Serve poultry often—it’s versatile, flavorful, and economical. You can
buy chicken and turkey in convenient sizes—chilled or frozen—any day of
the year. And for variety, try duck and goose.
_Preparing poultry_
_Ready-to-cook poultry_ needs little preparation before cooking.
Inspect for pinfeathers. Wash and drain poultry.
Keep _frozen poultry_ frozen until time to thaw or cook. Frozen poultry
usually is thawed before cooking, but poultry parts or whole poultry
frozen without giblets can be cooked without thawing. Cooking time will
be longer than for unfrozen poultry. Do not thaw commercially frozen
stuffed poultry before cooking.
To thaw poultry in the refrigerator, place frozen poultry on a tray or
shallow pan to catch the thawing drip; if unwrapped, cover lightly.
Remove giblets from cavity when bird is pliable.
If it is not practical to thaw poultry in the refrigerator, immerse
poultry in a watertight wrapper in cold water. Change water often to
hasten thawing. Or you can partially thaw poultry in the refrigerator
and partially in cold water. It takes 1 to 8 hours to thaw poultry in
cold water, or 1 to 3 days in a refrigerator.
Cook poultry promptly after thawing. Stuff poultry just before
roasting.
_Cooking guides_
Most poultry sold whole can be roasted. Stewing chickens and mature
turkeys, however, are more tender if braised or stewed. They are good
for stews, or to provide cooked meat for casseroles, sandwiches, and
salads.
Broiler or fryer chickens can be roasted, ovenbaked, barbecued, or
cooked on a rotisserie as well as broiled or fried. Fryer-roaster
turkeys weighing 4 or 5 pounds can be roasted whole, or can be cut into
parts and fried or broiled.
Rock Cornish game hens can be cooked like broiler or fryer chickens.
Small ducks are suitable for broiling or frying; larger ones, for
roasting or rotisserie cooking. Geese roast very well.
Roast poultry uncovered for best color and to reduce splitting and
shrinkage. Poultry can be roasted with or without stuffing; unstuffed
birds take slightly less time to cook. Cook poultry until tender and
juicy; do not overcook.
_Roasting_
Prepare the poultry as directed above. Stuff the body and neck cavities
lightly; allow about ½ cup of stuffing per pound of ready-to-cook
poultry. See stuffing recipe (p. 28). Or if desired, leave poultry
unstuffed.
Fold loose neck skin toward back; fasten with a skewer. Turn wingtips
back of heavy wingbone to rest against neck skin. Tuck ends of legs
under band of skin at tail or fasten legs together close to body.
To roast poultry, place breast side up on a rack in a shallow pan. Do
not cover pan and do not add water.
See roasting guide (p. 28) for approximate times for roasting poultry.
A meat thermometer is the best guide to doneness of turkeys. Insert the
thermometer into the center of the inner thigh muscle. Make sure it
does not touch the bone.
Salt the giblets and neck, seal them in aluminum foil, and roast along
with the poultry. Or simmer them in salted water until tender.
You can baste poultry with pan drippings or a little fat if you like.
If poultry browns early in the roasting period, cover the breast and
drumsticks lightly with aluminum foil or with a thin cloth moistened
with fat. After poultry is partly roasted, cut band of skin that holds
legs together.
Use any one or more of the following ways to tell if poultry is done:
• A meat thermometer inserted in the center of the inner thigh muscle
of a turkey reaches 180° to 185° F. If turkey is stuffed, also check
stuffing temperature by inserting a thermometer into the body cavity
for 5 minutes. Temperature should reach 165° F.
• Drumstick feels soft when you press meaty part with protected
fingers.
• Drumstick moves up and down easily and leg joint gives readily.
CAUTION: Do not partly roast poultry on one day and complete roasting
the following day.