CONCEPT 9: A COVERED POT DOESN'T NEED LIQUID Flashcards
What is en cocotte?
Cooked in a small casserole - no liquid added.
Another term for en cocotte.
“Dry” braising.
TEST KITCHEN: “Dry” braising vs open pot.
Open pot chicken lost more moisture and had less jus left over–about 66% less.
Why is it best to cook chicken breast side up in a covered pot?
The greatest transfer of heat will occur at the bottom of the pan, allowing the closer dark meat to reach 175º while the white meat hits 160º.
What type of muscle fibers are in the thighs and legs of poultry? Are the muscle cells dark or light?
Slow-twitch, dark.
What does myoglobin do with oxygen?
Stores it in muscle fibers.
What type of muscle fibers make up chicken breasts?
Fast-twitch.
What has more fast twitch fibers, ducks or chickens? Why?
Birds that don’t fly long distances need less slow-twitch fibers. This is why turkeys and chicken have more fast-twitch fibers than ducks. Thus the darker color in duck and other bird’s breast meat.
Collagen level in white meat chicken.
Less than 2%
Collagen in dark meat chicken.
8%
Primary source of fat in most birds.
The skin
Weight range of whole chickens.
1 to 8lbs
Weight range for whole turkeys.
10 to 25lbs
Two methods used on chickens after slaughter. Which is better?
Air-chilled and water-chilled. Air-chilled is better bc the latter method causes the bird to absorb water.
How do you know if a bird was water chilled?
If the package states, “contains up to 4% water.”
