Following bleeding, the birds go through scalding tanks. These tanks contain hot water that softens the skin so that the feathers can be removed. The temperature of the water is carefully controlled. If retention of the yellow skin colour is desired, a soft-scald is used (about 50 °C, or 122 °F). If a white bird is desired, a higher scald temperature is used, resulting in the removal of the yellow pellicle. Turkeys and spent hens (egg-laying birds that have finished their laying cycles) are generally run at higher temperatures—59 to 60 °C (138 to 140 °F).
poultry processing
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- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – Poultry Processing
Written by
Joe M. Regenstein
Professor of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Coauthor of Food Protein Chemistry: An Introduction for Food Scientists and others.
Joe M. Regenstein ,
R. Paul Singh
Professor of Food Engineering, University of California, Davis. Coauthor of Introduction to Food Engineering.
R. Paul Singh See All
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Table of Contents
Category: Arts & Culture
Related Topics: food processing . (Show more)
poultry processing, preparation of meat from various types of fowl for consumption by humans.
Poultry is a major source of consumable animal protein. For example, per capita consumption of poultry in the United States has more than quadrupled since the end of World War II, as the industry developed a highly efficient production system. Chickens and turkeys are the most common sources of poultry; however, other commercially available poultry meats come from ducks, geese, pigeons, quails, pheasants, ostriches, and emus.
Characteristics of poultry
Poultry is derived from the skeletal muscles of various birds and is a good source of protein, fat, and vitamins and minerals in the diet.
Birds bred for poultry production are generally grown for a particular amount of time or until they reach a specific weight. Rock Cornish hens, narrowly defined, are a hybrid cross specifically bred to produce small roasters; in the marketplace, however, the term is used to denote a small bird, five to six weeks old, that is often served whole and stuffed. Seven-week-old chickens are classified as broilers or fryers, and those that are 14 weeks old as roasters.
Fat content
The fat content of poultry differs in several ways from that found in red meat. Poultry has a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids compared with saturated fatty acids. Both turkey and chicken contain about 30 percent saturated, 43 percent monounsaturated, and 22 percent polyunsaturated fatty acids. The high levels of unsaturated fatty acids make poultry more susceptible to rancidity through the oxidation of the double bonds in the unsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids, on the other hand, do not contain double bonds in their hydrocarbon chains and are resistant to oxidation. However, this fatty acid ratio has led to the suggestion that poultry may be a more healthful alternative to red meat.
In birds fat is primarily deposited under the skin or in the abdominal cavity. Therefore, a significant amount of the fat can be removed from poultry by removing the skin before eating.
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MASTERING THE WORTHWHILE ART OF RENDERING CHICKEN FAT
Q–Whenever I roast a chicken, I always pull off the pockets of fat on the inside near the cavity opening. I have heard this can be melted down and used. Can you tell me what it is used for and how to melt it down?
Arlen Richardson, Lake Bluff.
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A–Melted chicken fat has a number of uses. It can be used as a basting fat while the bird is roasting. It can be used as the fat base in a chicken gravy or sauce. Jewish people use it in cooking: as an ingredient in matzoh balls and in chopped liver, for example.
To render chicken fat, pull off all the excess fat from the bird. Chop it finely with a sharp knife and put it in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add a small amount of water, cover and simmer over low heat until the fat has melted and the residue (the solid material you see bobbing around in the melted fat) is lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly, then strain into a clean jar with a cover and refrigerate.
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For an extra treat, make cracklings. These are delicious, browned crisp bits of chicken skin that enhance any salad when sprinkled over the top. Cut some chicken skin into small pieces (1-inch wide strips or 1/2-inch squares) and put this into the pan along with the chicken fat and water. When the fat has melted and the cracklings are browned, strain the fat into a jar and spread the cracklings out in a single layer on paper towels. Salt them lightly, then store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Q–Can you tell me the difference between pan frying and sauteing? I see directions for both in many recipes but they seem to be the same thing.
Roger R. Mandelson, Chicago.
A–The word saute–a French word–is used to describe a procedure almost identical to our pan frying. The differences seem to be twofold: first, the material being cooked and second, the rapidity of the procedure. When a French chef sautes something–and many different things can be sauteed–he cooks it quickly in a skillet in a small amount of hot fat; when an American chef pan fries something–that something is usually meat–it is simply fried (not particularly quickly) in a small amount of fat.
Q–Could you please tell me how much a jigger is? I know it`s a way of measuring liquor used by bartenders, but since I don`t have a jigger measure, I don`t know how much to use when a jigger is called for in a recipe.
Mrs. L. Denerts, Chicago.
A–The standard measurement for a jigger is an ounce and a half–an amount that translates to 3 tablespoons in cooking, according to Leonard Solomon, wine director of Armanetti Wines and Liquors.
The Chicken and Egg Story
“Where he began and the story on all that, I have no idea,” says Molly Davis.
Davis works at Christopher Park Gallery in Greenville where Ernest Lee’s work flies off the shelves better than most chickens take to the air.
“We have a lot of people from out of town that come by and say, ‘Hey look, it’s The Chicken Man,’” Davis says.
It was St. Patrick’s Day, 1961, when Ernest Lee hatched.
“I’m a black Irish,” Lee jokes. “That’s what I am. I was born on that day.”
Lee grew up in Currytown, a small community in Edgefield County most known for the all-you-can-eat grits and hush-puppy bar at Old McDonald Fish Camp, a restaurant opened in 1977 which doubles as a goat- and chicken-feeding roadside attraction. By five years old, Lee says, he started to draw, and as he reached the age of 12 painting became his modus operandi. He started in his trade by receiving art kits through the mail, paint-by-numbers and the likes. An offer to further his artistic growth came to him from a Minnesota school.
“Ain’t no mom going to let their kid go away at 12 or 13,” Lee recalls, laughing. “I wasn’t as good as I am now.”
By his teenage years, Lee’s main gig was picking crops. His stepfather was a contractor who gathered up migrant workers to harvest fruits and vegetables in Florida and around the South. Like many kids, Lee was one of his parental figure’s frequent laborers.
