Expert: Tina Addair - 5/6/2003

Question
I run the dietary dept at a long term care facility, and one of the tenants in the apartment complex complains constantly about the chicken meat being darker in color near the bone, and the bone sometimes being very dark.  My administrator asked me what causes this, and I have no idea.

We cook fresh, not frozen, chicken.  It's delievered whole, and my staff cuts it, breads it, and bakes it in the ovens then transfers it to the steamtable.  They follow the procedures outlined in the approved recipe for preparing and cook time for "oven fried chicken".  

Can you tell me what would cause the difference in color in the meat and the bone?

Thanks!
Sheryl

Answer
Hello Sheryl!  I must say, this is the first time I've ever been asked this question.  Have you ever given a child or older person liquid vitamins with iron?  If so, I'm sure you've noticed that if you get any of it on anything, it causes a dark stain that is just about impossible to remove.
That's basically what occurs with chicken.
When the chickens are killed, they are quickly chilled to prevent bacteria growth.  The chickens are "bled", but of course, it's impossible to get every drop of blood out of the chicken. As the body temperature of the chicken lowers, the blood that remains effectively "congeals" around the bone area.  As you cook chicken, the heat "cooks out" (for a lack of a better way to put it) the blood, but the iron "stains" the bone and the meat directly touching the bone.  This is usually most noticeable in light cuts of poultry, such as the breast, because of the color contrast between the white meat and the iron stain.  It is also less noticeable if the chicken is cooked under trapped heat (covered with a lid or foil), because most of the juice remains in the chicken instead of running out, so the area at the bone doesn't dry out and cause the iron stain to show.  Of course, you can't produce a good crisp oven fried chicken with trapped heat cooking.
I know all of this doesn't sound very pleasant, and telling it to your tenant probably wouldn't make it seem any more desireable to eat, but it is perfectly harmless (and common), and there is nothing wrong with the chicken.  If your really concerned about pleasing this tenant, the only thing I can think of for you to try would be to set your oven temperature really high (like around 500 degrees), then as soon as you put the chicken in the oven, lower the temperature to whatever you normally cook it at (probably 350).  This usually helps trap the juice.  Just remember, if you decide to use this method, keep a check the first time you do it, because it will probably take the chicken 10-15 minutes less to cook.  Hope this helps!

Tina K. Addair