the pigments become vulnerable, there
are few other proteins left to react with
them, so they stay intact and the meat
stays red. The preliminary salting for
making a confit (p. 177) greatly
accentuates this effect in duck meat.
Meats cooked over wood, charcoal, or
gas flames — barbecued pork or beef, for
example, or even poultry cooked in a gas
oven — often develop “pink ring,” which
reaches from the surface to a depth of 8–
10 mm. This is caused by nitrogen
dioxide (NO 2 ) gas, which is generated in
trace amounts (parts per million) by the
burning of these organic fuels. It appears
that NO 2 dissolves at the meat surface to
form nitrous acid (HNO 2 ), which diffuses
into the muscle tissue and is converted to
nitric oxide (NO). NO in turn reacts with
myoglobin to form a stable pink
molecule, like the molecule found in
nitrite-cured meats (p. 174).