Why Does My Chicken Taste Like Fish? The Reasons and Solutions Explained
Having chicken that tastes like fish can be an unpleasant and alarming experience. As chicken and fish have very distinct flavors, finding that your chicken tastes fishy can make you worry that something has gone wrong.
There are a few potential reasons that cooked chicken can take on a fishy flavor:
- The chicken has spoiled
- Contamination during storage
- Contamination during preparation
- Reusing cooking oil
- The chicken’s diet
Understanding the cause will help you figure out if your chicken is still safe to eat, and how to prevent a fishy flavor in the future. This article will break down the possible reasons and solutions for chicken that tastes like fish.
Is The Chicken Spoiled?
The most concerning reason for a fishy chicken flavor is spoilage. Chicken has naturally very little odor when raw. So if your raw chicken smelled fishy, it has likely gone bad.
Signs of spoiled raw chicken include:
- Fishy, sour, or acidic odor
- Gray, green, or yellow discoloration
- Slimy texture
Cooked chicken can spoil faster than raw. Leftover cooked chicken should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Refrigerated properly cooked chicken lasts 3-4 days.
If your cooked chicken smells or tastes fishy, it may mean the chicken has spoiled, and you should not eat it. Always discard rotten chicken.
Contamination During Storage
Even if your chicken is not yet spoiled, contamination during storage can lead to a fishy flavor. Raw chicken can absorb odors readily from the refrigerator or freezer. Storing chicken near fish or other strong-smelling foods may transfer scents to the chicken.
To prevent absorption of odors store chicken tightly sealed in packaging or airtight containers. You can place a layer of parchment paper around the chicken as an extra barrier. Store chicken on a shelf away from fish and fragrant foods like onions.
An unclean freezer can also make chicken taste fishy. Defrost and clean out the freezer every few months to prevent buildup of odors.
Contamination During Preparation
Using unwashed utensils when prepping chicken is another common way for fishy flavors to transfer. If you cut up vegetables or other ingredients before the chicken without thoroughly washing knives, cutting boards, etc., residues can stick and get into the chicken.
Even utensils only used for chicken can retain residue that turns fishy when chicken is cooked. Always wash and sanitize prep tools before and after handling raw chicken. Use separate designated tools for chicken whenever possible.
Reusing Cooking Oil
Reusing oil multiple times to fry chicken can also create a fishy flavor. The breakdown of oil when heated repeatedly generates off tastes. Even if the oil was used for chicken before, compounds in the chicken skin and batter can react with deteriorating oil and take on a fishy scent.
Always fry foods in fresh, clean oil. Optimal is using oil only once. If reusing oil, strain and filter it thoroughly after each use. Make sure the pot or pan doesn’t retain old oil residue either.
The Chicken’s Diet
In rarer cases, the reason chicken tastes fishy is because the chicken was fed fish or fishmeal. While not as common today, some farms use fish products in chicken feed as an inexpensive protein source.
The fish components get stored in the chicken’s fat and tissue, emerging when cooked. Buying chicken from farms that do not use fish in feed should prevent this issue. Free-range and organic chicken is less likely to be fed fishmeal.
Is Fishy Chicken Safe to Eat?
If you are certain your raw chicken was fresh, properly stored and handled, a fishy taste does not necessarily mean you need to discard cooked chicken. The off flavor can often be disguised or removed.
However, if there is any doubt about the freshness or you see other signs of spoilage, do not take risks and throw the chicken away.
How to Fix Fishy Tasting Chicken
Here are some tips for fixing up chicken that has taken on a fishy flavor during storage, prep or cooking:
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Marinate in an acidic ingredient like lemon juice, vinegar, yogurt or tomato sauce to mask the taste.
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Coat the chicken in flour, salt and spices before cooking to provide a protective layer.
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Bake or simmer the chicken in a sauce with lots of aromatics like garlic, onions, herbs and spices to overwhelm any fishiness.
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If fried, do not reuse any oil and wash the pan thoroughly to eliminate residual oil. Fry a small piece first to check if the flavor carries through before cooking the rest.
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Try switching preparation methods e.g. bake instead of fry. The fishy compounds may emerge more in certain cooking methods.
With the right techniques, you can still enjoy chicken that has picked up metallic, fishy flavors during storage or cooking. The solutions above can help mitigate the issue.
Preventing Fishy Chicken in the Future
Now that you know why your chicken tasted like fish, you can take steps to stop it happening again:
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Always inspect raw chicken carefully before cooking. If it smells or shows any signs of spoilage, throw it out.
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Store chicken properly sealed in the refrigerator or freezer, away from other fragrant foods.
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Wash prep tools and cooking pots thoroughly before and after handling chicken. Use separate utensils when possible.
