AQUA-PRODUCT, MEAT AND DAIRY TECHNOLOGY

CJB 30303

LAB MANUAL

EXPERIMENT 3: FABRICATION OF POULTRY CARCASS

OBJECTIVES

After this experiment, each student should be able to:

  Understand the purpose of each of the steps in the fabrication of poultry carcass
  Understand the analysis of poultry carcass
 Understand the composition of poultry carcass

INTRODUCTION

The structure or shape of the bird may affect the distribution and amount of
meat. The drumsticks, thighs and breast carry the bulk of the meat. Females almost
invariably carry more flesh over the back and will generally have a more rounded
appearance to the breast, thighs and legs. Fat in poultry is judged entirely by
accumulation under the skin. This is true even for poultry parts. Accumulations occur
first around the feather follicles in the heavy feather tracts. Poorly fattened birds may
have some accumulation of fat in the skin along the heavy feather tracts on the breast.
Then, accumulations will be noted at the juncture of the wishbone and keel and where
the thigh skin joins the breast skin. At the same time, accumulations will be noted
around the feather follicles between the heavy feather tracts and over the back and
hips. Well-finished older birds will have sufficient fat in these areas and over the
drumsticks and thighs so that the flesh is difficult to see. Younger birds generally
have less fat under the skin between the heavy feather tracts on the breast and over the
drumsticks and thighs than mature birds.

Exposed flesh can result from cuts, tears, missing skin or broken or disjointed
bones. It permits the flesh to dry out during cooking, thus lowering the eating quality.
Most poultry is packaged in material that reduces exposure to air. Discolouration is
categorized as slight, lightly shaded or moderate. Slightly discolouration are generally
pinkish in colour while lightly shaded discolouration are generally reddish in colour
and usually confined to areas of the skin or the surface of the flesh. Moderately
shaded discolouration are areas that are generally dark red or bluish or areas of flesh

1
bruising. Bruises in the flesh are permitted only to the extent that there is no
coagulation or clotting of blood cells.

The intensity of the yellow finish on chicken is not a quality factor. The
presence of yellow skin occurs genetically when a carotenoids pigment is deposited in
the epidermal layer of skin. The yellow skin colour is commonly intensified by
incorporating pigments known as xanthophyll into the bird’s diet.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fabrication of Poultry Carcass

1. Stretch the wing and cut through the joint next to the body.

2. Cut through the loose skin between the thigh and body of the bird.

2
3. Grasp the leg and force it back until the hip joint is popped out of its socket.

4. Remove the leg from the body by cutting from back to front as close as
possible to the back bone.

3
5. Cut through the knee joint to separate the thigh and drumstick.

6. Divide the breast and back halves by cutting from the tail through the rib
joints on each side to the neck junction. Cut through the middle of the joint,
holding the knife parallel to the breastbone

7. Divide the back into two pieces by making a cut along the side of the last rib
to the backbone on both sides of the carcass. Then break the back at the cuts
and cut through the remaining connective tissue to separate the pelvic section
from the rib cage.

4
 8. Splitting the breast can be done from the breast side or by cutting from the
inside, through the keel bone.

9. The process will produce 8 pieces:

 2 drumsticks
 2 thighs
 2 wings
 2 breast halves

RESULTS

Total weight of whole poultry carcass : _________ g

Poultry cuts Wt. of cuts (g) Lean (g) Fat (g) Bones (g) Skin (g)
Drumstick 1
Drumstick 2
Thigh 1
Thigh 2
Wing 1
Wing 2
Breast 1
Breast 2

5
QUESTIONS

1. Calculate the percentage of fat, lean, bones and skin in the poultry carcass.
2. Briefly discuss the distribution of fat in poultry carcass.
3. What is the percentage loss in tissue for each cuts (drumstick, thigh, wing
and breast) during fabrication of poultry carcass.

REFERENCES

http://fooddomination.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/120/