These days, poultry is primarily roasted, but is also prepared through steaming, braising, and sautéing. Its forcemeat is often an essential compliment to the dish, and its innards including its livers, gizzards, and kidneys are also used in cooking in several ways. Roasting works best with larger birds, because the fat prevents the flesh from drying out.

The safest poultry happens to be kosher poultry, due to a preparation process that includes a defeathering in cold water only, and a thorough salting and rinsing procedure.

Most poultry have both "Light meat," and "Dark meat;" the exception being duck and goose, which have only Dark meat. Light meat comes from the breast and wings area, has less fat, less connective tissue, and cooks faster. Dark meat is found in the drumsticks and thighs, and has more fat, more connective tissue, and takes longer to cook.

When choosing poultry look for a full-breasted bird with plump, short, pliable legs. The skin should be smooth and soft, and can range in color from creamy to yellow. Avoid chicken with a foul odor or with skin that is bruised or torn. Raw chicken can be kept refrigerated for up to two days, and chicken should not be frozen for longer than two months to avoid flavor degradation. One in 50 Americans is believed to contract food poisoning from chicken every year. To kill common poultry bacteria such as Salmonella, common in 10% of birds, it is of the utmost importance that it should never be undercooked. The slightest tinge of pink is usually alright since the bird will finish cooking by the time it is served, but it should be confirmed that there is absolutely no red showing whatsoever. Be careful not to overcook the bird, as it can quickly become dry and chewy. It is also advised never to buy a poultry on Monday, as you're likely getting a bird that didn't sell over the weekend.

Frozen and deeply-chilled poultry is best thawed slowly in a refrigerator, or if not possible, then through immersing in cold water. The water should be changed every 30 minutes until the bird is thawed, to keep the bird cold, as warm water will encourage bacterial growth in the bird. As soon as possible, remove the bird's giblets to promote air getting into the cavity.

When cooking poultry, low temperatures should generally be used for large birds like turkeys and capons, while high temperatures are used for small items like squab and game birds. The bird's skin can be oiled to help in browning and protect against drying, and seasonings, mirepoix, or a bouquet garni can be placed inside a bird's cavity to give more flavor.

To carve and cut poultry, one should always have a sharp knife so as to cut the bird as thin as can be managed. It is also important to allow a cooked bird to rest in a warm place for 10-15 minutes to let the flesh "set" so as to make carving easier. One should always carve across the grain of meat, and don't carve too far ahead or meat juice will be lost.

CHICKEN
Chicken is the most popular type of poultry in the world, raised for both its meat and eggs. Americans alone consume over 6 billion chickens a year, of which 2 billion are believed to carry some contamination. It was regarded as a luxury item up until the middle of the 20th century, when a change in rearing methods made it more plentiful and inexpensive to the masses. Most chicken is tender and versatile, and ideally suited for all cooking methods including roasting, sautéing, shallow & deep-frying, grilling, poaching, and casseroling. On a French menu, chicken breasts are referred to as supremes, chicken is also sometimes poached and served with truffle slivers inserted under its skin. In Morocco, it is rubbed with honey and stuffed with ground almonds and sweet basil or with dried apricots and raisins. It is served with peanuts in the West Indies, and with almonds in China, and in West Africa, it is cooked inside a scooped-out melon. In Italy, it often comes with tomatoes and garlic, or, simply roasted, it is served with a salsa da fegatini, made of chicken livers, diced ham, mushrooms, chicken stock, and Marsala.

Chicken generally has a lack of flavor, making it suitable for dishes which involve distinct added flavors, and for this reason its use has been adapted to cuisines around the world. The reason behind the lack of flavor is that factory-raised chickens are fattened so fast and killed so young that the birds do not have a chance to develop their full flavor.

Tarragon is the herb that seems to work best with chicken, though marjoram, oregano, and thyme also work well with it. The best additions or flavorings for cooking chicken are bacon, garlic, cream, yogurt, olive oil, white wine, sherry, saffron, and ginger, while the best accompaniments are mushrooms, shallots, potatoes, and rice, and the best fruits and nuts are walnuts, lemons, apricots, pine nuts, and almonds.

