Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [89]
The type of exercise a muscle gets determines if it will have predominantly white muscle fibers or red ones. Poultry breasts are white because these muscles, which function in short bursts (fluttering the wings when a bird is excited) followed by long periods of rest, are fueled mainly by glycogen (a sugar stored in the muscle cells). The glycogen can be rapidly converted into energy and leaves the breast meat pale in color. By contrast, drumstick and thigh meat is dark because these muscles, which are used to support the weight of chickens and turkey as they stand and move around, work slowly and steadily and burn fat for energy, rather than sugar. To do that, they require a constant flow of oxygen, which is supplied by oxygen-binding red pigment in red muscle, called myoglobin. The more exercise these muscles get, the more oxygen (and myoglobin) they need, and the darker they become. Pastured poultry, which walk more than caged birds, tend to have darker meat.
Types of Chicken and Turkeys
The most widely bred chicken in the United States, the American Cobb, is a crossbreed of Britain’s Cornish and America’s White Plymouth Rock chickens. At around 5 weeks old, Cornish Rock game hens weigh 1 to 2 pounds and have tender, mild-tasting meat. Broiler-fryer chickens are less than 10 weeks old, and weigh 3 to 4 pounds. Roaster chickens weigh over 4 pounds, and can be as old as 16 weeks, although most are harvested closer to 3 months. They have well-developed, flavorful meat.
Capons (castrated roosters) are usually harvested at around 8 months and typically weigh around 8 pounds, although they can range from 6 to 10 pounds. Capons develop large, thickly muscled breast meat and have a pronounced layer of fat under the skin, which helps to keep them moist during roasting. Stewing chickens are harvested at 18 months and develop rich, flavorful meat that is great for soups and stews. But as their name implies, they are too tough for grilling.
Turkeys are members of the pheasant family of birds (Meleagris gallopavo). The most common commercial North American breed is the Broad Breasted White turkey, which is bred to have short, very plump breasts and legs. Their shorter skeleton has made the meat-to-bone ratio of these birds higher than most other land animals, but it has made it impossible for the birds to reproduce without assistance. Most of these turkeys reproduce through artificial insemination. An older breed, the Standard Bronze, is the most common heritage breed of turkey.
Turkeys are sold by age. Fryer-roasters of either sex are sold at less than 16 weeks of age; young turkeys, at between 5 and 6 months of age; and yearlings, at less than 15 months of age. Mature hens and toms are more than 15 months old.
In the United States, most chickens and turkeys are plucked, eviscerated, and water-chilled, causing them to absorb up to 10 percent of their weight in water, which dilutes the flavor of the meat, but increases the producer’s profit per pound. In Europe, most birds are air-chilled. The meat of air-chilled birds is more flavorful, and the skin is drier and thinner, allowing it to crisp and brown better during grilling. Air-chilled birds are becoming increasingly available in America, and are worth seeking out.
Poultry Classification
In the decades after World War II, the mass farming of chickens reduced their cost, and thereby increased their