Unsure what temperature your chicken should be so that it is safe to eat without being dry and overdone? The short answer for juicy, properly cooked chicken is 150 F for at least 3 minutes for white meat and 175 F for dark meat. Read on for more information about where these numbers come from and for tips and tricks for cooking the best chicken possible.
Watch Now: The Correct Temperature for Juicy Chicken Every Time
Calculating Chicken Temperatures
When it comes to cooking chicken, there are a lot of temperatures to keep in mind. There's the temperature you set your oven to; then there's the actual temperature of the chicken itself (known as the internal temperature), which is measured with an instant-read thermometer. And then there's the minimum safe internal temperature with respect to food safety. In other words, the temperature your chicken needs to reach to ensure that any harmful bacteria it might harbor, like salmonella or campylobacter, are killed.
Last but not least, there is the chicken temperature for quality purposes—so that the breast meat is firm and white but not stringy and dry, and the dark meat is tender rather than rubbery.
White Meat Doneness
The USDA recommends that chicken and poultry be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 F for at least 30 seconds. However, due to carry over cooking, if you pull the chicken breast once it reaches an internal temperature of approximately 162 F, the chicken will retain heat and continue to rise in temperature to reach the necessary 165 F without overcooking and drying out the meat.
Dark Meat Doneness
Chicken thighs and all chicken dark meat tend to taste better when cooked to a higher temperature(175 F to 180 F) due to their higher amounts of connective tissue. Cooking thigh meat to 165 F will yield chewy, rubbery meat, but at 175 F to 180 F, it will be tender and juicy as the collagen melts and turns to gelatin.
The following steps for roasting a whole chicken will yield white and dark meat that is tender, succulent, and properly cooked.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 500 F.
Place the chicken in a roasting pan with a rack. Season with kosher salt.
Insert an ovenproof digital probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and set it to alert you when the temperature reaches 162 F.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350 F.
Wait for the alarm on the thermometer to beep, approximately 90 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes, leaving the probe in the breast.
After 30 minutes, carve and serve.
Resting the Chicken
During the resting period, you'll see the temperature on the digital probe display continue to rise and then fall. When it completes its rise and eventually dips down to 120 F, it's ready to carve.
Because the temperature of a roasted chicken continues to rise for several minutes after taking it out of the oven, if you pull it out when the breast is 162 F and let it rest for 30 minutes, that breast meat will remain above 165 F for more than the required 8.4 minutes, making it tender, juicy, and perfectly safe. Likewise with the dark meat, which will eventually peak at around 200 F, which is more than sufficient for the collagen in the meat to break down, ensuring tender, juicy, flavorful dark meat.
Bear in mind that the times and temperatures above refer only to roasting a whole chicken. It's the overall mass of the whole chicken that allows it to hold those temperatures during the resting time. If you tried roasting an individual chicken breast, it wouldn't work the same way.
Sous Vide Chicken Breasts
There is one technique that is perfect for cooking individual cuts of chicken to a certain temperature and holding them at that temperature. It's called sous vide cooking.
With this cooking method, it's a simple matter to heat your chicken breast to 165 F for as long as you want. The added advantage of sous vide is that no matter how long you leave it in the water bath, your chicken breast will never get any hotter than 165 F (or whatever temperature you set it to). This ensures juicy, tender breast meat with minimal effort.
Helpful Links
How to Safely Thaw a Frozen Chicken
How to Carve a Chicken
The 7 Biggest Mistakes When Cooking Chicken Breasts
And remember, always, a chicken breast must be cooked to 160 degrees. Cooked to perfection! This simple, perfectly cooked chicken breast is juicy enough to make into a sandwich.
Again, you want to aim for 165 degrees F, but remember that once you remove the chicken from the heat, it will continue to cook. To have the juiciest breast, pull the dish outaround 160-162 degrees and the chicken will continue to cook an extra few degrees once removed from the heat.
Simply insert your food thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (for a whole chicken, that would be the breast). You know your chicken is cooked when the thermometer reads 180°F (82°C) for a whole chicken, or 165°F (74°C) for chicken cuts.
It's a basic technique—simply use your spoon or spatula to pick up hot oil or butter from the pan, then pour it over the meat as it cooks. This helps distribute the fat and juices, keeps moisture intact as the meat cooks, enhances flavor, and results in a more even cook.
After heating meat to 160 °F (71.1 °C) and poultry to 165 °F (73.9 °C), maintain a constant dehydrator temperature of 130 to 140 °F (54.4 TO 60 °C) during the drying process.
Baking chicken breast at 350°F (175°C) typically takes about 25 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. Here's a general guide for baking chicken breast at this temperature: Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and position the oven rack in the center of the oven.
Yes, poultry grilled or smoked outdoors can be pink, even when all parts have attained temperatures well above 165 °F (71.1 °C). There may be a pink-colored rim about one-half inch wide around the outside of the cooked product.
Let's start out by saying 500 degrees isn't a temperature we'd recommend for chicken. Given the fact that drumsticks and thighs are dark meat and won't dry out as easily as breasts, the range from 350 to 450 degrees is okay for baking them. 350 to 375 is generally best for breasts.
You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
When chicken is covered while baking, it traps steam and moisture within the dish, resulting in juicier results. The covering helps prevent excessive evaporation and keeps the chicken moist throughout the cooking process. Preventing dryness. Chicken tends to dry out more quickly when exposed to direct heat.
Fattier dark meat can stand a higher temperature than lean white meat. While it's safe to eat dark meat cooked to 165°, you'll get a bouncier bite. Allowing thigh meat and the like to reach somewhere between 175° and 190° will give you more tender meat because the connective tissues have longer to break down.
This method applies to chicken specifically. For properly cooked chicken, if you cut into it and the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked. If the juices are red or have a pinkish color, your chicken may need to be cooked a bit longer.
For baked chicken tenders, cook them on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. For More Baked Options.
Thaw frozen chicken slowly in your refrigerator, or thaw it faster by putting it in a leak-proof package or plastic bag and submerging in cold tap water. Bake a 4-oz. chicken breast at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature is 165˚F (74˚C).
You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
Given the fact that drumsticks and thighs are dark meat and won't dry out as easily as breasts, the range from 350 to 450 degrees is okay for baking them. 350 to 375 is generally best for breasts. The best answer to these questions? Simply check the chicken for doneness using an instant read thermometer.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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