444 The Yearbook of Agriculture 1965 Ion, fruit or vegetable juice, soy sauce, The class is based on physical char- sour cream, or marinade. Seasonings acteristics associated with age and sex. may be herbs, spices, and vegetables. The classes of each kind progress from Cookbooks, magazines, and news- young and tender poultry to fully ma- papers often feature recipes for spe- ture. The classes listed in the table as cialty meat dishes that use braising and tender can be cooked by any method simmering procedures. or used in any recipe. The more Exotic or foreign tides frequently mature classes have less-tender flesh hide simple recipes that use inexpen- and require certain procedures. sive cuts—boeuf à la mode, for example, is French for pot roast. THE SECOND POINTER is: Apply dry or Opportunities for applying your cre- moist cooking at moderate tempera- ative abilities are especially great with tures as required for the particular braised and simmered meats. Try class of poultry. That is, vary the braised meat seasoned delicately with method of cooking according to the a sprinkling of fresh or dried herbs, age of the poultry. such as rosemary or marjoram. Add When you do this, it is easy to select asparagus, okra, or parsnips to a stew. the right class of poultry for a special Or serve a tart fruit sauce of red cher- recipe or, if necessary, to adapt a ries or cranberries with ham or pork. recipe to assure a tender, juicy product A meat dish with a subtle, distinc- from a particular class of poultry. tive flavor that is simply prepared can Dry heating includes all methods in be the basis for your reputation as an which dry air surrounds the poultry. excellent cook. Just select the meat, Examples are cooking in an open pan cook it properly at low to moderate in an oven, under the broiler, or over temperatures, and add seasonings hot coals. Cooking poultry by hot fat with ingenuity. (OLIVE M. BATCHER) also is considered to be a dry-heating method. These methods are suitable only for the young, tender-meated classes. The second way, by moist heating, modifies the dry methods so that the more mature classes can be cooked tender. Covering the pan to surround Cooking the bird with steam or adding varied amounts of liquids, such as water, sauces, or vegetable juices, and heating Poultry with moderate temperatures assures moist heating. As basic cooking methods represent- ative of dry heating you should know THREE POINTERS to success in cooking how to roast, fry, and broil. Modifica- poultry are: tions of these methods to moist heat- Know the classes of poultry that are ing methods, such as oven and pan available. braising or simmering, follow easily. Cook poultry at moderate tempera- If you know of the basic cooking tures with moist or dry heat, as may methods for dry and moist heating, be required. you can extend your skill to more Serve poultry accented with season- elaborate recipes. ings at the peak of cooked quality. A bird you select with a knowledge The particular class of each kind of of its age can be dipped into the right poultry—turkeys, chicken, ducks, seasonings or coating and roasted, geese, guineas, pigeons—^is the index fried, or simmered so that every time to the type of cooking. it is done to perfection. Cooking Poultry 445

ROASTING is a popular way to prepare quickly and successfully at tempera- lo- to 15-pound turkeys, but turkeys tures as high as 375° or 400°. can also be roasted in sizes as small as Most people like stuffing in roasted 4 pounds or as big as 25 pounds or poultry. more. A word of caution: Always combine Think of roasting as just placing the the ingredients just before roasting. poultry in an open pan in an oven set Place the stuffing into poultry neck and at 325° F, body cavities lightly, so it will heat Then add to this a few preparation rapidly. Choose an oven temperature steps, some tips to follow during roast- for roasting (325°) that will let the ing, and important points when poul- stuffing pass quickly through the tem- try is stuffed. With this, you can place perature range of 50° to 120° at which roasting on your list of basic poultry food-poisoning organisms, if present, cooking methods. gTow and multiply. Be sure stuffing The steps in preparing poultry for reaches a final temperature of 165^ to roasting are: Rinse the bird with cool assure destruction of any harmful water; then pat it dry. Season the cav- organisms. ities with salt or fill