Selecting Good Quality Poultry and Game

1. Live Poultry
a. It has clear eyes.
b. A young chicken has fine and soft feet. If it is old, the feet are thick and scaly.
c. The bone at the tip of the breast is soft in younger chicken and thick in older one.
d. Small feathers indicate that the chicken is young.
2. Whole Poultry. These are slaughtered birds that have been bled and de-feathered.
a. Their head, feet and viscera are still intact.
b. They are clean, well fleshed.
c. They have moderate fat coverings.
d. They are free from pin feathers and show no cuts, scars or missing skin.
3. Dressed Poultry. These are slaughtered birds that have been bled, de-feathered, and
the visceral organs are removed.
a. The skin is smooth and yellow in color
b. The breast is plump
c. The thighs are well-developed
d. It has no objectionable odor
e. It is heavy and the skin is not watery
4. Ready-to-Cook. The dressed birds may be cut up and marinated or seasoned.
5. Poultry Parts. Several pieces of a single poultry part are usually packed in one carton,
wrapped and chilled or frozen. The various poultry parts are divided into any of the
following:
A. dark meat drumsticks, thighs, wings, neck, backs, and rib cage
B. white meat breasts
C. giblets gizzard and heart