Various standards and grades on rearing methods, diet, age, and weight attribute many terms and classifications to chicken, such as "Poussin," "Spring Chicken," "Chicken," "Boiling Fowl," "Boiler-Fryer," "Capon," "Free-Range," "Corn-Fed," "Rock Cornish Hen," or "Roasters." Definitions of each follow: Poussin: A young chicken weighing around 12-16 oz., and providing one portion. A poussin, which is generally grilled, fried, or roasted, has a very light flavor, and is often marinated or well-seasoned before cooking. Also known as a Squab, though true squab is a farm-raised young pigeon.
Spring Chicken: A young bird, older than a poussin, which is prepared in the same way but generally provides two portions.
Chicken: A general chicken weighing from 3-6 pounds. The larger chickens are older and slightly more flavorful.
Boiling Fowl: A mature hen with tough flesh and a full flavor, which are excellent for stocks, broths, or long-cooked casseroles. Also known as Stewing Chickens.
Broiler-fryer: A chicken weighing around 3 ½ lbs, which is best when broiled or fried.
Capon: A castrated young cock, larger and more flavorful than an average chicken. In France, fat, neutered young hens prized as capons are called "poulardes." The most famous of these comes from Bresse, and a true poularde de Bresse proclaims its provenance with a metal disk clipped to its wing.
Free-Range: Also known as Organic, these birds have been generally been raised with different conditions including housing and diet, providing meat with better texture and more flavor.
Corn-fed: A chicken raised with a diet of or rich in corn. There is little to no taste difference, and the chicken meat can take on a yellow color from the artificial color in the feed, especially when it is fried up.
Rock Cornish Hen: A hybrid of a Cornish and White Rock chicken, which provide one serving per bird. These miniature chickens weigh up to 2 ½ lbs, and make an elegant main course at a dinner party with one bird for each guest.
Roasters: A chicken up to 8 mos. Old, weighing between 2 ½ - 8 lbs., but generally between 4-5 pounds, which feeds roughly 4 people. These birds are best when roasted due to their high fat content.

Chicken and turkey is given a grade of either A, B, or C through the government's USDA classifications. Grade A birds are generally what is found in markets, while Grade B birds are less meaty and well finished, and Grade C is generally reserved for scrawny turkeys. The terms used to classify chicken and other types of poultry include Kind (species), Class (kind subdivision), Style (live, dressed, or ready to cook), and State of Refrigeration.

To draw a chicken, one should cut through the skin down the length of the neck and remove the windpipe and gullet, pulling out the crop at the same time. Leave the neck as it is or sever it at the base, without cutting through the skin. Make an incision at the tail end and pull out the intestines, gizzard, liver, heart, and lungs. Remove the gall bladder from the liver immediately. Split the gizzard on the rounded side and remove the grain sac. Singe the chicken to remove all the remaining down. Clean the giblets and replace in the cavity if not to be used right away. Cut off the wing tips, bend back the rest of the bottom joint, and tuck the ends underneath the bird to form a neat shape. Cut off the feet at the joint with the drumstick Fold back the neck, if its still on, under one wing, or fold back the skin of the neck over the breast. Truss.

When rendering chicken, one should cut the chicken fat into ½" pieces, cooking over low heat until there is nothing left but clear fat in which pieces of browned skin are sitting. These pieces of skin, after drained, can be combined with cooked onion and eaten as a snack or served with other dishes. The rendered fat will keep for weeks if refrigerated.

TURKEY
Turkey became a bigger part of cooking following release of smaller portions of the large bird. For instance, an average American ate 20 pounds of turkey in 1991, and 25 pounds in 1994, compared with only 2 pounds in 1930. When compared with chicken, it has less bone and waste in proportion to its size. It is beneficial to baste a whole turkey due to the lengthy time period it must remain in an oven with its dry heat. This should be done with fat only, and only about once every 30 minutes so as to not prevent heat loss from the oven.

Most of today's turkeys are of the White Holland variety, which has been bred to produce a large amount of white meat. It's breasts are so massive that breeders rely on artificial insemination because male turkeys cant get close enough to mate. The classifications for turkey include Standard, Wild, Free-Range, Kosher, and Self-Basting. Wild turkeys are said to often be not too flavorful, and tough to eat, making them not worth the higher price. While nice in concept, Self-basting turkeys are often just injected with a seasoned vegetable oil so as to keep the bird's meat moist if cooked properly.

Male turkeys can reach upwards of 70 pounds, though are hard to find over 20. The female (hen) turkey generally weighs between 8-16 pounds. A smaller version of both, sometimes called a fryer-roaster, which weighs in between 5-8 pounds, is becoming more and more popular as turkey is consumed on a more regular basis. When preparing turkey, one should calculate one pound of bird per person dining.

Turkey is classically served in the United States as a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner, since the arrival of the first European colonists to the country were saved from famine by wild turkey. It is generally accompanied by stuffing and cranberries. It is recommended that the stuffing be cooked separately in a casserole dish and added to the oven during the last hour or so that the turkey roasts as it will turn out lighter, and golden brown and crisp around the edges. It takes a stuffed bird longer to cook, which often makes the bird dry out long before it is ready to be served. In Mexico on national holidays, turkey is often served with a mole sauce, while in Spain, the bird is sometimes served stuffed with sweetbreads and truffles.

DUCK
Duck is popular in countries including France and England for both its foie gras and magrets (fillets). They, along with geese, do not offer value for money in the same way that chickens and turkeys do, because they have shallow breasts with little meat, and a lot of bone in proportion to meat. For instance, a duck weighing 4 or 5 pounds would likely only serve 2 or 3 people after roasted. Commercial raised ducklings have a thick layer of fat under the skin which stops the meat from drying out or becoming tough. The breast meat is considered most succulent when eaten pink, but its legs should be more thoroughly cooked. Duck is usually roasted whole, but its parts are also sometimes cooked separately.