with stuffing. Bind Some recipes for stuffing: Calculate or truss the bird to assure even cook- the amount of stuffing needed by ing by pinning the wings to the sides allowing one-half cup of bread cubes of body and tucking the drumsticks for each pound of poultry. under the band of skin at the tail. During roasting, keep the skin moist STUFFING and tender by basting occasionally with pan drippings or melted fat. 3 tablespoons butter, margarine, or Cover the breast and drumsticks with poultry fat a piece of foil when the skin is a rich, % cup chopped celery golden-brown color. This prevents 3 tablespoons chopped parsley overbrowning them while the other 2 tablespoons chopped onion parts, such as the lower thighs, cook. I quart bread cubes (2- to 4-day-old Although 325° is the best tempera- bread) ture for roasting all sizes of poultry, % teaspoon savory seasoning broiler chickens and small turkey J^ to % teaspoon salt halves or quarters can be roasted Pepper to taste

TENDERNESS OF DIFFERENT CLASSES OF POULTRY

Kind Class Type of meat Turkey. Fryer or roaster Tender. Young hen or torn Tender. Yearling hen or torn Reasonably tender. Mature or old Less tender. Chicken. Fryer or broiler (includes Cornish Game hen) Tender. Roaster Tender. Capon Tender. Stag Reasonably tender. Hen or stewing chicken Less tender. Cock or old rooster Less tender. Ducks. . Fryer or broiler Tender. Roaster duckling Tender. Mature or old duck Less tender. Geese. . Young Tender. Mature or old.... , Less tender. Guinea. Young Tender. Mature or old Less tender. Pigeon. Squab Tender. Pigeon Less tender. 446 The Yearbook of Agriculture 1965 Melt the fat in a frypan; add celery, pieces in enough hot fat to cover. The parsley, and onion; and cook a few poultry is cooked in i o to 15 minutes. minutes. Add to the bread with sea- Broiling is a quick and easy way to soning. Mix lightly. cook poultry pieces. The pieces are For variety: seasoned beforehand, or seasonings can Oyster stuffing—omit celery, and be basted on during broiling along reduce parsley and onion to i table- with melted fat, which keeps the skin spoon each. Add i cup oysters, heated from becoming tough and dry. in their own liquid and drained. The pieces are placed on a broiler Nut stuffing—omit parsley and sa- pan at a distance from the preheated vory seasoning, and add ji cup chopped broiler unit or hot coals so that it takes nut meats (pecans, roasted almonds, about 15 minutes for the pieces to be- filberts, or cooked chestnuts). gin to brown. The pieces should be To change roasting to oven braising, golden brown and ready to turn after just cover the poultry during heating. 25 minutes so the other side is cooked Oven braising surrounds the poultry in about 15 minutes. with moistness from the cooking drip- For moist heating, fry or broil poul- pings or from a small amount of added try pieces just enough to brown. Then liquid, and assures a tender, juicy cover the pan and cook pieces gently product, particularly from mature on the top of the stove or in the oven poultry. It is possible to increase the at 350° for about 20 minutes. This ad- oven temperature to 350° and speed ditional step brings about moist heat- up the cooking time. To give a golden- ing and is a useful adaptation of frying brown exterior, remove the cover or broiling to include all classes of during the last 30 to 45 minutes of poultry. braising. Many of the favorite United States Braising is an excellent way to cook regional recipes, like southern fried game birds, such as grouse, quail, chicken, chicken Hawaiian, or chicken partridge, and pheasant, when the Maryland style, are combinations of age is not known. frying to brown the outside and then cooking in a covered pan to tenderize THE REMAINING basic methods are and blend in seasonings. especially suitable for cut-up poultry— Some recipes call for cooked and halves, quarters, or parts. boned poultry—which may be meat For frying, a type of dry heating, remaining from roasted or braised choose a young, tender bird. The poultry or meat from poultry that has poultry is cut up into serving-size been simmered whole or in pieces in pieces. Season the pieces with salt and water until tender. pepper, then roll in flour, or dip pieces Remove the meat from the bones in a batter made by mixing i cup flour, and save the stock for use in a sauce or I Ggg, YA cup milk, and }{ teaspoon soup. Simmering is a moist-heating salt. method and is a