Poultry issues

Unknown · July 2006

Normally when I cook poultry in the oven, I let it get to 180 degrees using a probe that I keep in the thigh during the whole process. The skin comes out crisp and the meat is alright. When I cook poultry in my large BGE, the meat comes out really juicy and tastes great. The skin is not that crisp. But the larger issue is that the meat has some bloody juices around the thigh bone even though it registers 180. In fact, this past weekend I let some leg quarters get up to 185 and I still had the bloody juices. [p]...should I let the temperature get up to 195-200? The BGE does such a great job at keeping meat juicy that I'm thinking that might be the more ideal temperature. I'm sure if I tried it in the oven though it would be dry as a sponge.

drbbq · July 2006

G-man,[p]The red you're referring to probably isn't an indication that the thighs are undercooked. They are probably fine. Cooking with wood/charcoal creates this situation with all meat. It's a reaction between the nitrites in the smoke and the protein in the meat, and in the case of poultry it's enhanced near the bone. With pork and beef we like this and call it the Smoke Ring, but it takes some getting used to in chicken. I know of many BBQ restaurants that explain this right on the menu.
If you'll pay attention to the texture of the meat instead of the color you'll see that it's cooked. The temp is what determines the safety and doneness of chicken.[p]That said, some people are freaked by it and can't get themselves to eat it. The solution is to cook at a higher egg temp, like 325 and above, but if you add wood chips it may still happen.

Rumrunner · July 2006

drbbq, also previously frozen chicken will have red around the bones after thorough cooking.

drbbq · July 2006

Rumrunner,[p]Thanks Steve, good info.

Unknown · July 2006

drbbq, I understand what you are saying about the red around the bones, but my probe tells me the chicken is done, yet I still have a red juice that I assume is blood? Is it blood or something else?

drbbq · July 2006

Zee,[p]I'm not there with your chicken so I can't say for sure, but the juices could be red in safe chicken because of what I said above. I can tell the difference by simply looking at the texture of the meat along with a temp reading. [p]But like I said, some people just can't get themselves to eat pink or red chicken.

Chef Wil · July 2006

Rumrunner,
that is also known as the hemogloben in the bones that leaches out of the pores of the bones once they have been frozen and start to defrost.

Poultry issues

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