All About Chicken Return to Meat Menu Page What's On This Page? Chicken Myths and Truths Hormones, Antibiotics, and Additives How to Handle Frozen Chicken Safely How Much Chicken Should I buy? Recipes for Chicken and Poultry When is Chicken Done? Inspection and Grading Sizes of Chicken What is Chicken Selecting Chickens How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken How to Use a Whole Chicken What is a Chicken? The chicken is a descendant of the Southeast Asian red jungle fowl first domesticated in India around 2000 B.C. Most of the birds raised for meat in America today are from the Cornish (a British breed) and the White Rock (a breed developed in New England). Broiler-fryers, roasters, stewing/baking hens, capons and Rock Cornish hens are all chickens. Here are definitions for these types: Shopping for chicken in the supermarket or at the butcher shop can be a bit confusing. You'll find chicken marketed in a variety of ways--by weight, age, growing method, whole, halves, pieces, boneless, skinless, and on and on--and sold at a wide variety of prices. A range-fed chicken may sell for over $2.00 a pound, while the "regular" chicken is only 59¢ a pound. So, which chicken should you choose, and how should you prep it? Well, as with most things, there is no one answer that's right for everyone. In the material that follows, I'll do my best to shed some light on things so you can make educated decisions that work best for you. How to Handle Frozen Chicken Safely Keep frozen at 0ºF or below until ready to use. • For best quality, use frozen chicken within 6 months of receipt. Date the package before putting in your home freezer. • When ready to use, take out of freezer and thaw in refrigerator. Place on a plate or platter to catch drips in a refrigerator that maintains 40ºF. Set on lowest shelf away from other foods. Chicken will defrost in 1 to 2 days. • Do not thaw chicken at room temperature.• Once the raw chicken defrosts, it can be kept in the refrigerator an additional 24 hours before cooking. DO NOT REFREEZE. • Do not cook frozen chicken in the microwave or in a slow cooker. However, chicken can be cooked from the frozen state in the oven or on the stove. The cooking time will take longer. • Chicken may be marinated in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking.  Chicken Myths and Truths To eliminate fat, should I trim away the skin before eating the meat? It makes little difference in the fat content whether the skin is removed before or after cooking, but the meat is more moist and tender when cooked with the skin on. •The skin is easier to remove after cooking and the fat can be skimmed off. Why do some chickens have different colors? Chicken skin color varies from cream-colored to yellow and is a result of the type of feed eaten by the chicken. • Sometimes the meat looks dark gray when I cut into cooked chicken, is this bad? Darkening around bones occurs primarily in young broiler/fryers such as the kind used in commodity frozen whole chicken. Since the bones have not yet calcified (become hard as in adulthood), pigment from the bone marrow can get into the porous bones. Freezing can also cause this darkening of the bone. When the chicken is cooked, the pigment turns dark. It is perfectly safe to eat chicken meat that turns dark during cooking. How can I tell when a chicken is done? Always use a meat thermometer when testing for doneness. According to the February 2001 issue of Sunset Magazine, "The color of the juices in any part of the bird is not a good indication of whether it's done. In the body cavity, the juices are usually pink; at the thigh joint, they are not always clear, even at 180*F." Regarding thigh meat, "it's almost always a little pink when you first cut into the joint, even when overcooked." But if the thigh has been properly cooked, "the meat will lose its rosy tint very quickly on contact with the air." Rubbery pink meat and pink juices are signs that the chicken needs additional cooking. Whenf the chicken has reached 180ºF, the juices run clear and the meat is tender but looks pink, it is safe to eat. The pink color in safely cooked chicken is due to the hemoglobin in tissues which can form a heat-stable color. Smoking or grilling may also cause the reaction, which occurs more in young birds than older ones.  