Man, I am off my game!


 
G

Gary Bramley

TVWBB Pro
Perhaps I just have “LOFT” disease (Lack Of Fu..lipping Talent), but chicken has been throwing me curve balls of late. CHICKEN!!! Even though they temp out ok, one bite into these things and they look awful. Blood like in color..... taste is good, but can't get past the appearance. Maybe the birds are not getting thawed adequately; perhaps the quality of chicken at the store has deteriorated???? I don’t know..... I have not experienced this before. Perhap just "loft." One thing I am certain of is the birds have been very unappetizing. I really like a good piece of chicken and it is a regular menu item around here, but if this continues I might have to go without.
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Has anyone out there just lost their game for no good reason?

Gary
 
Wow! Thanks for posting. Pic # 4 looks awfully familiar!!!! Who has not seen a bit of this from time to time, but lately it has been very apparent to everyone in the family. My inclination is the store has change supply source...... even noticing more bruising.

Now what? Chow down and see what happens? Excuse me a second while I heave
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Gary
 
although my chicken doesn't come out that bloody, i don't seem to get bothered by it. i usually cook to temp or i probe and see if the liquid is clear. there doesn't seem to be an off taste with the blood or raw looking chicken so i just chow down. course it could have something to do with mom never serving us bloodless chicken as a child.
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Hey George,

Thing is: let the chicken rest and what is on the plate is clear, cut to the bone and get this blood.... not clear. I have been giving a lot of attention to the meat itself. Both visually and by temp it is done, but there has been a fundamental change in the past few months and I don't have a handle on it. Given what I have been taught and what I am seeing I do not have confidence in consuming it. Money down the drain…… that hacks me off.

Gary
 
Younger chickens are often in abundance this time of year. Could also be a source change.

Don't pitch it. There are other things you can do if it is safe but you are uncomfortable with it.
 
so how about experimenting? cook some to temp and then cook some further until its edible to you. i have a feeling its not gonna be good when the blood is gone. the bone thing makes sense to me.
 
I have pushed the temps to the limit on prior cooks... not a satifying option. I think I am going to play with with where I am purchasing and look into the info a bit further to understand what is harmful and what is not. I am still puzzled why this problem has come up, quite frequently, in the past few months.

Thanks,

Gary
 
I saw this tip on a cooking show with (sp) Jacques Pepin. He was cooking chicken thighs, (not smoking, just baking) but he slit the meat underneath on both sides of the bone, to prevent what he calls "bloody bone".
I did this on my chicken thigh cook this past weekend, and I did have good results.
Now, I really can't tell if it was just a fluke, but my chicken did look better. I will do it a few more time and see if this method is consistent.
 
Not a fluke. If doing quarters or whole or half chickens you can also bend the leg away from the thigh so that the joint cracks. This helps heat penetrate a bit quicker but, more important, helps juices migrate, thus helping to remove color.

Gary-- What is harmful, potentially, is undercooked chicken. All parts of the chicken must reach x temp for no less than y seconds or minutes (see chart in this post; the second one, for chicken/turkey).

Make sure your therm is accurate. Make sure you are temping correctly. If you wish, add a margin for error of a degree or two or three (that's what's going on when you see '165? for chicken'; it's a margin of error plus it avoids having to explain to people the time issue).

If temps are correct color is immaterial--despite the admonition that the juices 'run clear', a myth. Most people do not find the texture of dark meat palatable at even 165, preferring at least 170 or 175. The color can remain at those temps, depending on the bird (its age at slaughter especially)--but make sure your therm and technique are accurate.
 
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