Pink in my bird...

Two things, many times poultry will turn pink just as a result of being smoked. However, when I cook chicken with bones in it like thighs, legs, and wings, I like to get the internal temp up to around 185ish just to be on the safe side. The chicken still turns out good but I have no question about whether or not it's done.

BTW - A good test for checking whether the pink is from the smoker or because the chicken is just raw (KCBS CBJ test) is to dab the pink area with a white and clean paper towel or napkin. If you don't see any pink or red in the juices absorbed by the napkin, it's done.

I ran across this question once before and it had something to do with the age of the bird usually with the younger ones.

+1 on juices running clear. Smoked chicken can be a little pink sometimes. I cook chickens every week to around 165-170 in the thigh and have never had a problem.

Smoked chicken can be very pink. Some 20 years ago I went to a picnic catered by Big Ray's. Their chicken comes out very pink and fall off the bone. People freaked out that the chicken wasn't done, but they picked up a drumstick and the meat would literally fall off. I brought two trays of chicken home with me and ate it every meal for a week. Best picnic ever! :becky:

My smoked birds always have some pink in them. I've always seen it the same as a the smoke ring on beef and pork.

Yeah, don't know exactly why it's pink nearest the bone but that happens. You done good bro.

As said....clear juices is my biggest "test" for chicken.

Very good info here, I'm getting ready to smoke two chickens tomorrow. Well, since my wife really prefers crispy skin, I thought I'd smoke the chickens for an hour or more 200F, then kick it up to 300F or higher to finish the chickens. But if she saw pink, she'd be having a fit. At least I know what to watch out for.

Wampus said:

Yeah, don't know exactly why it's pink nearest the bone but that happens. You done good bro.

As said....clear juices is my biggest "test" for chicken.

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I can't remember where I read this, it may have been on here, but the chickens are being ummmm....harvested at a younger age, and they have thinner bone walls, and some of the morrow is coming out as it is being cooked and causes the meat around the bone to be reddish. I think checking with a napkin for clear juice is a good way to check it. Also if it has been temped above 165 or so close to the bone without touching, its fine.

Mike

Alrighty folks... 'setcher lil hearts at ease - Most of the USDA's "blah, blah, blah" is designed so the that the average burger flipper can remember it -

Let me ask this question though, would you consider chicken kept at 137 for an hour to be:
A) Lethal - WTH are you trying to do to me man????
B) Just right! Bring it on, I'm hungry fo' that!

FDA says... Good to go! What???? AYFKM???!!!! (Are you freaking kidding me??)

Now, I'm not saying that the taste & texture will be what you want, but - technically, safe.


From USDA.gov - pages 5 - 16: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/RTE_Poultry_Tables.pdf

Times for given temperature, fat level, and species needed to obtain
7-log10 lethality of Salmonella*
------------------------------------ fat%=9 ------------------------------------
Temperature (
o
F) Time for Chicken Time for Turkey
136 74.8 min 67.6 min
137 59.7 min 55.3 min
138 47.7 min 45.4 min
139 38.3 min 37.3 min
140 30.8 min 30.8 min
141 24.9 min 25.5 min
142 20.1 min 21.1 min
143 16.3 min 17.4 min
144 13.2 min 14.4 min
145 10.7 min 11.9 min
146 8.6 min 9.8 min
147 6.9 min 8 min
148 5.5 min 6.5 min
149 4.3 min 5.2 min
150 3.3 min 4.1 min
151 2.5 min 3.2 min
152 1.8 min 2.4 min
153 1.4 min 1.9 min
154 1.1 min 1.5 min
155 51.4 sec 1.3 min
156 40.7 sec 1 min
157 32.2 sec 49.7 sec
158 25.4 sec 40.3 sec
159 20.1 sec 32.7 sec
160 15.9 sec 26.6 sec
161 12.6 sec 21.6 sec
162 10 sec 17.5 sec
163 <10.0 sec 14.2 sec
164 <10.0 sec 11.5 sec
165 <10.0 sec <10.0 sec

Yep, pasteurized chicken. Yum!

That's kind of where the cooks doing Sous Vide (under vacuum) work, depending on what the end product is supposed to look like. I know one professional chef in a high end Colorado ski resort says they are cooking over half of all their food sous vide now. Steaks can be cooked to the perfect medium rare and finished by a quick sear to the exterior. Zero chance of overcooking. The time involved is longer, but since its vacuum packed already, holding it is not so problematic.

But for chicken, you need the higher temps to be sure. And even then the meat when cooked sous vide, I'm told, is very soft. The aforementioned chef prefers poached chicken for many things because the sous vide chicken done at lower temps is simply too mushy.

ok...here is something I read a few years back.

Commercial chicken farms do all kinds of things to make chickens grow really big really fast. As a side effect, sometimes when you cook a chicken the marrow seeps into the meat right next to the bone and with the marrow being pink it can give the impression of being under cooked even tho it is not under cooked.. (I've had this happen even using an indoor rotisserie cooker). This may also happen once in a great while with "all natural" chickens but it supposedly happens more often with engineered chickens.

Sounds reasonable but I can't really remember the source I read it from. Like a lot of people around here, I temp check chicken when I cook it and when it's the right temp it's done and if there is pink in the meat next to the bone I have no fear of eating it.

Boshizzle said:

Two things, many times poultry will turn pink just as a result of being smoked. However, when I cook chicken with bones in it like thighs, legs, and wings, I like to get the internal temp up to around 185ish just to be on the safe side. The chicken still turns out good but I have no question about whether or not it's done.

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I also like 185 degree chichen. Some say it is overcooked. I think it is just right. Legs will pull right off and still juicy. Not rubbery, pick chicken.

That why I don't smoke chicken for a group always have to explain why it pink

Boshizzle said:

Two things, many times poultry will turn pink just as a result of being smoked. However, when I cook chicken with bones in it like thighs, legs, and wings, I like to get the internal temp up to around 185ish just to be on the safe side. The chicken still turns out good but I have no question about whether or not it's done.

BTW - A good test for checking whether the pink is from the smoker or because the chicken is just raw (KCBS CBJ test) is to dab the pink area with a white and clean paper towel or napkin. If you don't see any pink or red in the juices absorbed by the napkin, it's done.

Click to expand...

This for sure. I find that thighs cooked to 185 degrees or so are the best. The meat tenderizes as much of the fat is rendering out. It becauses easy pull but is never mushy. Also, you can be 100% certain everything is cooked through.

We continually struggle with this at comps. The local South Texas IBCA judges are extremely picky about this. They are not advanced enough to understand the "clear juice" rule. We only compete with a free range organic product to curve these issues. We had a double turn in situation last year, cooked and probed the two chickens together, both in the 175 degree range. One was disqualified and the other was 1st place. Go Figure???

I always make sure the thighs read 185ish...You'll notice that when the breasts are about 165-170, the thighs are in the 180s. This is where you want to be. The clear juice is a good test if you can't check temp.

I smoked two chickens last week and my mother in law said it was good but the thigh was still pink so she thought it was under done...then my wife starts freaking out..then my neighbors get worried..it was a mess.

I said, "LISTEN--smoked chicken will almost always have pink by the bone! I brought it over the required temp..Don't eat it--that way I have lunch tomorrow!"

She knows I'm picky about my food so this quelled the fear..

It's normal, though..you did fine..unless you didn't! :razz:

This kind of sums it up, these kind of statements are good to have on a menu just so folks know what to expect.

For flavor and tenderness I agree with taking dark meat into the mid 180*'s, and if it's brined (and if some Tenderquick is in the brine) you will get the pinkish color.