Lessons > Poultry Fundamentals

Your culinary journey starts here

★★★★★ (36)

21,678 Students
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Lesson Overview

Whether you choose to cook turkey, chicken, quail, Cornish hen or duck (or any other type of poultry), it’s important to realize that each bird has relatively the same anatomy.

Once you understand that each part – the legs, the breasts and the wings – is composed of different muscle tissue, yo…

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Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson you'll be able to:
  • explain the difference between white and dark meat
  • understand the basic muscle composition of poultry legs and identify which cooking methods are best suited
  • understand the basic muscle composition of poultry breasts and identify which cooking methods are best suited
  • understand the basic muscle composition of poultry wings and identify which cooking methods are best suited
  • identify fresh poultry
  • store and thaw poultry safely

Course Syllabus

START: Watch Lesson Platform Tour
1. Introduction: Poultry Fundamentals
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2. Complete Your Self Assessment
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3. Poultry | White vs. Dark Meat
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4. Poultry Legs & Cooking
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5. Poultry Breasts & Cooking
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6. Poultry Wings & Other Parts & Cooking
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7. Buying, Storing & Thawing Poultry
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8. Break Down a Chicken
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9. Labeling Sections of Chicken
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10. More Butchering Practice
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11. Practice Activities & Recipes
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12. Lesson Quiz
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Practice Recipes

A few of the practice recipes you'll learn in this lesson.

Prerequisites & Related Lessons

Please consider these additional lessons to support your learning and discovery. Some of these lessons are prerequisites that may help contextualize what you are learning and form a baseline of knowledge and skill. Other lessons are related and may help you explore next steps or dive deeper on a learning topic.

How to Roast Chicken

11 Tasks | 17 Videos | 5 Recipes

★★★★★ (26)

How to Brine

11 Tasks | 31 Videos | 7 Recipes

★★★★★ (33)

What People Are Saying

Aameer thapa-modernist cuisine C "Learned a lot with this lesson." Aameer thapa-modernist cuisine C. ★★★★★
"Learned a lot with this lesson." ★★★★★
"I was actually surprised at how much I already knew about poultry. I have cooked a TON of chicken in my time, but now I have duck and goose on the menu too!" ★★★★
"Great lesson on breaking down a chicken and an excellent variety of chicken receipes." ★★★★★
"Very good techniques and recipes! Only a complaint: could have information and recipes about turkey, duck, quail and other poultry. It's only about chicken." ★★★★★
"The class material was clear and easy to follow and my practice tasked went very well." ★★★★★
"no detailed explanation as to why chicken and turkey must be cooked to well done but other birds ok to medium" ★★★★
"It was easy to understand the questions matched the videos" ★★★★★
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43 Videos | 12 Tasks
Task 1: Introduction: Poultry Fundamentals
Task 2: Complete Your Self Assessment
Task 3: Poultry | White vs. Dark Meat
Task 4: Poultry Legs & Cooking
Task 5: Poultry Breasts & Cooking
Task 6: Poultry Wings & Other Parts & Cooking
Task 7: Buying, Storing & Thawing Poultry
Task 8: Break Down a Chicken

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