USDA guidelines state that bacteria found in chicken are destroyed by cooking to 160*F or higher. These include salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, campylobacter jejuni, and listeria monocytogenes. It is not necessary to rinse chicken before cooking, since bacteria will be destroyed with proper cooking. When I open the packet of giblets  they are sometimes different colored, what dose this mean? Giblets (liver, gizzard and heart) color can vary, especially in the liver, from deep dark brownish-red to yellow. The type of feed, how the chicken breaks down food and the breed of the chicken account for the variation in color. If the liver is green, DO NOT EAT IT. This is due to bile in the liver. The rest of the chicken meat is safe to eat. Does chicken need to be washed before cooking? According to Foster Farms, "From a food safety standpoint, it's not necessary to rinse raw poultry before cooking. Proper cooking will destroy bacteria present in the juices. However, for aesthetic reasons, you may want to rinse poultry." How Much Chicken Should I buy? When determining the quantity of chicken needed consider that a chicken has eight pieces - -two wings, two breasts, two thighs, and two drumsticks. I usually figure on serving four people per whole chicken (two pieces each).  A lot depends on the size of the chicken pieces and the appetites of your family.  If your family has hearty appetites then you may need more, or stretch your food dollar by adding plenty of sides dishes, or use meats in combination recipes for soups, stews and casseroles. How Do I Know When Chicken is Cooked? There should be no red or pick tinge to the juices when chicken is fully cooked.  When cooking a whole chicken always use a meat thermometer to be certain the meat if cooked through.  For more information on temperatures see the Temperature Charts. Sizes of Chicken Processed chickens may be classified into one of seven different USDA defined groups. The groups are: broiler, roaster, capon, rock Cornish hen, rock Cornish fryer, hen and rooster. Stewing Roaster Broiler-Fryer Rock Cornish Hen Broiler-Fryer A chicken ranging in age from 7 to 13 weeks and weighing from 1-1/2 to 4 pounds. Their meat is very tender and they can be prepared by most any cooking method, such as broiling, braising, frying, roasting, and grilling. Depending on their size, a broiler-fryer will generally serve 3 or 4 people. Roaster A chicken ranging in age from 3 to 5 months and weighing from 3-1/2 to 7 pounds. Their meat is tender and more flavorful that the broiler-fryer chickens. They make a good roasting chicken but can be prepared by other methods and are good in other dishes. A roaster chicken will generally serve approximately 5 to 7 people. Stewing Chickens A mature chicken, which is over 10 months old and weighing in the range of 4 to 7 pounds. Their meat is very flavorful but tougher than that of the broiler-fryers and roasters. They are best used for stews and soups, or should be cooked slowly with a moist heat method such as simmering or braising. Capons Male chickens that have been castrated. They are generally under 8 months old and will weigh in the range of 5 to 9 pounds. The capon has more white meat but generally has a higher fat content. Their meat is the most flavorable of all the chickens and it is very tender. Capons are great roasting chickens and will serve approximately 6 to 9 people. Rock Cornish Hen: : The offspring of a Cornish chicken or a Cornish chicken crossed with another breed of chicken. The Cornish hen is a young, immature chicken, usually 5-6 weeks old, with a dressed weight of not more than 2 pounds. They are readily available in most supermarkets, though sometimes frozen, and will serve two people per bird. Usually roasted whole. Poussin are baby chickens that are slaughtered at three to four weeks of age and weigh about 1 pound. They are commonly used in restaurants for single servings and tend to taste better than game hens. They are purchased at high-end grocery stores and specialty meat retailers, usually frozen. Hen: A mature female chicken. Chickens of this classificaiton are generally spent hens. Referred to as fowl, hens may be further classified as heavy or light depending on their breed or weight. Hens may be used for stewing, baking or may be deboned for use in processed meats. Cock or Rooster: A mature male chicken with coarse skin and toughened, dark meat. Roosters are generally spent breeders that are deboned for use in processed meats. Requires long, moist cooking. One does not typically know the breed of chicken being purchased, since it's not disclosed by most producers. Inspection and Grading All chicken sold in retail stores in the U.S. is inspected for wholesomeness by either the USDA or a state agency using equivalent standards. Grading is voluntary and takes into account meatiness, appearance, and freedom from defects. The USDA describes Grade A chicken as having, "plump, meaty bodies and clean skin, free of bruises, broken bones, feathers, cuts and discoloration." Hormones, Antibiotics, and Additives According to the USDA, no hormones or steroids are used in the production of chicken in the U.S. Antibiotics can be used in the raising of chicken to prevent disease and increase feed