Tons of individuals prefer to eat rooster, however to prepare dinner it? That may be a distinct story. A fast scroll by social media finds an entire bunch of parents who’re cautious at greatest (and flat-out fearful at worst) to organize the poultry themselves, since they’re afraid they may serve it undercooked and get sick.

A bit warning isn’t a nasty factor, because the pathogens that may be present in a uncooked or undercooked fowl are not any joke—48 million folks contract foodborne sickness yearly, and in lots of circumstances, micro organism like salmonella and campylobacter present in rooster are accountable, Wade Syers, MS, extension specialist for meals security at Michigan State College, tells SELF. And that may result in wildly disagreeable signs like diarrhea, fever, and abdomen cramps.

Downside is, a number of of us aren’t precisely positive what counts as cooked when speaking poultry. Many rely solely on the visible indicator you’re most likely fairly acquainted with: If the rooster’s pink, it’s not suitable for eating. Seems, that’s not at all times one of the simplest ways to gauge doneness. Some rooster that may look kinda pink would possibly really be utterly cooked, whereas others would possibly seem within the clear will not be in any respect, Darin Detwiler, PhD, an affiliate educating professor of meals coverage at Northeastern College and writer of Meals Security: Previous, Current, and Predictions, tells SELF. Sounds complicated, proper? Right here’s what you actually need to know to prepare dinner your rooster safely.

The pink take a look at doesn’t at all times work with rooster, particularly if you happen to’re cooking darkish meat.

A complete host of things can play a job in your rooster’s hue, says Dr. Detwiler. Poultry normally is available in quite a lot of completely different shades and textures, even when totally cooked. “The colour of rooster doesn’t at all times change uniformly on account of numerous elements just like the cooking temperature, the a part of the rooster being cooked, and its pure variation,” says Dr. Detwiler.

Each the age of the fowl and what it was fed can have an effect on the way it seems in your chopping board even after it’s cooked, he explains. As an example, youthful chickens have thinner pores and skin and extra permeable bones, which suggests the flesh inside is extra more likely to be tinted pink by cooking gasses. Older chickens could have pink recognizing due to areas the place the fats of their our bodies broke away from the pores and skin.

What’s of their feed may also have an effect on inside coloring in ​​chickens throughout the age spectrum, he provides. In Europe, the place it’s extra frequent to incorporate yellow and purple carotenoids (fat-soluble pigments) in rooster feed, the ensuing meat and egg yolks have a darker, orange hue.

The way in which a rooster is cooked or saved may also change its colour. Freezing bone-in rooster components may cause marrow to swell and leak out because it defrosts, leading to a darker shade than you’d get from contemporary rooster. And smoking a fowl tints its flesh completely different hues because the gasses seep by the pores and skin, particularly if what you’re burning already had a vibrant shade to begin—like wooden chips from a cherry tree, for instance.