| Poultry

PREPARATION

Eviscerate, wash and dry birds. Allow to chill for 24 hours before freezing
as birds that have not been thoroughly chilled tend to be tough. Package
neck and giblets separately or freeze them, wrapped, in the cavity of the bird.
If there is a large amount of body fat, remove most of it because it may become
rancid and affect the flavor of the bird. Truss and carefully wrap whole birds.
Do not stuff poultry before freezing.

PACKAGING

Package in freezer bags or wrappings. Place a double layer of waxed
paper between the pieces of chicken so that they can be easily separated before
cooking. (See pages 20 and 21.)

STORAGE TIME

Whole chickens and turkeys may be stored 1 year and cut-up poultry 6
months. Geese and ducks may be stored 3 months.

THAWING

Thaw poultry in the original package. Thawing times vary with size,
shape and thickness. For each pound allow:
6 hours in the refrigerator (approximately).
14% hours at room temperature (approximately).

To reduce thawing time at room temperature direct the air current of an
electric fan on the package of frozen poultry. If desired, thaw and heat frozen
cooked poultry over hot water.

Do not refreeze poultry that has completely thawed. Cook it promptly
to prevent spoilage.

After cooking, poultry meat may be removed from the bones and frozen
either alone or combined with other foods in dishes such as chicken a la king,
turkey pie, sandwiches, etc. These foods are best if stored for a short period
only, the same as other leftover cooked meats. (See Storage Time, page 13.)

COOKING

Cook thawed poultry in the same way and for the same time as fresh
poultry. If poultry is cooked without thawing, increase the cooking time by
approximately one-half.

Thaw whole birds completely and stuff just before roasting. To prevent
the spattering of fat when browning and frying unthawed cut-ups, use a
covered pan.

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