Is red chicken meat uncooked?
Most people think that when chicken meat is cooked, it should be completely white, but that’s not the case.
According to Dr. Greg Blonder, author of many books on food, the pink-red color in meat or the pink-red liquid that flows when cutting the chicken is not because the chicken meat is uncooked.
The main reason for this phenomenon is myoglobin – a protein found in chicken bones, which reacts with air during cooking.
This phenomenon often occurs in young chickens, because their bone and skin structure are not firm enough, so blood from the bone marrow easily seeps into the meat during cooking, giving the meat a pink color and the bones a dark color.
Chicken meat with this red color is still perfectly safe to eat and does not pose a health risk.
How to cook chicken without the pink-red color?
Although not harmful, this pink-red color also makes your chicken meat less aesthetically pleasing and less appetizing.
You can prevent it from appearing with the following tips:
– Remove chicken bones before cooking.
– Marinate the chicken meat with vinegar, orange, or lemon before cooking. This method will change the pH level in the chicken broth and prevent myoglobin from reacting.
How to determine if chicken meat is cooked or not
According to the US Department of Agriculture, you should use a food thermometer to measure the temperature of the deepest part of the thigh or the thickest part of the breast. If the temperature is 74 degrees Celsius or higher, the chicken meat is safe to eat.
According to folk tradition, you can use a toothpick or skewer to poke the chicken meat, if there is no pink liquid flowing out, the chicken is cooked.
So now you know why there is pink liquid coming out of boiled chicken meat, it’s not blood, and you can enjoy it without any worries!
Source: Xe và Thể thao