good way to cook To paiifry, place the pieces skin-side mature birds. The meat can be down in about one-fourth inch of fat smothered with vegetables in a sauce preheated in a heavy skillet. Cook or combined with sour cream with uncovered 15 to 25 minutes on each paprika, orange-almond, or barbecue side. sauces. Oven frying is done in the same way by placing the fat and poultry in a THE FINAL POINTER: Serve poultry ac- shallow pan in an oven set at 425° for cented with seasonings at the peak of 30 minutes, then turning the pieces cooked quality. and cooking 20 to 30 minutes longer. Seasonings may be sprinkled on For french-frying or deep-frying poultry before or during cooking. poultry, place the coated poultry For simple seasoning, use salt with a Basic Breads 447 little pepper. Add paprika, garlic or onion salt, tarragon, or rosemary to accent the bland flavor of poultry. Heat sauces with the poultry during the final 15 to 30 minutes of cooking to blend flavors. White or tomato sauces or sour cream are pleasing. Cookbooks contain many variations: Basic Breads Add cheese and toasted crumbs; vege- tables like onions, shallots, or celery; ingredients such as soy sauce and ginger to give an oriental touch; or an SUCCESS IN BAKING yeast breads begins Indian influence with curry and with the flour, the main ingredient in chutney. all kinds of bread. When is poultry cooked enough? White flour generally is used, but Timetables that you see in cookbooks whole-wheat, rye, oatmeal, and other or often attached to the poultry when kinds of flour may replace part or all purchased are good guides. of the white flour in a bread recipe. For large birds that are cooked by All-purpose, enriched flour is the roasting or oven braising, place a meat type usually sold in American retail thermometer in the center of the inside stores. thigh muscles. When they reach a Standards established for enrich- temperature of 185°, the poultry usu- ment per pound of flour of white flour ally is done to the peak of cooked {Code of Federal Regulations^ Title 21, quality. Part 15) are: Thiamine, 2.0-2.5 ing; Another way is to grasp the end of riboflavin, i.2-1.5 mg; niacin, 16-20 the drumsticks and see if drumstick mg; iron, 13-16,5 mg. and thigh joints move easily. Press the In northern regions of the United thickest part of the drumstick meat States, all-purpose flours generally are with protected fingers to see if it is soft. blends of hard wheats. In the South For the other methods of cooking and some States of the West, all- poultry, the time given on the recipe purpose flours usually are blends of is the best guide. The meat should soft wheats. seem soft and tender when probed Hard-wheat flour absorbs more with a fork, and the joints should move moisture, requires more mixing, and easily. Meat will no longer adhere withstands more fermentation than tightly to the bone. (IRMA M. HOKE) soft-wheat flour. The gluten of the hard-wheat flour For further reading, consult the following tends to be more cohesive and elastic. Department of Agriculture publications : The gluten of the soft-wheat types is Cheese Buying Guide for Consumers, Marketing Bulletin No. 17 ; Conserving the Nutritive Values more delicate and less elastic. That is in Foods, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 90; why hard-wheat flour makes the best Family Food Budgeting for Good Meals and Good yeast breads, and soft-wheat flour Nutrition, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 94; the best muffins and biscuits. You can Freezing Combination Main Dishes, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 40; Freezing Meat and use all-purpose flour for making yeast Fish in the Home, Home and Garden Bulletin bread successfully at home, however. No. 93; Home Care of Purchased Frozen Foods, All-purpose flours contain enough Home and Garden Bulletin No. 69; Home of the gluten-forming proteins to Freezing of Poultry, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 70; Shopped s Guide to U.S. Grades for Food, make good yeast bread. Gluten, a Home and Garden Bulletin No. 58; Storing protein complex that is gummy, co- Perishable Foods in the Home, llome and hesive, and elastic, develops as a Garden Bulletin No. 78; Tips on Selecting colloidal network throughout batters Fruits and Vegetables, Marketing Bulletin No. 13; U.S. Grades for Beef, Marketing Bulletin and doughs as a result of beating, No. 15. stirring, and kneading.