Composition Of Poultry (Atwater)

How To Select Poultry

Soft yellow feet, smooth skin, soft cartilage at end of breastbone, pinfeathers, tender skin under the wing which is easily broken by bending back the wing, - indicate tender poultry.

Long hairs, long thin necks, flesh of purplish tinge, hard feet with sharp scales, - indicate tough poultry.

Cost Of Chicken

(Students compile following facts from the weight of chicken used in lesson:)

Cost of chicken as purchased.......... . .

Weight of chicken as purchased..........

Cost per pound as purchased...........

Weight after dressing..............

Weight of bones................

(obtained after chicken has been cooked) Weight of edible meat..............

(difference between dressed meat and weight of bones)

Cost per pound of edible meat...........

How To Prepare Poultry For Cooking

Remove pinfeathers, singe to remove hairs, over a tb. alcohol burning in a saucer or over a blaze. Cut off head; cut the skin down the back of the neck, remove windpipe and crop. Cut neck off close to the body, leaving the skin long that it may be folded over on the back of the chicken in cooking. Cut through the skin below the leg joint without cutting the tendons. Place leg at end of board and break the joint; hold the fowl firmly in left hand and pull off the foot with tendons. In old birds, the tendons must be taken out one at a time, using a steel skewer. Make an incision below the breastbone and with the hand remove the entrails, gizzard, heart, and liver. The last three are called giblets. Do not break the gall bladder, which lies on the under surface of the right lobe of the liver. Remove carefully the lungs and kidneys, which lie in the hollow near the backbone. Remove the oil bag and wash the fowl by letting cold water run through it, but do not let it soak in cold water. Clean the giblets carefully.

How To Cut Up A Chicken

Singe, and remove the pinfeathers. Cut off the legs and wings at the joints. Cut from near the vent, through the membrane lying between the end of the breastbone and the tail, down to the backbone, on either side. Then remove the entrails. Break off the backbone just below the ribs. Cut through the cartilage dividing the ribs, and separate the collar bone from the breast.

Methods of Cooking Chickens Young chickens.

(1) Broiled, (2) fried, (3) roasted. Old chickens.

(1) Roasted, (2) boiled, (3) fricassee, (4) stew, (5) casserole.

Roast Chicken

Clean and stuff a chicken. Sew up the incisions. Rub all over with salt. Tie it into a compact shape, fastening the legs and wings close to the body; dredge with flour. Lay strips of salt pork over chicken. Place in a hot oven, and when the flour browns baste with boiling water every 10 m., using more water, if necessary, to prevent burning. Turn the chicken that it may brown evenly. When the breast meat is tender, the chicken is sufficiently cooked. Cook the giblets in water until tender.

Stuffing

Two c. crumbs, 2 tb. butter, or small piece salt pork chopped, salt, pepper, marjoram, summer savory, or thyme to taste, \ c. boiling water. Melt the butter in the water and pour over the crumbs to which seasoning has been added.

Chicken Gravy

Pour off all but about 4 tb. of fat from the pan in which chicken has been roasted. Add 5 tb. flour; when brown, add 2 c. of the water in which giblets have been boiled. Cook 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and if liked, add the giblets finely chopped.

Stewed Chicken

Dress, clean, and cut up a chicken. Put into a kettle with a few slices of salt pork and barely cover with boiling water. Boil 5 m., then simmer until tender. When about half done add 1 ts. salt. Cook a young chicken about 1 1/2 h., an old one 2 to 2 1/2 h. When done wet 4 tb. flour in cold water to form a smooth paste and stir into the boiling mixture. Season. Add 1 c. cream or milk and 2 tb. butter. When hot serve. Dumplings may be added.

Creamed Chicken

1 1/2 c. cold chicken, diced 1/8 ts. celery salt

1 c. white sauce

\ c. mushrooms, sliced

Heat the chicken and mushrooms in the sauce over hot water. Serve on toast, in toast boxes, or patty shells.