The fat from the duck or goose can be rendered without drying out the bird through the Chinese method of giving the bird an initial steaming. Other methods include simply pricking the skin as the bird roasts.

The fat on duck allow the bird to retain much of its flavor after being frozen. However, it can require 2-3 days to defrost by refrigerator, and fresh still retains an edge in taste. Frozen duck, however, can be purchased year-round, while fresh duck is only available from early summer through the fall.

One duck specialty item is Magret; a boneless breast from the moulard breed, which is thicker and meatier than the breast of a regular Peking.

While basting may be beneficial for a large turkey, duck and geese have enough fat that they are usually roasted breast-up.

All ducks today are descendents of either of two species; mallards and muscovys. About half the ducks in America are Long Island ducks, a direct descendent of the Peking. Broilers and fryers are less than 8 weeks old, while roaster ducks are no more than 16 weeks old. Almost 90% of the ducks available in markets are frozen and available year round, though fresh duck is available in some places from late spring through early winter. Breeds include Aylesbury, Barbary, Gressingham, Long Island, Nantes, Norfolk, Peking, and Rouen, and there are several types of wild duck including Souchet, Gadwall, Baldplate, Pintail, Sheldrake, and Merganser.

Duck has a USDA grade of either A, B, or C through the government's USDA classifications. Grade A duck is generally what is found in markets, while Grade B birds are less meaty and well finished, and Grade C are generally used for commercial purposes. The grade stamp can be found within a shield on the package wrapping, or on a tag attached to the bird's wing.

One famed duck dish is Pressed duck, which was created by a restaurateur from Rouen named Mechenet at the beginning of the 19th century. Prepared in front of the customer, thin slices of breast (aiguillettes) are cut from the bird and placed in a dish of reduced red wine on a hotplate. The rest of the duck, except for the legs, are then pressed through a special screw press, with its juices being flavored with Cognac, thickened with butter, and poured over the aigullettes before cooking is completed. The Danes and Swedes boil duck with herbs, and serve with sauce such as mustard or horseradish.

Classic flavors to enhance duck include oranges, both bitter and sweet, turnips, and onions, which offset the rich meat. Also used are sautéed potatoes, green olives, red wine, and vermouth. More recently, duck has been served with eggplant and ginger, and with apples, walnuts, and prunes.

GOOSE
Geese are primarily grown in modern times for the production of foie gras, but are also eaten by well-to-do European families around the holidays. In the areas where they are bred for foie gras, the remainder of the geese is sold as is, cut up and preserved, or made into rillettes. Much larger than duck, geese weigh around 5 - 18 pounds. Goslings (young geese of either sex) are recommended when available since they are most tender. One way to determine the age of a goose is to see if its neck is still pliable or not. They are best roasted, but larger, older birds should be braised or cooked with another moist-heat method.

When cooking goose, some cooks will sprinkle a little flour on the bird before cooking is finished so as to form dark, crusty speckles, but a superior method of crisping the skin is achieved by splashing the bird with a little cold water right before it comes out of the oven, letting the water hiss and evaporate like it would on a hot iron.

Goose fat is even more flavored and plentiful than duck fat, and has several home remedy uses around farms and households of old. It is also particularly good for frying potatoes.

Goose has a USDA grade of either A, B, or C through the government's USDA classifications. Grade A duck is generally what is found in markets, while Grade B birds are less meaty and well finished, and Grade C are generally not available to the consumer.

GUINEA FOWL
Guinea fowl are primarily raised in France. A descendent of the pheasant, their dark meat tastes of flavorful chicken, and are usually cooked and handled like young chicken, though they have a tendency to be dry and thus require regular basting. The Guinea hens are more tender than the male of the species, and range in size from ¾ - 4 pounds. "Fermier" is the French term used for birds reared with access to runs, while the most tender and succulent Guinea fowl are the pintadeaux.

In Poland, Guinea fowl are rubbed inside and out with ground ginger an hour before roasting, and served with chestnut puree, while in the west of England, it is sometimes braised in hard cider.

OSTRICH
Ostrich, while still a rarity, is appearing more and more on gourmet menus. Farmed in California, the bird has a taste like slightly sweet beef, with a texture similar to tender steak. It should be cooked like a very lean meat due to its low fat content, and its recommended that it be served with a sauce such as shallot sauce or something sharp and fruity like a rich red wine sauce enhanced with tomato.

References:
Larousse Gastronomique; 2001; Pages 271-272, 430-431, 588, 932, 1244
Food Lover's Companion; 2001; Pages 124-126, 273-274, 287, 490, 644
6001 Food Facts & Chef's Secrets; 1995; Pages 189-191
The Cooking Enthusiast; 2000 ; Pages 173 - 174, 188-189
Professional Cooking, 4th Edition; 1999; Pages 276 - 277, 279, 288
Oxford Companion to Food; 1999; Page 166
Barnes & Noble Essentials of Cooking; 2001; Pages 85 - 90
How to Cook Everything; 1998; 355 - 418