3rd quarter

• In preparing and cooking poultry dishes, the term quality should be clearly defined as it relates to poultry, there are factors that affects the quality of the poultry product, these are the appearance, texture and flavor. 
• Appearance (color) – color of meat depends upon the presence of muscle pigment. Discoloration of poultry can be related to the amount of these pigments that are present in the meat, the chemical state of the pigments, or the way in which light is reflected off of the meat. Another meat discoloration is bruising – affected area are good indicator of the age of the injury and give some clues as to its origin. 
• Texture (tenderness) – meat is tender depends upon the rate and extent of the chemical and physical changes occuring in the muscle as it becomes meat. 
• Flavor – both taste and odour contribute to the flavor. Age of the bird (young or mature) affect the flavor of the meat – minor affects on meat flavor are related to bird strain, diet, environmental condition, temperature, chilling, packaging and storage. 
• Poultry, like meat may be cooked either by dry or moist heat method. The choice of method depends mainly upon the age of the bird instead of location of the part in the carcass as in the case of meat. Fat content should also be taken into consideration. 
• Dry heat method – refers to any cooking technique where the heat istransferred to the food item without using moisture (roasting, baking, grilling, broiling) 
• Moist heat method – include any techniques that involve cooking withmoisture – whether its steam, water, stock, wine or other liquid (braising, simmering, boiling, stewing) 
• Plating is the act of arranging the meal on the individual plate immediately before it is served. Presentation should look natural. It should feel as though everything that is on the plate is meant to be exactly where it is. 
• Factors to consider in plating/presenting poultry dishes 

  1.Types of service wares

  2.Plating

  3.Garnishing

  4.Sauces

  5.Accompaniments
• Portion Control for Cooked Poultry and Game 

  1.Meat shrinks about 25% when cooked. A quarter-pound hamburger (4 oz.) willactually yield a 3-ounce portion after cooking. An 8-ounce steak will yieldabout 6 ounces of cooked meat.

  2.A chicken breast is generally 3 - 4 ounces.

  3.A chicken thigh is usually 2 ounces, while a leg is 1 – 2-ounces.

  4.Chicken wings are high in fat. Two (2) wings is equal to 1-ounce choice.
• Portion 

  A portion is how much food you choose to eat at one time (breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack), whether in a restaurant, from a package, or in your own kitchen. Portions can be bigger or smaller than the recommended food servings. There is no standard portion size and no single right or wrong portion size. 
• Serving 

  A serving size is the amount of food listed and recommended on a product's Nutrition or the amount of food recommended in the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines* for Americans. Sometimes, the portion size and serving size match; sometimes they do not. A serving is a standard amount used to help give advice about how much to eat, or to identify how many calories and nutrients are in a food