Avoid cosmetic damages, such as bruising or tears in the skin, which can affect the chicken's quality and freshness. Chicken should also be plump; when you press against it, the meat should be somewhat resilient, resuming its shape after a few seconds. A clean, neutral aroma is also a good indicator of freshness.
The major poultry meat quality attributes are appearance, texture, juiciness, flavour, and functionality. Of these, the most important have traditionally been appearance and texture since they most influence consumers' initial selection and ultimate satisfaction with traditional poultry meat products.
Poor Quality Chicken
Slow-growing and organic chicken are ideal when it comes to quality. Woody chicken breasts and chicken with white striping are two types of chicken that are generally known to result in rubbery chicken regardless of the cooking process.
Parameters of chicken meat quality. When considering nutritional aspects, poultry meat is good for consumers because it is rich in protein and minerals, and contains a small amount of fat with high portion of unsaturated fatty acids and a low cholesterol level [2].
Consumers determine quality meat as one with desirable color, firm texture, less drip, high marbling, and moderate visible fat and fresh meat odor, while discoloration, soft texture, large amount of drip, less marbling, excessive visible fat and abnormal meat odor are considered as poor quality traits for fresh meat.
The most important meat quality attributes include tenderness, taste, juiciness, leanness, nutrient quantities, safety and convenience (Webb, 2006).
It is said that the Bresse chicken produces the best-tasting meat that is also marbled, similar to beef. However, they are a smaller bird than broilers at only 5-7 lbs when they reach market weight. They are easy to raise, forage well, and have a good disposition.
The two most important quality attributes for poultry meat are appearance and texture since they influence the initial consumer selection of a product as well as final satisfaction [15]. Appearance quality attributes include skin color, meat color, and appearance defects such as bruises and hemorrhages.
When buying poultry, the characteristics of good quality according to the USDA are: fully fleshed and meaty good confirmation, normal shape free of disjointed or broken bones well developed and well distributed layer of fat in the skin free of pinfeathers, exposed flesh and discolorations in the case of frozen ...
For carcasses and parts, the factors include conformation, fleshing, fat covering, defeathering, exposed flesh, discol- orations, disjointed or broken bones, missing parts from whole carcasses, and freezing defects, if applicable.
Meat and poultry are great sources of protein. They also provide lots of other nutrients your body needs, like iodine, iron, zinc, vitamins (especially B12) and essential fatty acids. So it's a good idea to eat meat and poultry every week as part of your balanced diet.
Their wattles and combs will be bright red in colour, and the comb should be upright. Give your chickens a health check at least once a month. A poorly chicken will appear slumped or hunched over and may have their eyes shut. Their combs and wattles can look much paler in colour and be flopped to one side.
Healthy feathers – unless you're buying an older chicken during molt, chickens and chicks shouldn't be missing feathers. Straight legs, feet and toes – an unhealthy chick may have difficulty walking or have poor posture with its neck retracted into its body.
You should always take a look at the chickens for sale before you buy them. Look for healthy backyard chickens that are alert, active, have a clean vent, bright eyes and no discharge from the eyes or nostrils. Chickens also talk to one another during the day (some talk a lot!).
Australorps as Meat Chickens (Table Birds) Although initially bred as layers, the Australorp is considered one of the best chicken breeds for the table, being rated as having a Moderate-High “table value”. With it's great level of meat production, Australorp Roosters are very popular amoungst hobby farmers*.
Lean meats such as chicken breast are often recommended as a “healthier” option when compared to other types of meat because it is low in calories and fat.
Meat Grades of Chicken
There are three grades of chicken. A, B, and C. Grade A is the best quality and most commonly found in butcher shops and grocery stores.
The Bresse — This bird, with its bright blue feet, is regarded as the best tasting meat chicken in the world. A Bresse reaches a mature weight between five and seven pounds in about 20 weeks. While they do not produce a lot of meat per bird, that meat is very tender and flavorful.
The Bresse, with its bright blue feet, is regarded as the best-tasting meat chicken in the world by some people who haven't tasted the Beijing You and the native Philippine chicken breeds. A Bresse reaches a mature weight of between five and seven pounds in about 20 weeks.
The first three quality grades — Prime, Choice and Select — are the most commonly recognized by consumers and are considered food-grade labels by USDA.