Poultry Trimmings

Appears in

Published 1989

About

Birds are generous in providing not just meat, but several extra pieces for the pot. The carcass makes excellent stock, particularly when raw, though soup made from cooked bones should not be overlooked. The fat that accumulates in mature birds can be rendered for cooking; chicken fat is valued in Jewish cooking, while the French, particularly in the southwest around Gascony, rely on goose fat for frying and for making pastry.

When buying a prepared bird, be sure the giblets are included: poultry giblets provide necks for the stockpot, gizzards and hearts can be smoked or preserved en confit for salads or traditional casseroles, and the feet can be added to stock for gelatin. Cockscombs—once considered an aphrodisiac—are part of such luxury garnishes as the Renaissance béattiles or tidbits, which consisted of a collection of small delicacies such as sweetbreads, artichokes, mushrooms, truffles and cock’s kidneys. Cockscombs must be simmered for two to three hours until tender.