulder, entire ribs, a portion of hip bone and certain parts of backbone are all included in this.The loin cut is never preferred to be smoked and cured.The famous cuts of the loin cuts are pork tenderloin (most tender cut of pork), pork chops (most popular cut), and pork rib bones.

Fresh Ham:Relatively the larger pork cut, fresh ham is obtained from the hog’s hind leg and it accounts for almost 25% of the total carcass weight.The fresh ham cut is generally smoked and cured and can be cooked by any cooking methods, most popularly the roast. The shank portion of ham is known as “ham hock” and is mostly smoked.

 

Related Terminology

Charcuterie:It is a term which literally means “cooked flesh”, framed from two French word char meaning ‘flesh’ and cuite meaning ‘cooked’.

Ham: Ham is obtained from the hind legs (back legs or rear legs) of the pork, which is salted and cured.Here, the entire leg is salted and cured (wet curing or dry curing) and then sliced as per the need. Thus, ham comes from the bend of the knee or the upper thigh or buttock of the pork. The hams are very varied and may be rapid-cured or slow-cured. The flavour and texture of ham depends largely on the breed of the pig, cut and the curing process chosen, the meat has been dry-salted or cured in brine (and that too for how long periods), whether it has been air-dried or smoked, and on the type of smoking woods used.

Ham may be sold whole or sliced; raw or cooked; pickled in brine or dried or smoked. Fresh hams are not cured at all and needs to be cooked.

Hams are basically of three types:

·         Hams which are usually cured in brine,and slightly smoked or dried and always cooked and served hot or cold e.g. Jambon Glace, Hamburger Schinken, Danish Ham etc.

·         Hams which are dry or wet cured, always smoked (generally very deep), hung to dry over a period of months or years, always served raw or slightly sautéed e.g. Jambon de Bayonne, Jambon Toulouse, Black Forest Ham etc.

·         Hams which are dry or wet cured, but not smoked, hung to dry and to mature for a month and then cooked, served hot or cold e.g. York Ham, Gothaer Schinken etc. or cured and dried and hung to mature for a long time, always served raw e.g. Westphalia ham, Parma Ham etc.

Bacon: Bacon is obtained from the any other parts of the pork body, apart from the hind legs,which are salted and cured and almost smoked.Thus, bacon comes from the side of the pork after removing the head and feet of the pork. If the meat is obtained from collar and salt cured, it is collared bacon; if the meat is obtained from belly and contains more fat and is salt cured, it is streaky bacon; if the meat is obtained from the loin or back of the pork, it is referred as Canadian bacon; if the meat is obtained from belly but with less fat and is salt cured, it is prime bacon.

Green bacon is the side of the pork that has been salted and left for some time to cure, which means green bacon is brine-cured but not smoked.

Slab bacon is the unsliced form of sliced bacon.

Bacon is very crispy when fried and is loved by all in breakfast. It can also be boiled, grilled or smoked as well.

Gammon: The term gammon is derived from the French word “gambe” which means hind leg (haunch).Gammon is also obtained from the hind legs, but the only difference with this and ham is that the ham is actually a whole hind leg, salt cured and sliced but in gammon the pieces are portioned out before and then they are salt cured and smoked.Thus, gammon is actually portioning out the entire salt cured ham to smaller pieces. When the green bacon is smoked, that is referred to as gammon.

The basic difference between ham and gammon is that the gammon is cut from the carcass after brining whereas ham is cut from the carcass and brined separately.

 

Poultry

Poultry is the term used for the collective domesticated birds which are used as food. This broad term includes chicken, duck, turkey, goose, guinea, pigeon etc.

Categorized as white meat, it is highly nutritious meat and is also recognized as complete protein.The muscle tissue of poultry contains about 72% water, 20% protein, 1% fat and 1% minerals.Poultry is looked upon as most versatile dish as its mild flavour can be complemented with a wide array of sauces and also as it can be cooked by any cooking methods as well.

The muscle tissue of poultry doesn’t have intramuscular fat – marbling in it.  Apart from this, the meat of poultry is very tender. The flesh of poultry at breast and wing seems to be lighter in colour as compared to the flesh of their thighs and legs, due to less myoglobin content and for being less active muscle.

 

Classification of Poultry

The poultryis classified as under:

Poussin: The term used for chicken weighing 300-400 gm.

Spring chicken: The term used for chicken weighing 400-500 gm.

Game hen: The term used for young or immature chicken weighing about 900 gm.

Rock Cornish game hen: The term used for hen less than 5 weeks and weighing about 400-800 gm.

Broiler: The term used for young chicken of 4 months old weighing 1-1.5 kg.

Roaster: The term used for chicken with 3-5 months weighing between 1.5 – 2 kg.

Capon: The term used for castrated male chicken under 8 months and weighing 2.5 to 4 kg.

Hen: The term used for mature female over 10 months and weighing 1-3 kg.

Cock: the term for mature male over 10 months and weighing 1.5 – 3 kg.

 

Categories of poultry

The layman often relates poultry with only chicken but there are certain other birds which are domesticated for its meat and eggs and they are also categorized as poultry. Apart from chicken, the other such birds are chicken, turkey, duck, guinea, pigeon and goose. Keeping in mind the gastronomic purpose, all such birds are of same importance but chicken is the most consumed poultry all across.

Chicken (Fr. poulet):Undoubtedly the most popular of all poultry, chicken is blessed with light meat, dark meat and eggs.It can be cooked by any cooking methods and complements almost all sauces and accompaniments.

Turkey (Fr. dinde): It is also a well-popular category of poultry. Turkey is a farm-raised bird, acknowledged for its delicate flavour and meat. It is usually heavier and its weight ranges between 3.5 to 10kg. In Hospitality Industry, it has become customary to prepare turkey delicacies during Christmas and New Year eve.

Duck (Fr. canard): Roaster is the most commonly used duck and is above 4months of age. Similarly, duckling is below 2 months of age and gives very tender meat. The carcass of duck gives much of fat and bones as compared to flesh, in comparison to other poultry. The most commonly breed of duck are Rouen, Barbary and Peking.

Guinea (Fr. pintade):It is generally seen as a game bird and yields very tender meat. The meat of it is usually barded before roasting.

Pigeon (Fr. pigeon):Squab is the term used for the young pigeon (below 1 month of age) and it is known for its flavourful and dark tender meat.

Goose (Fr. oie):A goose yields only dark meat and it is very fatty as well. It is fed chiefly with corn and roasted goose is a very popular delicacy.

Game

Game is the collective term used for wild animals hunted for human consumption. The consumption of game became so popular that in today’s scenario, many gameanimals such as deer, rabbit, and pheasants have been farm-raised and made ready for human consumption.The history of consuming game animals has been very ancient and still it is a part of feed of few nomadic tribes.

Game flesh is characterized by dark colour, strong and robust flavour, and strong but unpleasant aroma. In comparison to other meats, it has relatively less fat and tougher meats.Game are never fully cooked and is left medium cooked as well-done game meats turns dry and stringy.

 Game is mainly categorized as furred game and feathered game.

 Furred Game: Also referred as Ground Game is further classified into two: large furred game such as deer, bear, wild boar, antelope, bison (American buffalo) etc. and small furred game includes rabbit, squirrel, hare, porcupine, etc. Many of the species of such animals are hunted for sports but not for food.

 

Feathered Game:Also referred as Winged Game is further classified into two: upland birds such as wild turkey, quail, dove, pheasant etc. and waterfowl game such as duck and wild goose.

Game birds are characterized by less fat content and hence they are mostly barded with fat during cooking. Game birds are available in various forms like whole or precut into pieces, fresh or frozen.