Turkey Meat 2011

Turkey Meat 2011


The color pink in cooked turkey meat raises a “red flag” for many diners and cooks. Conditioned to be wary of cooked fresh pork that looks pink, they question the safety of cooked poultry and other meats that have a rosy blush.

The color of cooked meat and poultry is not always a sure sign of its degree of doneness. Only by using a food thermometer can you accurately determine that meat has reached a safe temperature.Turkey, fresh pork, ground beef or veal can remain pink even after cooking to temperatures of 160º F and higher. The meat of smoked turkey is always pink.

To understand some of the causes of “pinking’ or “pinkening” in fresh turkey, it’s important to know first what gives meat its natural color.

Why is poultry lighter in color than beef?

The protein myoglobin is the major pigment that determines meat color. The main reason that poultry meat is lighter in color than beef is that it is dramatically lower in myoglobin. Also, as an animal becomes older, its myoglobin content usually increases. Turkeystoday are young – 4 to 5 months old at the time of slaughter.

Why are white and dark meat of poultry different colors?

This is also due primarily to the oxygen-storing myoglobin which is located in the muscle cells. Muscles that are exercised frequently and strenuously – such as the legs – need more oxygen, and contain more myoglobin than muscles needing little oxygen. Turkeysdo a lot of standing around, but little if any flying, so their wing and breast muscles are white, while their legs are dark.

What causes well-done meat to be pink?

There are several possible reasons for this. Chemical changes can occur in the meat during cooking that may cause a pink or red color. The presence of nitrates and nitrites either in the feed or water supply at the poultry farm can cause a pink color in the meat.

Often meat of younger birds shows the most pink because their thinner skins permit oven gases to reach the flesh. There they react with hemoglobin in the meat to cause a pink tinge. The amount of fat in the skin also affects the amount of pink color.

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