Joker Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Today was the second time I've used the Instant Pot. I used it as a slow cooker to make chicken breasts I can shred for a few meals. They just finished cooking but when I opened the lid there is some sort of bluish grey stuff on all of them. It's not completely, or even mostly, covering them but each one is discolored in spots. I just bought the chicken today so it's not old. The other thing I cooked in the pot was beef based but I saw no discoloration of anything. It could have been and I might not have noticed since it was darker. The pot was clean as well. So, any ideas? Also, do you think the chicken is still safe to shred and eat? I hate to waste it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Chances are it was just one of those things where the chicken wasn't bled properly during butchering and the blood discolored it, but if not and it's e-coli, cooking doesn't break down the toxin that makes you ill. I once got REALLY BAD e-coli from eating gray beef, so I'd opt to throw it out. I take many less chances with meat than most people on this board though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 (edited) What liquid was in with the meat? But I'd toss it. You can not be sure how it was stored/handled before you bought it. I have not used my Instant Pot as a slow cooker yet - but I have pressure cooked tons of chicken breast to shred for various meals. Never had spots like that. Edited July 6, 2016 by JFSinIL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I would also guess that it's blood. Ecoli and salmonella are both killed by heat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Just throwing out another guess, but maybe it's similar to the stuff that floats up to the top of the pot when boiling chicken on the stove. That's protein. It does sometimes have a grayish sort of color. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I would also guess that it's blood. Ecoli and salmonella are both killed by heat. Yes, but Ecoli doesn't make you sick from the bacteria. It makes you sick from the toxins the bacteria produce, and those toxins are not broken down by heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 (edited) Yes, but Ecoli doesn't make you sick from the bacteria. It makes you sick from the toxins the bacteria produce, and those toxins are not broken down by heat.Not just E. coli. I would never, ever presume that boiling or heating something old/left out would make it safe. I've seen that advice here and it scares me! http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/food-technology/bacterial-food-poisoning/ That being said, I've had the greyish stuff on pressure cooked chicken too. It seems to just be denatured protein. I scrape it off and use the chicken. Edited July 6, 2016 by Forget-me-not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Yes, but Ecoli doesn't make you sick from the bacteria. It makes you sick from the toxins the bacteria produce, and those toxins are not broken down by heat.That is true for food that has been left out. That's why 99% of the time I'm in the toss it camp on "would you eat this" threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 What did you end up doing with it Joker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 I ended up tossing it. Some sauce I bought at the same store in a refrigerated section was bad too so I was worried the chicken hadn't been stored correctly as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 I ended up tossing it. Some sauce I bought at the same store in a refrigerated section was bad too so I was worried the chicken hadn't been stored correctly as well. ah...bummer I hate when stuff like that happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 I ended up tossing it. Some sauce I bought at the same store in a refrigerated section was bad too so I was worried the chicken hadn't been stored correctly as well.Ewww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 If what you saw was a foamy texture, it was likely just the lipid protein breaking down in the chicken. It would be the same as when you make chicken stock and have to skim the foam off the top. Since it wasn't completely covered and boiled, it didn't mix with water and turn white/grey like it does in a stock pot. If it is grey near a bone, it can be from the bone marrow staining the meat in a very young bird. If I remember my food science right, the foam in stock it is similar to the foam on a ocean. Essentially air bubbles captured in a protein layer. All normal ingredients that belong there. It just looks off putting. (some people skim foam from broth, but some people just stir it in). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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