Choosing Poultry Meats

General Information on Poultry

• Includes barnyard products: hen, chicken, rooster, pigeon, duck, turkey, goose, guinea fowl, rabbit.

Chicken

• Types of Chickens:
  • Farm-raised chicken: 1,200 to 1,500 kg gutted, tender, flavor varies with age and diet.
  • Free-range chicken: 700 g to 1.6 kg gutted, firmer.
  • Label chicken (e.g., Bresse, Landes, Périgord): feed without animal fat.
  • Non-label chicken: less expensive, less flavorful.
• Signs of Quality:
  • Smooth legs with spurs.
  • White or yellow flesh depending on the breed.
• Available Products:
  • Chicken in fillet and viscera, whole or in pieces.
  • Frozen or smoked chickens.

Hens and Roosters

• Less expensive but less tender and fatter.
• Require long cooking time.
• Signs of age: thick scales on legs.

Ducks

• Quality Characteristics:
  • Plump without being too fat.
  • Flexible bill and wings indicate tenderness.
• Popular Breeds:
  • Barbarie duck: firm, lean meat, available August to February.
  • Nantais duck: tender, fat, available March to August.

Turkey and Young Turkey

• Turkey:
  • Choose a fat turkey, smooth black legs.
  • Less than one year for tenderness.
• Young Turkey:
  • Often sold as boneless roast.

Goose

• Average of 4 kg.
• Choose pinkish meat, white fat.
• Plumage depends on the region (Bresse, Normandy, Pays de la Loire).

Guinea Fowl

• Fine meat, sometimes dry.
• Prefer supple skin, smooth legs.

Pigeon

• The only poultry without a gall bladder in the liver.
• Choose pinkish or bluish skin, flexible beak.

Rabbit

• Sold whole or in pieces.
• Signs of quality: pink meat, bright eye, vivid red liver.
• Avoid rabbits over 1.8 kg due to the risk of toughness.