(a) Braising. Braising poultry is similar to braising meat. First, dredge drained
pieces in seasoned flour, and shake off the excess. Brown the chicken pieces in shortening, then
finish the cooking process according to the recipe.
(b) Stewing. When poultry is to be used in recipes such as salad, potpie, or la
king, it is stewed first. The item is then cooled and the meat removed from the bones and cut
into pieces. The size of the pieces will vary from ,," to 1", depending on the recipe you follow.
Keep the stock to use in sauce, gravy, or soup. If boneless, frozen, cooked turkey is used, thaw it
and dice it into 1" pieces.
(4) Prepared Dehydrated Cooked Chicken. Chicken pieces are rehydrated according to
the manufacturer's instructions. After dehydrated cooked chicken pieces are rehydrated, use
them the same as fresh cooked and boned chicken.
m. Serving Seafood. Fish and seafood are generally purchased in frozen or canned form.
Fresh fish are highly perishable. For this reason, the Armed Forces purchase them only in
limited quantities.
(1) Frozen Fish. Frozen fish include fish sticks, fish fillets, and fish steaks. Some
come breaded and ready to cook. Others require preparation in the dining facility. Fish steaks
are cross sections of a large dressed fish. A fish steak may be boneless, or it may contain the
cross section of the backbone in the center of the steak. Fillets are the meaty sides of the fish cut
lengthwise away from the backbone and are practically boneless.
(2) Crustaceans and Shellfish. Crustaceans and shellfish are delivered frozen. They
include shrimp (crustacean), oysters, and scallops (shellfish).
(3) Dehydrated Fish and Seafood. Dehydrated fish and seafood do not require
refrigeration until after they have been rehydrated. Follow manufacturer's preparation
instructions for best results.
(4) Cooking Fish. Usually fish is cooked by the dry-heat method. For variety, some
recipes use the moist-heat method. Cook fish so that the required cooking time ends as close to
the serving time as possible. When fish is overcooked or kept warm in an oven after it has been
cooked, it becomes hard and dry and loses its flavor. Fish is done when the flesh separates or
flakes easily with a fork.
(5) Handling Frozen Seafood. Cook frozen, breaded seafood items from the frozen
state. Nonbreaded steaks and fillets must be tempered in the refrigerators so that the pieces can
be separated. TM 10-412 contains numerous recipes for preparing nonbreaded frozen seafood as
well as the breaded items.
(6) Cooking Seafood. Generally it is best to fry lean fish, such as haddock or flounder,
and broil or bake fat fish, such as salmon or mackerel; however, lean fish can be baked if it is
basted frequently with melted fat or if it is cooked with a sauce. TM 10-412 contains several
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