How Pink Can Turkey Be and Still Be Safe to Eat?

After hours of careful preparation, seasoning, monitoring, adjusting, and resting, you’ve got the turkey beautifully golden-browned and you’re already basking in well-earned ooohs from the family.

But when you start to carve the breast, you notice that some of the meat has a pinkish hue. What’s the story? Is it undercooked? Is dinner doomed?

The short answer: As long as the interior was cooked to a safe temperature, pink color in meat is perfectly fine, and you can let the feast proceed.

Turkey is a staple for many holiday meals. But undercooking turkey can lead to foodborne illness while overcooking produces dry, tough meat. So how can you tell when turkey is properly cooked? Many people rely on the color of the meat, but that’s not always a reliable test. Read on to learn why turkey can still look pink when fully cooked and how to accurately determine doneness.

Why Turkey Meat Can Appear Pink

The pink or red color in meat comes from myoglobin a protein that stores oxygen in muscle cells. Poultry has less myoglobin compared to red meats which is why turkey meat is paler. But several factors can still cause cooked turkey to appear pink

Smoking or grilling: These cooking methods infuse smoked turkey meat with pink color through reactions between gases and myoglobin. Up to 1/2 inch around the surface may look pink.
Brining: Soaking turkey in a saltwater solution improves moisture but can also cause a pink tint.
Young turkey age: Younger birds have less fat so oven gases penetrate and react with myoglobin. Their porous bones also leak hemoglobin into nearby tissue.
Natural nitrates: Nitrates and nitrites found naturally in turkeys’ feed and water can facilitate a pink color.
Quick cooking: Turkey cooked quickly at high heat may not denature all the myoglobin pigment.

So just because your turkey looks pink doesn’t mean it’s undercooked. The only way to accurately determine doneness is with a food thermometer.

Minimum Safe Internal Temperatures

According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, turkey is safely cooked when it reaches the following minimum internal temperatures:

165°F for the thickest part of the breast and thighs
165°F for the wing joints and stuffing
180°F for the thigh from the hip joint

At these temperatures, any bacteria that may be present are destroyed. When turkey cooks, the juices should run clear and the meat should separate easily from the bone. If pricked with a fork, it should look opaque throughout with no traces of pink. The muscles should also move freely at the joints.

Use a Food Thermometer

Visual signs like color and textures can be misleading. The only foolproof way to confirm safe doneness is to use a food thermometer. Check temperatures in multiple spots, especially the thickest section of the breast and thighs. Make sure to insert the thermometer into the center without touching any bones.

For whole turkeys, test the innermost part of the thigh and wing, avoiding the bone. When taking the temperature of a turkey breast, insert the thermometer sideways to get an accurate center reading.

If the turkey looks done but hasn’t yet reached the safe minimum internal temperature, return it to the oven for additional cooking. Double check the temperature again before removing it.

Safety Tips for Pink Turkey

Here are some other useful tips for handling turkey that may still appear pink after thorough cooking:

Let it rest for 20 minutes before carving so juices can settle for more even cooking. The temperature should rise 5-10°F.
Avoid consuming any turkey with an unnatural very pink or red color that suggests undercooking. When in doubt, cook it more.
Cook stuffing in a casserole dish separately rather than inside the turkey cavity to ensure it reaches 165°F.
Refrigerate all leftovers within 2 hours. Reheat thoroughly later to 165°F.
Wash hands, utensils, sink, and anything else that touches raw turkey to avoid cross-contamination.

As long as you use a food thermometer to verify safe internal temperatures, you can enjoy your holiday turkey with confidence even if it has a pink blush. Proper cooking and handling will keep your family safe from food poisoning this holiday season.

how pink can turkey be

What Makes Raw Poultry Pink?

Animal muscle naturally contains a few different red-pink pigments.

Myoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen within muscle tissue, is the pigment that’s predominantly responsible for the pink color of raw meat. Myoglobin is heat-sensitive, and it is mostly denatured during cooking, losing much of its color. That’s why we commonly associate pink meat with raw meat.

A more stable pink pigment in muscle is called cytochrome c. Turkeys have more of this pigment than chickens do, and older birds have more of it than younger ones.

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Can turkey be pink and still be done?

FAQ

Is it OK if my turkey is a little pink?

The best way to be sure a turkey — or any meat — is cooked safely and done is to use a meat thermometer. If the temperature of the turkey, as measured in the thigh, has reached 180°F. and is done to family preference, all the meat — including any that remains pink — is safe to eat.

How to tell if turkey is undercooked?

To find out if your turkey is done without a thermometer, pierce the mid-thigh muscle with a fork, explains Johnson. “When the juices run clear, and no longer reddish or pink in color, it’s a good indication that your turkey is done.” In most cases, the deep thigh is the last part of the turkey to be done.

Why is my cooked turkey pink after being in the fridge?

At high temperatures, it loses its ability to bind oxygen and turns pink. Over time, the pigment does regain its ability to bind oxygen, and the pink tinge fades. That is why the leftover meat in the refrigerator rarely seems to have this unseemly blush the next day.

How pink can ground turkey be?

Raw turkey meat should be light pink or beige, depending on the type of meat and its fat content. The meat color becomes dull as time passes, which is normal. However, if the meat has a brown, gray or yellow or green hue, you will want to part ways with it.