What is the Minimum Safe Internal Temperature for Chicken Breast?

Below, were sharing an excerpt from the Food52 cookbook, Dynamite Chicken, to answer one of lifes most important questions: At what temperature should my cooked chicken end up, and how do I get it there?.

Anybody who tells you that one part of the chicken is better than another part of the chicken is not somebody whose culinary advice you need to take too seriously. But even though it all comes from the same bird, chicken parts have different flavors and functions in recipes, and different cook times and temperatures to reach to get the best out of them. Here’s a guide to chicken cooking temps in general, a breakdown on how I like to cook separate chicken parts, and a bunch of different ways you can cook your chicken to get to the result we all want: flavorful, succulent meat.

But First, Chicken Safety

I’ve cooked hundreds of chickens in my life, and I have never gotten salmonella poisoning. I suspect that the biggest culprit of salmonella is cross-contamination, which happens when, for example, you cut chicken on a cutting board that you then use for something else without cleaning it first. Only cooking kills salmonella, and the government says to cook food to 165°F (75°C) to instantly pasteurize it. However, while cooking chicken breasts especially, I shoot for closer to 150°F (65°C) and try to hold it there for a couple minutes. The chicken breasts are safe to eat and won’t dry out or get tough like they would at 165°F (75°C) because they’ve been at this temperature for longer. But more on this below.

Different Cooks for Different Cuts

Chicken breasts are lean, texturally very consistent when cooked properly, and great for quick-cooking recipes. But they don’t have as much collagen and gelatin as the legs do, so if you cook them past about 150°F (65°C), they will dry out and become rubbery. Leave them on the bone if you want to give yourself a buffer on cook time, as this will help preserve moisture. Or cut them small and don’t worry about perfection, as they can add great texture where a tender chicken leg can get lost. I like to sauté or gently poach chicken breasts. Shop the Story.

Chicken legs, on the other hand, excel when cooked for a long time. The fat renders out and they get that juicy, shreddable, pulled-pork appeal. Use chicken legs when a recipe tells you to put the chicken in at the beginning and the dish has a total cooking time of 40 minutes. I find drumsticks and thighs to be pretty interchangeable, as they’re both dark meat wrapped around a bone. The drumstick has more tendon action that you’ll want to cut out, but it’s easy to do that after the drumstick is cooked. The thigh has more meat.

Chicken wings are delicious! They have a high skin-to-meat ratio, which lends itself to crispy roasted or fried preparations or nice charring on the grill. And they tend to be cheap and plentiful. That said, if you buy a whole chicken to cook for a few meals, it’s probably not worth the effort of making just two Buffalo wings. Instead, you can put them in a pot with other chicken parts to make stock, and then they can become any number of things in spirit.

Now, if we’re talking about boneless, skinless chicken, breast and thigh meat are relatively interchangeable. Pounded-out, quick-cooking recipes like chicken schnitzel are great for breasts, whereas the long marinade and lengthier cook of chicken spiedies, while delicious with breasts, go even better with juicier thighs. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the thighs have more flavor, but they have a slightly gamier profile worth keeping in mind.

To roast a 3- to 4-pound (1.4 to 1.8kg) chicken, heat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Check the chicken’s cavity for any bag of neck bones and giblets that might be hanging out in there, removing it if there is one. Then, season the chicken all over with plenty of kosher salt (so the salt can really make its way into the skin and meat), rub extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil on the skin (add more salt if it rubs off with the oil), put the chicken in a large roasting pan or on a sheet pan, and cook it in the oven for an hour. If the skin doesn’t get dark enough while roasting, put the chicken under the broiler for a couple of minutes longer. If the chicken needs a little more than an hour to be done, give it an hour and 10 minutes and take note for next time.

All this said: I find it troublesome to gauge a whole-roasted chicken’s doneness using temperature because I have never figured out the correct place to stick a thermometer— when I put it in the breast, the thickest part of the chicken, either it will say 125°F (52°C) and the chicken is super overcooked, or it will say 175°F (80°C) and the chicken is still a little raw. And the juice thing? The juice coming out of a chicken is never clear, at 165°F (75°C) or otherwise. There is just too much biology going on in there. So I say wiggle the leg. Does it feel loose? Is the skin pulling back from the joint where the foot would have been attached? After an hour of cooking, is the skin super dark or is it still a little pale?

