Boiled chicken bones may appear red or have red liquid inside while the outside meat is cooked, which makes many people worry that it is still raw and can be contaminated. From a biological perspective, this phenomenon is very normal. The animal body has two forms of protein, Hemoglobin (Hb) and Myoglobin (Mb).
Hemoglobin Hb helps provide oxygen to small cells in the blood, while Myoglobin Mb binds more tightly to oxygen and is usually stored in meat and bones. With poultry such as chicken and duck, they have both white meat and slightly darker red meat in their legs and wings because they are more active.
Myoglobin Mb looks red like blood at first glance, but it is not, because blood will clot quickly when exposed to air. This makes many people wonder why boiling a large chicken, with high heat and a long time, still shows red bones when cut, so they are not confident to use it.
Red does not mean raw as many people think
Young chickens, young birds have not yet solidified bone structure and muscles, so when cut, Myoglobin Mb reacts with air and water to form a flowing liquid. This also explains why when eating medium-rare beef, it has a little dark red liquid, but it tastes sweet without the strong metallic smell of blood.
How to tell if boiled chicken is cooked
Professional chefs often use a thermometer to measure the cooking temperature by inserting it into the food. With boiled or roasted chicken, if it reaches 80 degrees, the chicken is cooked and the meat is safe and bacteria-free. You should insert it into the thickest part of the meat, which is the chicken thigh. According to the tip of Vietnamese people, you can use a toothpick or a sharp skewer to insert it and if you don’t see any red liquid, it is cooked.
How to avoid red meat and bones in chicken
To handle the problem of red bones and red meat in chicken, you can change the pH level of the environment, add a little vinegar or lime juice. The trick of using lime and salt to rub when preparing chicken not only helps to effectively eliminate odors but also has the effect of limiting the problem of red bones when boiling.
In many Western dishes, adding a little lemon juice can help make the skin crispy and prevent Mb from changing when exposed to air.
Another modern way to boil chicken quickly is to separate the meat to be boiled, while the bones are used to make broth.
