I learned in 10th grade health class not to eat undercooked meat—or at the very least never undercooked chicken. So why did this barbecue joint just serve me pink chicken??? Have you ever noticed the amount of pink meat that gets slung around at barbecue restaurants? There’s a reason for it, and it’s not because they’re cooking things medium rare. It’s called a smoke ring.

What in the Golly is a Smoke Ring?

Let’s talk meat science. You know the pink or dark-red juice that comes out of your meat from the store? It’s not blood. It’s called myoglobin, which is a protein that primarily stores oxygen.

It’s reddish pink, but it turns clear when you cook it, thus making the “blood” disappear.

Long story short, the grocery store doesn’t serve blood with your food, and the blood doesn’t magically vanish when you cook.

So what does this have to do with the smoke ring?

If you didn’t know it, smoking food (which is the fundamental basis of barbecue) is a means of food preservation. When that smoke hits your meat as you cook, it immediately begins the preservation process, and it even preserves the color of myoglobin! Thus, as the meat cooks, it simultaneously preserves the meat’s outermost colors.

So Why Isn’t All the Meat Pink?

Two reasons: the smoke doesn’t penetrate all that deep, and even if it did, the interior of the meat cooks too quickly for the smoke to catch up. Thus, the inside of the meat turns the deep brown that we’re used to with most cooking, but a layer of meat along the outside stays pink.

Why do Barbecue Enthusiasts Love the Smoke Ring?

Because it means the food has been smoked! And when you’ve smoked your food, you’ve cooked it over radiant heat and probably captured some incredible vaporized meat juices as well. There is no meat more aromatic than barbecued meat.

So next time you get some barbecue, keep an eye out for that gorgeous smoke ring.