doon@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Harry W. Reed) (02/26/85)
Today I found a recipe which called for half a broiler chicken, but I could find only fryers at the store. Can anybody tell me the difference (besides the obvious that one is meant to be broiled and the other fried)? Lyds (Harry's wife)
lazeldes@wlcrjs.UUCP (Leah A Zeldes) (02/28/85)
Chickens come in various sizes and ages: "Young chickens of either sex are called broilers if they weigh about 2-1/2 lbs. and fryers if they weigh 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 lbs. Roasters, also of either sex, are under 8 months old and weigh 3-1/2 to 5 lbs....Capons, or castrated males, weigh 6 to 8 lbs." --JOY OF COOKING The next step up is stewing chickens. (Hard to find these days, when chickens all come from chicken factories.) The older and larger chickens have the most flavor, but they're also tougher. -- Leah A Zeldes ...ihnp4!wlcrjs!lazeldes
eac@drutx.UUCP (CveticEA) (02/28/85)
Sometimes egg farms will sell the old hens. About all these old birds are good for is stewing and stock making. They do make excellent stock. The egg farm (that burned) in Boulder used to sell their old hens for a very cheap price. Betsy Cvetic ihnp4!drutx!eac
ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (02/28/85)
> > Today I found a recipe which called for half a broiler chicken, but > I could find only fryers at the store. Can anybody tell me the > difference (besides the obvious that one is meant to be broiled and the > other fried)? > > Lyds (Harry's wife) Well, used to was, the type of chicken indicated the tenderness of the chicken (that is, the age of the chicken). Type: Age: Fryer Young, spring chicken, less than 1 yr Broiler/Baker Laying hen, less than 2 yrs Boiler/Stewer Old biddy hen. Done with laying These days, you can really only get fryers and boilers/stewers. And you can only get a boiler/stewer if you go to a butcher shop. Your standard grocery store fryer will do for all purposes. I remember my mother telling me about how she mistook a boiler for a broiler when she was 12 years old, and how the darn thing cooked for hours without getting tender enough to eat... Ariel (boilers are for chicken soup) Shattan ..!tektronix!orca!ariels