The Reason High-Quality Chicken Can Still Look Pink When Cooked - Tasting Table

Raw chicken can contain dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Clostridium perfringens, with Salmonella being the most common. About 1 in 25 raw chicken packages in grocery stores are estimated to be contaminated with Salmonella. Pink color in cooked chicken can be harmless when the meat reaches 165°F, the food-safe temperature recommended by the FDA. Younger chickens can show pinkness because porous bones allow dark bone marrow to seep into nearby meat even after full cooking. Myoglobin, a purple-hued protein found in frequently used muscles, can also contribute to rosy or pink tones, especially in dark meat areas. Internal temperature is the key safety indicator rather than color alone.

"According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raw chicken carries the risk of being contaminated with dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, or Clostridium perfringens, with Salmonella being the most common type of bacteria found in raw chicken. The CDC estimates that about 1 in 25 raw chicken packages in grocery stores are contaminated with Salmonella, so it's no wonder many people are worried when they see a bit of pink in their chicken."

"According to a Facebook video from chef Andrew Zimmern, as long as chicken has been cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, a pink hue in your chicken shouldn't scare you off. "The better the quality of your chicken," Zimmern says, "the pinker your meat has the potential to be." The bones of younger chickens are generally more porous than older chickens, so the meat of younger chickens can have a pink hue due to the dark colored bone marrow seeping out into the meat closest to the bones, even after it's fully cooked."

"Another culprit behind rosy-tinted chicken meat could be myoglobin, a purple-hued protein that's more prevalent in muscles that are frequently used, like the dark meat parts of a chicken. There is nuance to chicken cooking temperatures. As long as the chicken has been cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not only the food-safe temperature recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but also the ideal temperature for perfectly cooked chicken, you should have no fear of consuming chicken that may have a pink hue to it."

Read at Tasting Table