efficiency. However, a "withdrawal" period is required to allow these substances to leave the chicken before it can be slaughtered, ensuring there are no residues in the bird. The USDA does not allow the use of additives on fresh chicken. If chicken is processed, additives like salt or MSG must be listed on the label. What is Fresh and Natural To the consumer, this term is deceptive. You'll see the words "fresh" and "natural" used a lot when it comes to chicken. These terms have official government definitions. Here's the USDA definition of "fresh": "The term 'fresh' may only be placed on raw poultry that has never been below 26*F. Poultry held at 0*F or below must be labeled 'frozen' or 'previously frozen.' No specific labeling is required on poultry between 0 and 26*F. "...the term 'fresh' should not be used on the labeling of raw poultry products that have been chilled to the point they are hard to the touch." So in the context of chicken, "fresh" has to do only with the temperature at which it's been maintained from the time it was processed until the time you bought it at the store. It has nothing to do with how long it's been sitting in the display case at the store. And apparently, there's no name to describe chicken that's in limbo between 0 and 26*F! Now let's define "natural". USDA guidelines state that any product can be labeled "natural" if it does not contain any artificial flavoring, coloring, chemical preservative, or synthetic ingredient, and has been minimally processed. When it comes to raw chicken, "minimally processed" means it has only been handled as necessary to slaughter, clean, and make it ready for cooking. You'll notice that "natural" has nothing to do with the conditions under which the chicken was raised, what it was fed, how stress-free its life was, whether it ever received antibiotics, or whether organic farming practices were employed. Conventional, Kosher, Range-Fed, Free Range and Organic Chicken The methods and conditions under which chickens are raised and processed have an impact on quality, pricing, and marketing. Large regional and national producers raise chickens in high volume using modern agricultural methods, in accordance with USDA guidelines, and deliver a product that is tasty, safe, and inexpensive. For lack of a better term, we'll call this "conventional" chicken. Kosher chickens are raised and processed in accordance with Jewish religious law and are clearly labeled as kosher. These chickens are hand-slaughtered rather than killed by machine and are dunked in cold water to remove feathers rather than scalded. The carcass is buried in salt for about an hour and rinsed to remove blood and impurities before packaging, in what amounts to a short brining process. Of course, kosher chickens cost more than conventional chickens because they are produced in smaller numbers and require more labor to produce. The market for "range-fed", "free-range", and "organic" chickens is dominated by small regional producers that offer their birds as a higher quality, better tasting, and more humane alternative to conventional chicken. They also command a higher price as a result.One grower, describes their free range chickens as having "old-fashioned flavor because they are grown longer (9-10 weeks when marketed) and fed a high quality, flavor enhancing, corn and soybean meal vegetarian diet containing no animal fat or animal by-products." They go on to say their chickens are grown in a stress-free environment in spacious houses and they have an outside yard in which to roam. Their chickens are never given antibiotics, and if a chicken does get sick, antibiotics are administered and the entire flock is removed and sold as "conventional" chicken. "Organic" chickens go even further. Organic chickens are raised using "materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole." In addition to outdoor access and no antibiotics, organic chickens are fed certified organic feed for their entire life containing grains and soybeans grown in soil that has been free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers for a period of three years. There is an audit trail of the entire chicken's life, from hatched egg through growing, processing, and distribution. Finally, the whole operation is certified by an outside, non-profit environmental organization to ensure everything is being done in accordance with organic principles. Of course, producers of conventional chicken believe their products represent a better value and are just as natural, healthy, and tasty as range-fed and organic products.  Note that the price of free-range chicken can be many times higher than conventional chicken, and organic even higher than that. In the end, let your taste buds, your conscience, and your pocket book be your guide.