You cooked that chicken following all the ins and outs of recipe. You put it on a plate and carried it to your table. You cut this freshly cooked chicken meat open. And what do you see there?? A little bit pink meat here and there. OMG moment. Did you undercook? Did you make a mistake? Is it unsafe to eat this pink chicken meat? Should you throw it out or leave it on the table? Let us figure out.
Is it safe to eat little bit pink chicken meat?
To put all doubts to sleep – cooked chicken can be a little pink and it is still safe to eat it. According to the government studies, cooked chicken color can be anything from white to pink to a tan. USDA says that it is fine to eat cooked chicken meat even if it is a little bit pink if all parts reached 165 F degrees while cooking. Source. Why 165 F? Because at this temperature many types of bacteria perish, including salmonella.
So, if you want to be sure about safety of chicken, just get that instant read food thermometer and stick it into chicken meat in the thickest part before taking it off the pan, out of the oven or out of the boiling pot, while it is still cooking. Or, off the grill, for that matter.
If it is 160-165 F, then it is usually ready to be consumed no matter the color, because chicken meat (and any other meat) keeps cooking for a few minutes even after it is taken off the fire, out of the oven, out of the pan or off the grill.
Why chicken meat gets pink while cooking?
Here is why. While being cooked, chicken meat undergoes chemical changes, where hemoglobin reacts with heat or gases and gets that little bit pinkish spots. According to USDA, younger chicken meat is more likely to have pink spots because gases and heat more easily penetrate young chicken skin. Older chickens have more protective layers under their skin. But older chicken meat also can get pink in spots in which fat is absent under the skin.
Therefore, you can get a hint of the age of the chicken you cook. If meat is all dark or tabbed – more likely it is older chicken. Pinkish spots, on the opposite, may indicate younger chicken.
Please do not confuse pinkish with strains of bright red which appear (remain) when chicken is undercooked.
Then, nitrates or nitrites used to treat water or as preservatives may give chicken meat those pink spots.
Finally, grilled or smoked chicken meat can have more pink areas because smoke enters the meat and mentioned chemical reactions can happen on wider scale. That can give many parts of grilled or smoked chicken pink color.
Even commercially grilled or smoked chicken can have lot of pink meat in it for the same reason – because it was prepared with natural smoke. Source.
When I looked through forums, the consensus was that also structure of the meat can be used to determine if it is ready. For example, cooked meat should be opaque, not slimy, and not look like a gel. It must be little to moderately firm, but not too firm. Still, the temperature is the most important indicator, according to both FDA and USDA guidelines.
Therefore, the pink color itself is not evidence of undercooked chicken unsafe to eat. With the right temperature and meat texture chicken with pink meat is perfectly safe to eat. You do not want to overcook it either, right?
How to tell when a chicken breast is done?
If you want to specifically check when a chicken breast is done, the easiest way is to check the temperature. Stick the instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast. According to USDA standards, chicken breast meat must reach 165 F degrees to be fully done.
The meat keeps cooking for up to 10 minutes after you take it off the pan or grill, or out of the oven. Therefore, some suggest that it is done and ready to be taken out as soon as it reaches 160 F degrees. Extra 5 F degrees will be reached while it is self-cooking. Well, I rather like to be on the safe side and stick with USDA guidelines at 165F.
Meat must have no blood anywhere, no bloody liquid coming out of anywhere if you squire chicken breast or press it firmly. The liquid juices must be clear. If they are not clear, then chicken breast is not ready.
The color of the finished chicken breast meet must be light, opaque, kind of beige. Not reddish. Pink is ok, but not red or reddish color or strings. Breast must be cooked all around – make sure you check for that.
If you do not have thermometer on you, then stick a knife into chicken breast meet and hold it there for a 1-2 minutes. Take it out and touch the metal which was inside. If it is hot – then, along with checking methods I just described, the chicken breast is most likely done.
Recall, that fully cooked meat does not have any transparent spots. If you see transparent spot – this must be undercooked.
Also, chicken breast must be firm if cooked. Firmer than, for example, chicken legs. Try to poke chicken breast with your spoon or fork – it must be firm like a good muscle when it is done.
Here is a tip for making chicken breast softer. Adding a little bit of olive oil to the water in which you boil the chicken, or brushing breast with oil before baking or grilling, may make it softer in the end.
If you cut open cooked chicken breast and inside is slightly pink – it is ok. If everything else is like described above. Again, you cook on your own risk and you are solely responsible for making sure your chicken breast is fully done.
How to tell if chicken drumsticks are done
Now, pretty much all above applies to making sure that chicken drumsticks are fully done. Drumstick meat can be slightly pinkish, especially closer to the bone. But meat must excrete clear juices if pressed, reaching 165F degrees inside of the meat, absent any red in the juice or in the meat. Meat must not be transparent but should be opaque color, no slime, or gelatin-type pieces, and so on.
Few things are different though. For example. Drumstick meat is softer than that of chicken breast. So, it should not be as firm even when fully cooked. The test is rather when drumstick meat can be easily flaked (detached) off the bone then it may be ready. Essentially, when tendon detaches – then drumstick meat is most likely done.
The bone should have no red in it, even inside, if you break it. If you open a bone and it has bright red or reddish color inside – the drumstick meat is not ready. If it is dark inside – then it should be done.
Because chicken drumsticks do not overcook as easily as chicken breast, they can be cooked longer or reach temperature higher than 165F degrees. They should still end up being softer than breasts when done.
Conclusion about chicken meat and pink color
If anything, to take from this article, it is that the surest proof way to make sure chicken breasts or chicken drumsticks are done is to check that the temperature inside has reached 164 F degrees. As long as all parts of chicken are being cooked about evenly.
The second most important thing is that some pinkish in the meat does not mean it is unsafe to eat, if you follow the temperature guidelines.
Still, get that thermometer because you will be using it for many other meals and dishes that you will make. I mean, things get invented for a reason.
But once you get experienced you will not need instant read thermometer anymore because chicken meat is easy to see when it is ready. As far as I am concerned, many chefs or amateur cooks eventually can spot undercooked meat just by checking it and smelling it. If you do not have thermometer, then check other factors from this article.
I want to tell you one thing – I used to be afraid of cooking because I did not know how to approach it. But when I tried to experiment and make different dishes, I realized that it can be fun, and I can be good at it. Do not be afraid to start trying things. I mean, we must eat to live. Therefore, cooking is important I n our lives. It is not a waste of time.
And always try to cook in real life after you find something interesting for you – a recipe, or method, or video, or article. Because we learn only by doing. Cooking is very practical thing. I still have much to learn. But man, cooking chicken has become so easy at this point that I even know how long chicken will be cooking just depending on intensity of fire in the gas oven, for example.
Good luck and keep yourself fed.