Poultry: Guía de Vocabulario, Seguridad Alimentaria y Cómo Asar un Pollo

Poultry

Poultry is a group of birds kept for meat, eggs and feathers. A pullet is a young hen between chick and mature fowl. Poultry is domestic: chicken, ducks, geese, pheasants and turkey are fowl in the wild. A poulterer is a person who sells poultry and game birds as food.

Parts of the Chicken

• Chicken: pollo
• Breasts: pechugas
• Legs: patas
• Wings: alas
• Thighs: contramuslo
• Drumstick: muslo
• Leg quarter: cuartos traseros
• Breast quarter: cuartos delanteros

Types of Birds

• Chick: pollito
• Cock: gallo
• Hen: gallina
• Duck: pato
• Turkey: pavo
• Goose: ganso, oca
• Ostrich: avestruz
• Pigeon: paloma
• Partridge: perdiz
• Pheasant: faisán
• Sparrow: gorrión
• Quail: codorniz
• Squab: pichón

Quality Points

• Clear skin without blemishes
• Flesh firm and pliable
• Not too much fat
• No bruising
• Pliable breastbone

General Information

• Available all year; game birds are seasonal, only during winter.
• Raw poultry can have bacteria.
• Chicken is a versatile food.
• Low fat meat, healthier than red meats.
• Keep fresh chicken in the fridge for 1-2 days at the most.
• Roasting a chicken is simple, easy and tasty.
• The carcass and bones can be used for stocks; leftovers can be used to make salads, soups or sandwiches.

Safety Measures

• Before cutting raw poultry, you must wash your hands with soap and hot water, using clean utensils and surfaces.
• Raw poultry and its juices can contaminate other foods, so take extreme caution in the storage and preparation of chicken.

Cleaning the Chicken

• Remove stray feathers.
• Clean under cold water and dry with a towel.
• Remove the giblets.
• Trussing helps the chicken maintain a good shape during roasting.
• Stuffing is a mixture of chopped and seasoned ingredients.

Roasting Temperatures and Times

• A large chicken can still take over 2 hours to roast.
• For crispy, brown skin, set the oven to 220ºC and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180ºC.

Roasting the Chicken

• Grease the skin with butter or olive oil.
• Season with salt, pepper and aromatic herbs.
• Roast the chicken.

Resting Time

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. We can use the juices from roasting to make a gravy, then carve and serve.

Labelling

• Free range
• Organic
• Basted
• Chemical free, or fresh organic and chemical free poultry, is grown without hormones.

Free range chickens are stronger. Corn-fed chickens are fed on a corn diet and are of lower quality than free range chickens.