Cooked chicken bones may appear red or have red liquid inside while the outer meat is cooked, which can be concerning as it may indicate bacterial contamination. From a biological perspective, this phenomenon is quite normal. Animal bodies have two types of proteins: Hemoglobin (Hb) and Myoglobin (Mb).
Hemoglobin Hb helps deliver oxygen to small cells in the blood, while Myoglobin Mb binds more tightly to oxygen typically stored in meat and bones. With poultry like chicken and duck, they have both white meat and slightly darker red meat in their legs and wings, which are more active.
Myoglobin Mb may appear red like blood at first glance but it is not actually blood, as blood will coagulate quickly upon exposure to air. This makes many people wonder why when boiling a large chicken with high heat for a long time, the bones still appear red after chopping, causing doubts about its safety to consume.
Red doesn’t mean raw like many people think
Young chickens, chicks, have weak bone structure and muscles, so when chopping, Myoglobin Mb reacts with air combined with water to form a flowing liquid. This also explains why when eating a medium-rare beef steak, there is some slightly dark red liquid but the taste is sweet and there is no strong metallic blood odor.
How to tell if boiled chicken is cooked
Professional chefs often use a thermometer to measure the cooking temperature of food by inserting it into the food. For boiled or roasted chicken, inserting the thermometer and it shows 80 degrees means the chicken is cooked and the meat is bacteria-free. You should insert it into the thickest part, which is the chicken thigh. According to a Vietnamese trick, you can use a toothpick or sharp object to poke it and if you don’t see any red liquid, it is cooked.
Methods to prevent chicken meat from being pink or having red bones
To deal with the problem of chicken meat being pink or having red bones, you can change the pH level of the environment by adding a little vinegar or lemon juice. Using lemon and salt to rub during chicken preparation helps effectively eliminate odor and also works when boiling to reduce the occurrence of red bones.
Many Western dishes marinate with a little lemon juice to make the skin crispy and prevent Myoglobin from changing when exposed to air.
Another modern way to quickly boil chicken is to separate the meat and boil it separately, while boiling the bones separately to make broth.
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