Poultry Category

Many Asians believe that soup made from black chicken has medicinal properties that are especially helpful to women.

Chicken is a relatively lean and inexpensive meat, so it's a culinary workhorse. Broiler-fryers = fryers = broilers are between 2 1/2 and 5 pounds, and can be broiled, roasted, or fried. They're not good for stewing. Stewing chickens are tougher and best used, as their name suggests, in stews and soups. Capons are castrated male chickens that are large (between 5 and 10 pounds) and tender, and have relatively more white meat. They're great for roasting.

This are very small, tender chickens. Varieties include Rock Cornish game hens = Rock Cornish hens, which are a cross between Cornish and Plymouth Rock chickens.

This fatty bird makes a divine roast, but it's hard to cook without setting off the smoke alarm. It helps to pour off the fat while it's roasting. Wild ducks are less fatty than store-bought ducks. A young duck, called a duckling = young duckling = broiler duckling = fryer duckling = roaster duckling, is more tender than an old duck = mature duck. High-fat meats like duck generally should be cooked at a higher temperature and for a longer time than low-fat meats.

Tastier and more humanely raised, but tougher and more expensive. Cuts include halves = splits, which are broiler-fryers cut in half; breast halves = breast splits; breast quarters, which include the breast, wing, and back; drumsticks, which are the part of leg below the knee; drummettes, which are the meatiest wing section; and leg quarters, which include the drumstick and thigh. Cut-up chickens are broiler-fryers that are cut up and packaged with two breast halves, two thighs, two drumsticks, and two wings.

These are the bird's heart, liver, and gizzard, and usually come in a package tucked inside the abdominal cavity of a packaged whole bird.

Europeans traditionally roast these for their Christmas dinners. The meat is dark and fatty, and more like fat-clad beef than chicken. Young goslings are the priciest, and the most tender. Wild goose is tougher and has a much stronger flavor than a domesticated goose. If the recipe calls for cut-up goose meat, consider using the dark meat from a turkey or chicken. High-fat meats like goose should be cooked at a higher temperature and for a longer time than low-fat meats. If roasting, consider removing the breast meat after it gets to 135 or 140 degrees, and then continuing to cook the thighs to a temperature of 165 or so. Frozen goose is a good substitute for fresh.

Butchers will grind either dark meat or light meat. Light meat is lower in saturated fat.

Butchers will grind either dark meat or light meat. Light meat is lower in saturated fat.

This small bird is very lean and tastes like a pheasant. It's very lean, so bard it before roasting, or marinate it before putting it on the grill.

These tend to be pricey, but they're more flavorful than chickens. One pheasant can serve two people. Pheasants are lean, so bard them before roasting.

A poussin is a very young chicken, and it has a very delicate flavor and very little fat. They're available in some gourmet markets.

A tofu and seitan substitute.

Markets often sell whole turkeys at bargain prices during the holidays, using them as loss leaders. It's a good idea to stock up on them then, since you can keep them in the freezer for up to a year and serve your family this cheap, lean meat year-round. If you're planning to roast a whole turkey, choose a young turkey. Older birds (including yearlings) aren't as tender and are best cooked in a stew or soup. When selecting your turkey, make sure that the plastic wrapping isn't torn. There's no big difference between males (toms) and females (hens). Experienced cooks like fresh birds (since they're moister) that are between ten and twelve pounds. Bigger ones are tricky to cook without drying them out. Frozen turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator, allowing one day of thawing per five pounds of bird. If you're short of time, you can thaw a turkey by leaving it in its original plastic wrapper and covering it completely with cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes of thawing time per pound of bird if you use this method. Fresh turkeys should be used within two days of purchase. Cut-up turkeys are also available. The major cuts are the turkey breast, tenderloin, cutlet, drumstick, and thigh.

A seitan-based turkey.