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Fry chicken in fresh, unused oil in a clean pan each time.
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Consider the chicken’s source and diet as a factor. Opt for chicken raised without fish products in their feed.
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If your cooked chicken tastes fishy, try marinades, spice rubs and sauces to mask the flavor before throwing it out.
While fishy chicken can be unpleasant, in most cases it does not mean the chicken has gone bad. With care and attention during storage, preparation and cooking, you can avoid this problem in the future and still enjoy chicken that temporarily picks up metallic, fishy overtones. Follow these tips to keep your chicken tasting fresh.
Investigating Cooked Chicken
- 1 Smell the chicken. The smell test can work for cooked chicken as well as it can for raw chicken, but it is sometimes more difficult to distinguish the smell of bad chicken if spices and other seasonings are masking the odor.[7]
- If the chicken smells like rotten eggs or sulfur, it is bad.
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2 Check for changes in color, if possible. Sometimes this is not possible if the chicken has been breaded or if the color was altered by a glaze or marinade. If chicken that cooked white begins to look grey, it is no longer safe to eat.[8] - 3 Look for mold. Mold is one of the most obvious signs of rotten, decaying, bad chicken. If green, or black fuzz, or any organic growth of any kind has begun to form on the chicken, it has gone very bad and should be discarded immediately. Even the smell of chicken this off may make you ill.[9]
- 4 Taste the chicken before you swallow it. If you feel uncertain about whether or not cooked chicken is still good, but do not want to waste it if it still is, you can cautiously take a bite. Instead of chewing and swallowing the chicken immediately, though, you should pause and carefully analyze the flavor.[10]
- If it tastes “off” or seems a little sour, spit it out and discard the rest.
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Easy Ways to Tell if Chicken is Bad
Chicken has likely gone bad if it has a strong, unpleasant odor. Another sign is a change of color; raw chicken should be pink, while cooked chicken should be white. It often turns grey when it begins to spoil. Check for mold as well, and avoid chicken that has a slimy texture.
Food Theory: Why Does EVERYTHING Taste Like Chicken?
FAQ
What does it mean if chicken has a fishy taste?
When chickens are fed fish, the fat in their meat can take on these flavors, leading to a more pronounced fish taste. Metabolism: Chickens metabolize the nutrients and flavors from their diet. The fishy flavors can become infused in the muscle tissues, especially if the fish meal is a substantial part of their diet.
Why does meat taste like fishy to me?
How to get rid of fishy taste in chicken?
To get rid of that smell/taste, wash your chicken with vinegar. Submerge your chicken in a bowl of water and put two caps of vinegar in the water per breast. Use your hands and really massage the vinegar water into the chicken breast, and then let it sit in the vinegar water for maybe five minutes.
Is it safe to eat chicken that smells like fish?
My general rule of thumb with any sort of raw meat like chicken, pork, fish or beef is that if you smell anything at all that smells off or funky, or sets off any internal alarm in you, chuck it. Better safe than sorry. Fresh, raw meat like chicken shouldn’t really have any odor at all.
Why does chicken taste fishy?
When chicken meat is exposed to air, the naturally occurring fats in the meat begin to break down. This breakdown can result in a release of volatile compounds, some of which have a fishy smell and taste. This is especially likely to happen if the chicken is not fresh or has been stored improperly.
Why does chicken smell like fish?
The main reason why chicken might smell or taste like fish is because it’s spoiled. But if you’re certain that the chicken is fresh, then there’s something else behind the fishy flavor. Maybe the chicken was fed fish meal during its lifespan, or you cooked it in oil that was previously used for fish. What Causes Fishy Chicken?
Does chicken taste like fish?
No matter what seasoning you use, and how well you prepare the sauce, the meat can sometimes just taste wrong. A fishy taste is something that happens with chicken, especially if you made some mistake in storing and preparing. Luckily, there are some efficient techniques you can use to make sure that the chicken doesn’t taste like fish.
Why does raw chicken taste like fish?
This is a big problem when raw chicken is left at room temperature, as bacteria will quickly multiply, making it unfit for consumption. However, if you are 100% confident that your chicken has not gone bad, there are some other reasons why it might taste like fish.
Does frozen chicken taste fishy?
Freezing chicken can cause it to develop a slightly different flavor, but it should not taste fishy. If your frozen chicken tastes fishy, it could be an indication of spoilage or improper storage. Does washing chicken remove the fishy taste? Washing chicken before cooking will not remove the fishy taste.
Why does chicken taste so bad?
There can be many explanations behind the off-putting taste of chicken. The clearest one is fishmeal. A few ranchers feed their chickens powdered fish results. This fishmeal causes an off-putting taste in chicken and their eggs. Different reasons incorporate certain microbes, singing, and serving techniques.