Cook Poultry and Game Dishes

STEP 1: Place the chicken, breast side up, on a clean cutting surface. Stretch out each wing flat against the board by pulling the tip. With a boning knife, cut off the wing tip and next joint, leaving the largest wing bone still attached.

STEP 2: At the neck, cut out the wishbone by pulling the skin up and out of the way and sliding the knife along the underside of the wishbone. Continue cutting around and under the wishbone until it is free and can be pulled out with your fingers.

STEP 3: Turn the bird over, and with breast side down, cut along the backbone from the neck to the tail.

STEP 4: With short sharp strokes of your knife, keeping the knife close to the bones, cut the flesh and skin, carefully using your fingers to pull the flesh away from the carcass.

Cut through the ball-and-socket joints connecting the wing and thigh bones to the carcass, so that they are separated from the carcass but still attached to the skin. When the step is completed on both sides, meat will be attached only along the ridge of the breastbone. Gently (the skin tears easily) pull to separate the breastbone and carcass from the flesh.

STEP 5: Cut the flesh from the curved (saber) bone near the wing and remove the bone.

STEP 6: The partially-boned bird with leg and wing bones left in, is now ready for stuffing.

STEP 7: While holding the wing bone from inside the bird, cut through the tendons and scrape the meat from the bone with the knife. Pull out the bone, using the knife to free it.

STEP 8: Cut off the end of the leg bone using a cleaver or thick-bladed cook‘s knife. Note: The use of a cook‘s knife for chopping through chicken bone is acceptable for this application but not recommended for cutting through other bone.

STEP 9: Repeat step #7 to remove the leg bone. Reposition wing and leg meat so the skin side is out.

STEP 10: The whole chicken is now completely deboned, with the skin intact and ready to be stuffed, rolled, and roasted.

1. The fat distribution and maturity of the fowl affect the quality of the product. Mature birds are best cooked using moist heat. Dry heat is suitable for young birds.

2. The best cooking temperature for poultry is at low to moderate heat. This temperature range produces a more flavorful and tender product. This also minimizes nutrient loss and shrinkage of meat.

3. To prevent the risk of microbial contamination, stuffing of turkey and chickens should be done immediately before roasting. It is best not to fill the cavity completely as this will prevent the poultry from being thoroughly cooked.

4. Because of its susceptibility to microbial growth, cooked poultry should be eaten immediately or refrigerated if not consumed. Leftover stuffing should be stored separately to prevent contamination.

5. Because poultry meat is pale-colored, it is best to employ dry heat cooking with fat for a brown color.

6. When roasting chicken, cuts should be placed with the breast-side down to produce a juicier and tenderer product.

7. To improve the palatability of lean poultry meat, basting can be done.

All food should be safe and free from contamination and spoilage at all points in its journey from its source until it reaches the consumers. However, food contamination is a serious public health problem resulting in food borne diseases that affect many people every year. Hence, awareness of potential sources of food contamination is an important component of good nutrition and good health. Food may be contaminated by different microorganisms or by chemicals that can cause health problems for anyone who eats it. The common causes of food contamination and food spoilage are:

1. Failure to properly refrigerate food

2. Failure to thoroughly heat or cook food

3. Infected employees/workers because of poor personal hygiene practices 4. Foods prepared a day or more before they are served

5. Raw, contaminated ingredients incorporated into foods that receive no further cooking

6. Cross-contamination of cooked foods through improperly cleaned equipment

7. Failure to reheat foods to temperature that kills bacteria 8. Prolonged exposure to temperatures favorable to bacterial growth

Poultry, like meat, may be cooked by either dry or moist heat methods. The choice of method depends mainly upon the age of the bird instead of location of the part in the carcass as in the case of meats. Fat content should also be taken into consideration.

2. Dry Heat Method

The dry method is usually reserved for young tender poultry. The poultry class of these chickens is specially termed ―broilers and fryers‖ Somewhat older but still immature birds such as capons and roasters are also suitable for roasting. They are still tender but have more fat than the broilers or fryers.

Older birds need to be tenderized by moist cooking prior to dry heat cooking.

One point to remember in poultry cookery; moist heat cookery may be applied to all classes and kinds of poultry but dry heat cookery is reserved for tender birds.

1. Moist Heat Method As discussed earlier in this lesson, chickens are categorized into classes. All classes of chicken and other poultry for that matter may be cooked by moist-heat cookery. Common Filipino dishes are tinola, sinampalukang manok, manok na pinaupo, and relyeno.

Steps in Fabricating Chicken

1. Cut along center of breastbone

2. Here you can view the cut made

3. Using the knife, scimitar may be preferred but a fillet knife would work well too. Cut along one side of the breast bone to the base of the chicken.

4. Separate skin that is attached to breast from leg quarter

5. With your thumb under the wing joint press upward and out to separate joint

6. With a knife, cut between joints to remove and cut any skin not separated from the carcass yet.

7. Here is a picture of a detached breast and wing.

8. Cut around the wing joint to remove the wing.

9. A small thin piece of meat located on the underside of breast that can be removed by pulling the tenderloin, good for chicken tenders. Repeat steps 3-9 for the other side of the breast.

10. Cut around the leg quarter going up high towards the backbone then circling down toward the other side.

11. Halfway through you will hit the joint.

12. Using your thumb push up and out to snap apart joints.

13. Finish cut through joint to remove leg quarter. Repeat steps 10-13 for the other leg quarter.