Fully cooked chicken tastes kind of weird

Question

I bought some frozen chicken cubes, defrosted them in the fridge and put them in the oven for 12+ mins. The chicken was white and the juices that ran out was clear, so I figured it was fine. But it tasted a bit "raw", not sure how to describe it. After I put the rest of it in a bowl, I noticed that some pink juices ended up on the bottom of the bowl.

Microwaved some of it the next day and it still tasted a bit "raw". The chicken does have some of its skin left so that might be why? Not sure why its tasting like that, its killing my appetite.

Answer 1

Without knowing what extra ingredients were added during manufacture, I'll make the assumption we are talking about plain frozen chicken, and no other additives could account for the pink juices.

You said the cooked texture was normal, but you found pink juices in the bowl. This suggests to me that the chicken was not fully cooked. It sounds like it wasn't that far off or else the texture would clearly be very unpleasant all the way through. Did you ensure the chicken was fully defrosted before cooking? If is was still slightly frozen in middle this could be the reason why.

Microwaving raw chicken can be a bit of a hit and miss affair, microwaves do not heat food evenly, which is why dishes should always be stirred part way through cooking etc. I would use a covered dish or plastic wrap to trap the steam and keep the meat moist.

150C in a normal oven seems a bit low to me, I'd use 180C for 15 minutes, but it all depends on your oven.

I like a bit of colour on my chicken, so I would be tempted to fry these in a skillet with some salt, pepper and butter over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning every so often. This may give you better results with this particular product than the microwave or oven methods.

Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 75-85C (165-175F). If the meat splits easily with the blunt side of a knife that is generally a good indication it is properly cooked.

Answer 2

First, on the matter of juices: this is a very unreliable method. It roughly works - but very frequently, you can have undercooked meat with clear juices and safe (and even overcooked) meat with pink juices. The reliable method is by taking internal temperature while cooking the meat.

Second, taste is also not reliable. When you encounter an unusual taste, your brain desperately tries to associate it with something that is known, and related to the context. Just because your brain mapped this unusual taste to "raw", it doesn't mean it is really raw. It could be a right or wrong impression.

So onwards to your specific situation: there is no concrete advice we can give you, you have to go by your gut feeling. It is impossible to tell if the chicken really was undercooked or not. It is also impossible to say, if it is safe, how to change the taste (or your perception of it) so it doesn't kill your appetite.

For next time, you have the options of measuring the temperature, if you want to be sure it's cooked, or ditching this brand, if you think it is badly made and has off tastes.