Tips

Tips for choosing delicious poultry

If you know these secrets, you will definitely be able to choose good chicken, whether it's raw or cooked.

17 November, 2023

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Chicken meat is delicious and nutritious. In addition to protein, albumin, and fat, chicken meat also contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It is a high-quality food that is easily absorbed and digested by the human body, but the important thing is that you must choose good chicken.

Tips for choosing good chicken

You can refer to the following ways to choose good chicken so that whether you buy live chicken or ready-to-cook chicken, you can choose the best ingredients for your family meals.

Choosing live chicken

According to the experience of good housewives, good male chickens have firm and delicious meat with a bright red comb, flexible eyes, and no inertia. When comparing 2 chickens of the same size, if you feel that one chicken is heavier, its meat will be firmer.

Some other features to look for in a good male chicken: Smooth and close-fitting feathers; sharp beak without any sticky discharge; straight and slender legs, with yellow and shiny leg skin; short spurs (if the spurs are long, it means the chicken is old).

You can lift the chicken’s feathers, if you see that the skin is thin, soft, and when you gently squeeze the body, it feels firm and not flabby, with some large yellow streaks under the chest, wings… then it is a good chicken. Under the wings, armpits, if you can see the meat and blood vessels, it indicates firm meat without fat. A flexible crop indicates a healthy chicken.

Let me tell you how to choose good chicken to become an excellent housewife. (Image: Odette)

As for female chickens, you should choose chickens that have laid a few clutches, with a red and non-drooping comb, and when you pull apart the breast, you will see yellow skin, narrow but firm breast, and the skin on the wings will be darker yellow.

You should choose chickens with small feet and long beaks. Hill-raised chickens often have blunt beaks because they peck at many stones when foraging, and their feet and toes often have red marks from digging.

Egg-laying chickens have large egg sacs. If you don’t like egg-laying chickens, you can choose those with small egg sacs. Absolutely do not choose chickens with black spots.

Ready-to-cook chicken

Native chickens have light yellow, thin, smooth, and elastic skin, with only a few yellow spots in some areas such as chest, wings, and back. Ready-to-cook native chickens usually have small and compact bodies, with narrow chests.

Good chicken meat looks fresh, without any unpleasant odor, and there are no bruises or blood clots on the skin. If you want to buy good chicken, do not choose chickens with dark black coloration as they are already dead.

The secret to choosing good butchered chicken is to check the neck part of the chicken. (Image : Pinterest)

Furthermore, you should press the chicken’s body, back, or thighs to check if the meat is firm. If the meat is soft, slippery, deformed, or waterlogged, it indicates that the chicken has been injected with drugs or water, and you should not buy it.

Check the neck part of the chicken. If the skin on the neck is shiny and does not have any bruised areas or red blotches, it indicates a healthy and delicious chicken. On the other hand, if the skin on the neck has abnormal coloration, it means the chicken is sick.

You need to observe to determine if the chicken has been dyed or not. If the chicken’s skin is yellow and the layer of fat inside is white, it means the chicken has been dyed with chemicals.

Is male or female chicken meat better?

This depends on individual preferences. Female chicken meat is softer than male chicken meat, especially in the case of young female chickens. If a female chicken has laid about 1-2 clutches, the meat is still good. If a female chicken has laid many clutches, the meat will become tough, tasteless, and less delicious. If a female chicken is old, it takes a long time to simmer the meat before it becomes edible.

Usually, a female chicken weighing about 1.8 – 2.5kg is suitable; if it is less than 1.8kg, the boiled chicken meat will be too tender and not delicious.

Male chickens have firmer meat compared to female chickens, and when boiled, the meat will not be as tender as female chickens. However, male chickens that are used to cook dishes such as stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chili, braised chicken with bamboo shoots, and salted chicken are very delicious. Male chickens that have mated with females for a long time will also be tough, similar to female chickens that have laid 4-5 clutches.

Female chickens, when boiled or steamed in water, will taste better than male chickens. As for male chickens, they will taste better when cooked in dishes such as braised or stir-fried chicken.

According to VTC News