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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to not have eaten this pink chicken

76 replies

Smeagoblin · 16/12/2017 23:26

I know I'm not being unreasonable really here, and nobody has told me that I am, but I'd love a sense-check as to what other people think.

I am emetophobic and, as a result, I have some issues with food. The phobia has got worse since having children and now, if I'm eating out (regardless of whether or not there are kids present) I just won't order certain things, e.g. chicken. Ironic, as chicken is a real favourite of mine.

I am having CBT and have targets set each week. This week, a target was to eat chicken as part of a meal out (the therapist knew I was eating out tonight).

So I ordered a chicken wings starter. When they arrived, I cut into them and they were bloody near the bone, like the pic attached.

I sent them back. The waitress and supervisor, who were very nice about it, said it was sous vide chicken and sometimes that came out bloody near the bone but was perfectly safe.

I should add that this is a very highly thought of place (food hygiene rating: 5; stellar TripAdvisor reviews; we go there a lot). But I just couldn't get my head round eating pink chicken. They were fine about this and understood completely but I did feel like I'd failed in terms of my therapy goals.

When I got home I googled sous vide chicken and apparently it is totally normal for it to be pink like that. The pic attached is from an article written by a scientist explaining why it's still safe. But it looks all wrong to me.

So was I being unreasonable not to have eaten it? Would you have?

...to not have eaten this pink chicken
OP posts:
Crispbutty · 16/12/2017 23:47

Did you take that photo OP?

Only it looks very similar to this...

www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Bloody-chik.html

Hmm
BlackeyedSusan · 16/12/2017 23:48

look on the plus side you have made progress as you have ordered chicken. next time order chicken that is less scary, and try to nibble a bit?

idontlikealdi · 16/12/2017 23:49

No not a chance I would have eaten that.

BrutusMcDogface · 16/12/2017 23:49

I absolutely wouldn't eat that. I've had food poisoning from undercooked chicken (and it turned me veggie for a while!)

You did the right thing; onwards and upwards Flowers

Original poster
Smeagoblin · 16/12/2017 23:49

Thanks for the replies - you've reassured me that I wasn't being OTT not eating it.

Majestic - no, that's not my actual meal (I didn't take a pic); just some sous vide chicken wings I found on the internet that looked very similar. Pink and bloody near the bone! Normal, they said, but not for me. And I'll happily eat a bloody steak, I hasten to add! Thanks again for the replies. Was worried I'd failed to meet my goals, which is why I wanted to check if others would have eaten it.

OP posts:
Crispbutty · 16/12/2017 23:49

Apologies I just saw that you didn’t take that one, as I was about to say chicken wings often will have a lot of blood from the bones on them. They are perfectly safe to eat, it isn’t the flesh that is undercooked or raw.

It would be easier to judge if you had shown a photo of your actual meal not a stock photo from google.

Original poster
Smeagoblin · 16/12/2017 23:52

Crispbutty - no, I didn't take the photo. I explained that in my OP so I'm not sure what the Hmm is for? The photo is from the article that you have linked to. As I mentioned in my OP, that is an article about why sous vide chicken can be pink and still safe, and that is what my chicken tonight looked like, but I couldn't get my head around it. No need for the Hmm, though....

OP posts:
forgottenusername · 16/12/2017 23:53

Crispbutty did you read the OP? she said ...

'The pic attached is from an article written by a scientist explaining why it's still safe.'

no need for the Hmm

Original poster
Smeagoblin · 16/12/2017 23:53

Sorry Crispbutty, we cross posted. Ignore my reply! Wink

I would have felt a bit weird photographing my meal and then sending it back but I see what you mean.

OP posts:
Crispbutty · 16/12/2017 23:55

I’ve apologised as I did miss the bit where op said she found the photo online. I scrolled down too quickly and past that part.

forgottenusername · 16/12/2017 23:56

massive cross post! clearly I am slow of typing tonight

Smeagoblin FWIW I wouldn't have eaten it either. I've not heard of this technique before, I'd be as worried about chemicals from the plastic getting into the food as by the potential food poisoning.

forgottenusername · 16/12/2017 23:56

massive cross post! clearly I am slow of typing tonight

Smeagoblin FWIW I wouldn't have eaten it either. I've not heard of this technique before, I'd be as worried about chemicals from the plastic getting into the food as by the potential food poisoning.

CupcakeEater · 16/12/2017 23:56

Whilst it was probably cooked to a safe temperature there's no way I'd be eating bloody chicken like that, safe yes, appetising no...the pic makes me feel sick. Boak.

Crispbutty · 16/12/2017 23:57

I would have taken a photo! I’m a chef though so I take lots of food photos, of good and bad dishes, and if they had been raw I would absolutely have taken a pic in case I was ill as I would have already eaten some to have got to the bone!

RaininSummer · 17/12/2017 00:00

Yuk. Just try again another time OP. That was unlucky I think.

MrsBonato · 17/12/2017 00:01

I wouldn't eat that, I'm not fussy I like a bloody steak and will eat lamb pink etc. Never chicken though, whatever they said.

Mumsymcmumface · 17/12/2017 00:03

What’s the point of a post asking if you should eat something with a photo of something you weren’t served?

No matter how clear it was in the op it has obviously confused a lot of people who seem to think that is what was served up.

Allabitmuchisntit · 17/12/2017 00:03

I'm getting food poisoning just looking at that.
You've failed nothing.
You're winning at not eating that bloody chicken!!

Crispbutty · 17/12/2017 00:04

Sous vide is certainly not the way I would cook wings anyway. Chicken should be cooked to at least 76 degrees too. That’s what the food safety standards recommend for poultry to ensure any bacteria is killed off.

KeepTheBloodyNoiseDown · 17/12/2017 00:05

That looks rank, I wouldn’t have eaten that (although I do have anxiety and worry a lot about getting ill).
I’ts definitely not a fail on your part, and I doubt that eating that would have helped with your progress at all.
Have you not been eating chicken out at all, or just things like wings? I only ask because I’ve found it easier in the past to build up to things like that, so would probably go for breast before dark meat, as it’s easier to tell if it’s cooked.

Nextflix · 17/12/2017 00:08

That looks revolting and raw! Even the picture makes me feel sick. YANBU.

Foxysoxy01 · 17/12/2017 00:09

I honestly can't think of any food I wouldn't eat and am the least fussy eater in the world (it's mainly greed so not sure that's a good thing tbh)
But there is absolutely no way on earth I would eat that chicken! Envy (not envy)

Mumsymcmumface · 17/12/2017 00:12

Can’t people read? She didn’t get served the food in the photo.

yorkshireyummymummy · 17/12/2017 00:21

Sous vide is all about cooking at low temperature - it's usually done with prime pieces of meat to keep the meat pink and tender - think of a piece of lamb fillet for example - and then finished in a pan.

Why anybody would sous vide chicken wings is beyond me.
Do you ever get the feeling that some chefs now have become a bit too big for their boots and just do things for the sake of it? What's wrong with chicken wings cooked in a BBQ sauce in an oven??

I would dream of cooking a piece of bone in chicken sous vide. You are never going to get it cooked all the way through and just because a man who wears white clothes says it's ok does not mean you have to eat it. Chicken needs cooking until it's cooked!! How simple can it be??

You were bang on right to reject it.
Mark this one down as a fail on their part and try somewhere else.
Go to KFC and have some boneless fillets to get your confidence back.
And give the restaurant a scathing review!

ragged · 17/12/2017 00:25

I would have eaten it . Undercooked chicken doesn't look like that.