Chicken internal temperature

  • Chicken temps

    Full disclosure - I first learnt about this from this article

    Everything You Need To Know About Chicken Temp | ThermoWorks

    I have a view that thigh meat is best at 80c and breast somewhat lower (I like 65c). Happily if you spatchcock a chook or roast it upright or on a rotisserie you can often get both these temps in one cook.

    Some people will say that “chicken isn’t safe unless cooked to 74c”.

    Well that’s not entirely true.

    So before we go further you need to know that that temperature and time are the two factors that make food safe. The 74c rule is created for dummies as that is the temperature that salmonella is killed instantly. This eliminates the time dimension and simplifies things.

    For those who are more thoughtful and diligent in their cooking (and since we are on a cooking forum, that presumably includes you!) you can use both dimensions, time and temp. And we are multidimensional cooks!

    So, here’s the USDA guidelines that explain how these two dimensions work.

    https://www.fsis.usda.gov/guidelines/2021-0014

    And here is a relevant table from that document.

    So now we can see that a diligent cook can take breast to lower than 74c and still be safe.

    Like the article above and many people on this forum say, breast is best at a lower temp unless you like it dry and tough.

    I’d be interested to hear from others about what temps you recommend for breast and thigh?

  • I’m happy with 165f, 74c for both.

    weber performer, weber compact with gas conversion, napoleon rodeo, pro q 20", PBC, ziggy portable, ozpig with rotisserie, pro smoke offset, pit boss mini kamado, asmoke portable, master built 560.

  • I go for around 76c in the thigh area....serves me well without drying out the breast.....and if the breast was dry I would certainly know about it. :tongue:

    Z Grill MINI.....Aldi Gasser.......Thermoworks Smoke...., Masterbuilt portable Charcoal Grill.

  • A supermarket chook is cooked to 85C

    why the extra for a supermarket chook ?

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Oh, I see, he means that's what they cook it too. :doh:

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • If I have brined it, I will not hesitate to leave it a tad longer, but I am pulling at 68°c usually. Just for the carry over! Now sous vide, 60°c for 3 hours. UG is probably like a lot of folks over here, over cook supermarket stuff cuz you don't trust supply chain and how it was processed!

    "‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’”

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!