Poultry Is On Everyone's Plate

Poultry Is On Everyone's Plate

Chickens, Hens, Roasters, Turkey, Duck, etc.

The chicken of today is a descendent of the Redjungle Fowl hybrids raised thousands of years ago in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It has always been a popular meat however during war Ward II, due to a shortage of beef and pork, expanded greatly.

As we said earlier who doesn't like chicken? Pretty much everyone. The sole purpose of these domestic birds is for producing eggs, providing meat and supplying feathers. Poultry can also include other birds which are used for meat such as ducks, geese, swans, ostrich, emus, pigeons, doves and pheasants.

The most common cuts of meat are the breasts, legs, thighs, and liver. Also eaten is the heart, gizzards and feet. The dark meat, or red muscle, is used for sustained activities such as walking and flying.

When going to the grocery store you can find whole chickens, quarter chickens, half chickens and various packaged cuts of meat. Considering the global acceptance for chicken, it's surprising that we produce enough for all of our needs. An interesting note is that raw chicken will maintain its quality much longer in the freezer than cooked chicken because of the moisture which is lost during the cooking process. Turkeys are pretty much larger chickens with the exception that most turkeys are cleaned to a much higher degree prior to packaging and can last in the refrigerator up to 21 days whereas chickens cannot.

The most common duck consumed in the United States is the Pekin duck, also named the Long Island duck. Other recently popular breeds would include the Muscovy duck and they Moulard duck (not related to the Mallard duck). Since they are waterfowl, ducks have a layer of insulating fat between the skin in the meat thus possibly a little gamier than chicken.

See Our Poultry Sections