Roaster Capon Broiler Game
-fryer hen
| Roaster
| A chicken ranging in age from 3 to 5 months
and weighing from 3-1/2 to 7 pounds. Its meat
is tender and more flavorful than the broiler-fryer
chickens. It makes a good roasting chicken but
can be prepared by other methods and is good in
other dishes. A roaster chicken will generally
serve approximately 5 to 7 people.
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| Capons
| Male chickens that have been castrated. They are
generally under 8 months old and will weigh in the
range of 5 to 9 pounds. The capon has more white
meat but generally has a higher fat content. Its
meat is the most flavorable of all the chickens and
it is very tender. Capons are great roasting
chickens and will serve approximately 6 to 9 people.
They are also insanely expensive even if you can find one.
|
Broiler
-fryer
| A chicken ranging in age from 7 to 13 weeks and
weighing from 1-1/2 to 4 pounds. Its meat is very
tender and it can be prepared by most any
cooking method, such as broiling, braising, frying,
roasting and grilling. Depending on its size, a
broiler-fryer will generally serve 3 or 4 people.
|
Stewing-
chickens
| A mature chicken that is over 10 months old and
weighs in the range of 4 to 7 pounds. Its meat is
very flavorful but tougher than that of the broiler-
fryers and roasters. It is best used for stews and
soups, or should be cooked slowly with a moist
heat method such as simmering or braising to
render the collagen.
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| Game hen
| Cornish game hens are small chickens of the
Cornish variety or a cross thereof. This breed was
created in the 1950s in replacement for guinea
fowl. These birds must weigh no more than 2
pounds, but may be male or female (despite the
hen moniker).
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