Undercooked chicken can pose some serious health risk, but pink chicken can still be safe to eat if it reaches the right temperature. Here’s what you need to know. Here’s the situation: your thermometer reads 165°, you’ve properly checked your chicken’s juices and let it rest, but when you cut into the meat still looks pretty darn pink .
You could be wondering “Is it OK if canned chicken is a little pink?”
Most people, though, believe that they still need to cook the (canned) chicken again after they let it out of the can. It’s because the meat is generally pink when you open the can. They are afraid that the meat has bacteria and it is still raw.
This of course begs the query “When it’s OK to eat Pink chicken?”
When all the parts have reached at least 165° F, you can safely eat the chicken, including any meat that’s still pink. How likely are you to get sick from undercooked chicken?
Is it normal for chicken to be pink when cooked?
Color does not indicate doneness. The USDA further explains that even fully cooked poultry can sometimes show a pinkish tinge in the meat and juices. This is particularly true of young chickens whose bones and skin are still very permeable.
There are a couple of things you can do to avoid pink meat altogether. First, debone the meat before it’s cooked. Without a myoglobin-y bone around to stain it, your chicken breast will be as pristinely white as possible. Second, change the p, and h.
This is what my research found. Pigment in the bone marrow can color the surrounding tissue and make the bones themselves look very dark. Hemoglobin in the muscles can likewise react with air during cooking to give the meat a pinkish color even after cooking.
What is the pink liquid inside a chicken?
The pink, watery liquid you’re seeing is just that: water. The moisture that seeps from the chicken while it’s waiting for you to buy it mixes with that old rascal myoglobin, causing the pink “juices” that you see pooling around the packaged bird—it’s called myowater, FYI.