Poultry is a generic term for domesticated barnyard fowl reared as food, both for meat and eggs; it includes chicken, duck, turkey, goose and guinea fowl. The meat is considered in this section; eggs are covered here.
Chicken is the most commonly consumed of all poultry. Once a luxury, modern intensive-rearing practices have made it a relatively inexpensive meat, albiet often lacking in flavour and texture. Whereas formerly a chicken's age and breed were the distinguidhing factors in eating quality, nowadays the diet and the method of rearing, whether genuinely free-range or battery, also make a difference. Chicken is a particularly versatile meat, able to be prepared in a myriad ways: it may be baked, roasted, grilled, fried, poached, braised or stewed; its inherent lack of flavour making it a blank canvas for a diversity of flavourings.
Game denotes wild animals hunted for sport; over time, the distinction between domesticated animals and game has become less defined with the modern practice of rearing 'game' in protected circumstances, then releasing them, to ensure stock. Some 'game' is actually farmed. Game birds, or feathered game, include pheasant, partridge, quail, grouse, pigeon and wild duck. Many wild game birds are protected, with their hunting being permitted only during specified seasons.
The flesh of truly wild game is leaner, more compact in texture and more intensely flavoured, than its domesticated counterparts, the result of the greater exercise and natural diet involved in surviving in the wild. Handling in the field, hanging and, above all, the animal's age, determine the eating quality of a particular bird, and therefore how it is best prepared.
Despite the pre-emptive medication of intensively reared birds, in some countries many are infected with salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning. Because salmonella is destroyed by high heat, thorough cooking renders the meat safe to eat; pale fleshed fowl should never be eaten raw or underdone. Care must also be taken not to contaminate other foods when storing and handling raw poultry.
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