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        Poultry refers to the edible flesh, with adhering bones, of any bird that is commonly used as food. Types of poultry include chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, quail, pheasant. All poultry is processed in a similar manner. It is either cooked whole or segmented in a number of ways depending on how it is to be used. All segments of small, young poultry can be prepared using dry heat cooking methods. Older birds, once they stop laying eggs, are butchered and marketed as stewing hens or boiling fowl.

These birds need moist heat preparation and are ideal for pot pies, stews, and soups. All poultry should be fully cooked to at least 74°C (165°F) to eliminate the presence of salmonella. A bird can be split in half lengthwise through the backbones and keel bone, or it can be split into a front quarter and a hind quarter. The front quarter of the bird contains the breast and wing meats, while the hindquarter contains the legs. It is common to further break the poultry into segments.

For maximum yield and precise processing, poultry can be segmented by cutting through the soft natural joints of the bird. The term 8-cut chicken is used to describe a chicken segmented into two drumsticks, two thighs, and both breasts split in half across the rib bone (one half may contain the wing). This procedure is always done with the bone in. These segments can be processed further to boneless skinless cuts if desired. Figure 29 shows a fully segmented frying chicken, and Table 37 lists the common chicken cuts. Photos of the main different cuts of chicken can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate name below or by scrolling down this page.

	Whole Chickens Whole Chickens are marketed either fresh or frozen.
	Halves The bird is split from front to back through the backbone and keel to produce 2 halves of approximately equal weight.
	Breast Quarters Halves may be further cut into which include the wing. A breast quarter, including portions of the back, is all white meat.
	Split Breast A breast quarter with the wing removed.
	Split Breast without Back A breast quarter with wing and back portion removed.
	Boneless, Skinless Breast Split breast that has been skinned and deboned.
	8-Piece Cut The whole bird is cut into 2 breast halves with ribs and back portion, 2 wings, 2 thighs with back portion and 2 drumsticks. The parts may be packaged together and labelled as whole cut-up chicken. These are usually sold without giblets.
	Whole Chicken Wing The Whole Chicken Wing is an all white meat portion composed of three sections; the drumette, mid-section and tip.
	Wing Drummettes The first section between the shoulder and the elbow.
	Wing Mid Section with Tip The flat centre section and the flipper (wing tip).
	Wing Mid Section The section between the elbow and the tip, sometimes called the wing flat or mid-joint.
	Whole Chicken Leg The Whole Chicken Leg is the drumstick-thigh combination. The whole leg differs from the leg quarter in that id does not contain a portion of the back.
	Boneless, Skinless Leg Whole chicken leg with skin and bone removed.
	Thigh The thigh is the portion of the leg above the knee joint.
	Boneless, Skinless Thigh Thigh with skin and bone removed.
	Drumsticks Drumsticks include the lower portion of the leg quarter (the portion between the knee joint and the hock).
	Giblets Includes heart, liver and neck.