Foods, their selection and preparation

1. Ducklings: 2 to 4 pounds (8 to 12 weeks old) Require 1 pound or more for each serving Roasted [224] 2. Western ducks or young ducks: 4 pounds and over (4 to 9 months old) Require 1 pound for each serving Roasted B. Old, mature, less tender meat 1. Ducks: 3 to 5 pounds or above Require 1 pound for each serving Braised (roasted with cover on) IV. Geese A. Up to 1 year old — tender meat 1. Young geese: any weight (5 months up to 1 year) Require 1 pound for each serving Fat Roasted B. Over 1 year old, less tender meat 1. Geese: any weight Require 1 pound lor each serving Windpipe no longer pliable but hard and rigid Very fat Braised, steamed, roasted with cover SELECTION AND BUYING Poultry comes to market in different forms. It used to be purchased "on foot” and still is in many rural markets with inade¬ quate refrigeration facilities. But now in most markets poultry is sold dressed. "Fresh- killed” dressed poultry may come from local producers or, "ice-paGked,” from near-by processing plants. Poultry to be shipped long distances or held in storage is frozen. Market Forms. Poultry may be just dressed or dressed and drawn. The relative amount of edible meat will vary with the form in which poultry is purchased, and this difference is reflected in the price per pound. Market- dressed or New Y or f dressed poul¬ try has been bled, picked, but not drawn (eviscerated), and the head and feet are left on. Many plants sell fresh-killed poultry in [225] this form. Unpackaged, hard-frozen poultry is shipped in this form. It must be thawed if the bird is to be drawn at the market. The price of market-dressed poultry is based on the weight of the bird before evisceration and includes the weight of the head and the feet. Ready-to-coo\ poultry has been bled and picked, and the head and feet and all vis¬ cera have been removed. The carcass and the giblets (liver, gizzard, and heart) are thoroughly cleaned. Most markets will draw and clean any market- or New York- dressed poultry for customers on request. In some markets there is a small charge for this service. (For preparing New York- dressed poultry for cooking see page 228.) Ready-to-cook poultry may be "fresh killed,” or hard-frozen, market-dressed poul¬ try, thawed and eviscerated at the retail store. To an increasing extent poultry is drawn, packaged, and frozen at the point of pro¬ duction, shipped frozen, and should remain frozen until thawed for cooking. The selling weight of the drawn bird does not include viscera, head, or feet, so that the price per pound must be proportionately greater. Cut-up chicken, ready for cooking, is avail¬ able on many markets. It may be fresh-killed or frozen. The price will vary with the part. The choice pieces sell at higher prices than the less meaty ones. Half and quarter turkeys can be had for the family dinner at Thanksgiving and Christ¬ mas. The modern turkey is much larger than the wild bird domesticated by the Amer¬ ican Indian, and is too large for the needs of Half Turkey U.S.D.A. U.S.D.A. Divided into Quarters the small family and the facilities of the aver¬ age apartment-house dweller for cooking and storage. To meet this situation, the larger birds are divided into half or quarter turkeys. Methods have been worked out for roasting these with '"stuffing” for the traditional feasts.