Smoke Ring (Cooking)

A smoke ring is a band of pink colored meat found in the outer 8 to 10 millimeters of smoked meat, prized in barbecue cooking on chicken, pork, and beef. It forms because myoglobin in the meat, which normally darkens under heat, instead reacts with nitric oxide produced when wood or charcoal burns and releases nitrogen dioxide gas, and the resulting compound is a stable pink molecule that does not break down under heat. Smoking meat low and slow, typically at 225 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for many hours, gives the smoke time to penetrate the meat before the heat sets its color, and basting to keep the surface moist helps the ring develop. Cooks who do not use a traditional smoker can also achieve a similar pink color with curing salts. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/