#RSS [p?c1=2&c2=8556372&cv=2.0&cj=1] wiseGEEK clear answers for common questions Feedback About wiseGEEK Login ____________________ ____________________ Login forgot password? ____________________ Submit * Language * History * People * World * Art What is a Spring Chicken? [define-5.gif] IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=www.facebook.com%2Fwisegeek &width=238&colorscheme=light&show_faces=true&border_color=%2324364F&str eam=false&header=false&height=258 Article Details * Written By: Michael Pollick * Edited By: Bronwyn Harris * Copyright Protected: 2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation Free Widgets for your Site/Blog Did You Know? more... get widget This Day in History , : more... get widget Subscribe to wiseGEEK Learn something new every day More Info... by email enter email address_ Submit Agriculturally speaking, there really is a creature known as a spring chicken, although chefs may call it a Cornish game hen or Poussin. Bred primarily for eating, a spring chicken is a very young bird with a high ratio of white to dark meat. The meat of a spring chicken is said to be much juicier and more tender than older chickens raised for the dinner table. During the earliest days of poultry farming, it was impossible to raise chicks during the cold winter months, so a chicken brought to market in the spring was prized for its youth and fresher flavor. Metaphorically speaking, a spring chicken could represent a person in the prime of his or her youth. A spring chicken may be a little naive or unseasoned at times, but it often makes up in physical agility and personality what it may lack in worldly experience. A young college student may be described as a spring chicken by others who envy his or her youthful appearance or unclouded worldview. It is often more common to see the negative form: "no spring chicken," in print, because the speaker wants to emphasize his or her non-youthful status. A character may apologize for his or her slowed performance, citing the fact that he or she is no longer a spring chicken. The reference is more of a self-deprecating remark than a criticism of younger people. Being considered a spring chicken by an older person is not usually taken as a pejorative, but rather as a comment on one's youth and vitality. Some restaurants still promote the freshness of their poultry by calling it spring chicken, although modern advances in poultry farming make that designation less significant. The same features which made the original spring chicken so prized can now be duplicated all year round. Chicks can be hatched in staggered batches and housed in heated incubators, which means a "spring chicken" under the age of 10 months should be ready for market at any time of the year, not just the spring months. Related Videos Related wiseGEEK Articles What Is the Nutritional Value of Chicken? What Are Chicken McNuggets Made Of? What Are the Best Tips for Cooking Chicken? What Is Tetrazzini? What Is a Poultry Plant? What is a Poultry Farm? What are Chicken Nuggets? Discuss this Article Markus Post 2 @elleferris – Add some thyme to your recipe the next time and consider using bacon instead of butter. The bacon seeps into the bird and gives it a sweet smoky flavor. I’ve used leftovers from bacon flavored chicken before and made a wonderful spring chicken salad. Whatever ingredients you use with your regular chicken you can pretty much do the same thing with these guys. One of my favorite chicken marinades that I now use on my Cornish hens is teriyaki and pineapple. It’s such a quick and easy Asian meal that’s so delicious. ellafarris Post 1 I use my crock pot for cooking chicken whenever possible. The other day I bought two Cornish Game Hens and wondered if they could be cooked in the crock pot too just like any other chicken. My family loves them but I’ve always traditionally baked them in the oven. I did a quick Google search for spring chicken recipes and was I amazed? Not only can they be cooked in the crock pot but they are even more tender and moist than they are in the oven. The first recipe I used called for very few ingredients of just rosemary, garlic, melted butter and mushrooms. I was really just testing the cooking process but, I did want them to be tasty. It was fall off the bone delicious. My family loved it and I can’t wait to experiment with more ingredients next time. 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