You pull your roast chicken out of the oven, it’s all nice and brown and crispy, and you’re starving. You carve in, and stop short. Right there in the meat of the breast, it’s green? What in the world? I’ve been there. That awful moment when you are staring at your meal, the fork poised in space, and you think: “Can I eat this? Am I going to poison myself?” Green chicken meat looks horrid, and your feelings tell you: “Don’t eat it.” But the truth is, it is not always dangerous. Sometimes it is simply a freak of nature. In this article, I shall tell you what green chicken meat really is, what causes it, when it is safe (and in fact it often is), and when it is not at all. Whether it is a raw chicken bought in a grocery store or one that comes from your slow cooker in a queer condition, it is gratifying to know. Let us eat into the ugly and uninviting meat of the matter.
What Causes Green Meat in Chicken
First, it should be stated that by no means does green chicken meat mean that the bird is not good. Although it looks like an infernal warning signal, it means something due to a number of conditions, some of them quite innocuous, others not. This is what is the matter:
Bruising or Rupture of Blood Vessels
Chickens, like all living things, get bruised. If they are not handled with care before they are killed, or if they flap their wings too severely, the blood vessels in the muscular tissue are broken. Blood can pool under the skin, or deeper in the meat, and as it coagulates it changes color, sometimes becoming a dull green or grayish green. It’s a bit like the bruise on the human body, going from purple to greenish to yellow. Certainly not appetizing, but, as stated previously, not in itself dangerous.
Green Muscle Disease (or Deep Pectoral Myopathy)
This is a little more technical, but it’s surprisingly common, particularly in the heavy meat-producing species of birds such as broiler chickens or turkeys. When these birds flap their wings too much, the inner fleshy part of the breast (the tenderloin) becomes deprived of oxygen. Due to the lack of oxygen, the muscles die. With the death of the muscular tissue, this becomes unappetizingly green. Externally, the flesh of the chicken may appear perfectly normal, but when cut into, it is green.
I have seen this in cooked breast of chicken, where the external appearance was juicy and perfect, but the inside flesh was greenish, having a horrid greenish-brownish tinge. The flesh may have had no odor, was not slimy, but green. In my own instance, I threw the meat away because I could not overcome the effect produced, either by sight or thought, but technically speaking, the meat was edible. Its texture? Well, if you like the spongy… meh.
Spoilage or Bacterial Growth
Now here is where we come to the risk. If the green meat is associated with a horrid smell (think of rotten eggs or sour milk), and a slimy or sticky surface, or mushy in general, it is probably spoiled. Do not try and do not eat it in this instance. Green-tinted chicken indicates spoilage, and you should toss the chicken, no matter how much money you spent on it or how hungry you are.
Packaging or Oxidation (of Metals)
In some cases, the green color of the flesh is caused by an extraordinary accident from the illumination or from the plastic coverings of the flesh or from the natural coloring matter in the flesh. If you have ever seen roast beef with a scintillating type of luster or rainbow hues in its reflections, it is caused by the same principle by which light is bent by refractiveness, which is not a proof of decay of the meat at all. This is not so common with chicken as it is with the other varieties of flesh, nevertheless this sometimes obtains with chicken and especially in the vacuum-packaged meats.
Green Chicken and Whether It Is Edible
This brings us to the subject of where the green on the chicken is located. If you have the chicken out in front of you and have discovered that a patch of the chicken meat has a tinge of green, shall you throw it away or shall you eat it?
This is the procedure that I personally would use:
Smell the chicken. If there is the least bit of sweet, sulfur, or other odor, choose to throw it away. No matter how good it may look, the nose knows.
Touch the texture. The texture of freshly cooked chicken has a firm, moist feel, not a slimy, tacky, sticky one. If it is tacky, it is a bad sign.
Look at the patch of green. If it is internal and deep within the muscle, has no other smells, and the remaining meat is normal, it may be Green Meat Disease. This chicken is technically safe if cooked to an internal meat temperature of 165°F (74°C). But personally, I would not eat it. The crispy-skinned chicken normally does not have a good taste or texture in this condition.
Trust your instinct and follow your gut feeling. If something feels wrong, don’t force it. There are no bonus points for food safety-related bravery.
What To Do If You Have Green Chicken
If you’re looking at raw chicken before cooking and get green meat found in the package, here’s what I would recommend:
If it’s store-bought and still within date: Get a quick pic, keep the receipt, and take it back for an exchange or a refund. Most stores will do this readily, especially if it’s known issues like bruising or Green Muscle Disease.
If you have cooked chicken and just discovered green meat inside: Smell and feel the chicken like I mentioned earlier. If it has a clean smell and clean feel, it may be safe, but you have to decide for yourself.
It has odor, slime, or any strange characteristics beyond just the green color: Toss it in the trash. Don’t take chances with food poisoning. Chicken is not a good food to go betting on.
How To Avoid Green Chicken Next Time
Here are a few ways to avoid the green meat surprise next time:
Buy from a reputable source. This isn’t foolproof, but you will generally have better handling and less rough handling of animals, which results in bruising and damage from quality stores.
Check the meat before cooking. Especially true if you are working with whole birds or bone-in breasts. Look for strange color or areas of discoloration.
Store it properly. Keep raw chicken cold, below 40°F (4°C). Cook it or freeze it before the use-by date.
Don’t let raw chicken sit for days in your refrigerator. This is how spoilage creeps in. I personally try to cook mine within a day or two of buying it, or else it goes in the freezer.
Don’t cross-contaminate. Green or not, raw chicken can spread harmful bacteria like Salmonella. Keep it clear of veggies, and always wash hands and work surfaces.
Having green chicken meat on your plate is kind of shocking, eh? I know that feeling. But not all green means trash. Sometimes it is just bruised or Green Muscle Disease, and while not tasty, it does not mean it is poisonous if properly cooked. On the other hand though, if you get odor or slime or stickiness or anything like that, do yourself a favor and throw it away.
When in doubt, toss it out. Your stomach (and gut) will be thankful.
Stay safe and trust your senses. Here’s to future chicken dinners without any surprises!
#Homemaking