Once I’m ready to pull the chicken from the oven, I let it rest for 10 minutes and then slice into the thickest part—just to the side of the breastbone. If the meat is white and not pink, then we win! If it’s not, it’s rested only 10 minutes and the oven won’t take long to heat back up, so back in it goes. I realize that cookbook authors and chefs, of which I am a strange combo, are supposed to give much more precise answers than that, but I am here to tell you guys the truth. And once you get to know how long it takes to cook a 4-pound (1.8kg) chicken at 400°F (200°C) in your oven, then you won’t even need to think about thermometers or juices anymore!

Roasting bone-in, skin-on chicken parts is just like roasting a whole chicken! Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), season the parts generously with kosher salt, rub with oil, and roast. The breasts should be done in 30 minutes and the legs in 45, so pull them out accordingly—the meat should be fully white in the middle, and not even a little pink. If the parts don’t get brown on the outside, broil them for a few minutes to get extra-crispy and delightful skin.

Poaching chicken is quick and easy and leaves you with super tender meat and a little bit of flavorful stock to use for other things. Put four boneless chicken pieces (about 2 pounds, or 900g) in a pot and just barely cover them with water (about 11 ⁄ 2 quarts, or 1.4L). Add 11 ⁄ 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Over medium-high heat, bring the water up to a light boil, turn the heat to low, and gently simmer the chicken in the broth until it is just cooked, 7 to 10 minutes. You can add onions, garlic, herbs—whatever you like—but those flavors will shine through more in the resulting broth than in the chicken itself.

Sautéing chicken is the fastest and arguably most delicious way to cook it, because you can get the most intense caramelization in a very short time. Simply heat a sauté pan on high heat with a little vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil until smoking, season chicken well with kosher salt, and place it in the pan, skin-side down (if working with skin-on chicken). Cook the chicken on that side without disturbing it until it is cooked almost all of the way through—5 to 7 minutes for a boneless breast, 18 to 20 minutes for a bone-in breast, and 28 to 30 minutes for thighs or drumsticks—lowering the heat to medium after 5 to 7 minutes for the bone-in pieces. It can be tricky to tell when a bone-in chicken breast is almost cooked, so peek in between the breast and tenderloin and cook it until there’s only a little pink left. Then flip and cook it for another minute or two until there is no more pink.

Broiling chicken is fun and exciting—you get crispy skin and tender meat in an impossibly short time. That said, it’s a pretty aggressive way to cook chicken, so I recommend you keep an eye on it because things happen pretty quickly. Season bone-in, skin-on chicken parts with kosher salt, rub the skin with vegetable or olive oil, put the pieces under the broiler, and flip them pretty regularly so that they don’t burn— every 3 or 4 minutes. Depending on the size and thickness of your chicken, and the seriousness of your broiler, the parts should take between 8 and 12 minutes (or 25 to 30 for bigger pieces) to cook. To see if they’re cooked, check the thickest part of the meat—if it’s pink, it needs some more time, and if it’s white throughout, it’s fully cooked.

Basically any of the preceding cooking preparations make good chicken for shredding, but poaching and broiling are the fastest and easiest ways to get there. First, cook the chicken in any of the ways mentioned. Then, to shred, transfer the cooked chicken to a plate or cutting board and let it cool until it can be handled easily, or ideally to room temperature, 10 to 20 minutes. Use your hands to pull the meat off of the bones and then shred it into small pieces; or using two forks, hold the chicken steady with one fork and scrape the chicken off the bone with the tines of the other to shred. Save or freeze any skin, bones, fat, or cartilage for stock (unless you like those things to be in your chicken salad), and you’re ready to use the delicious shredded meat. Whats your favorite chicken-cooking method? Let us know in the comments.

The Dynamite Chicken cookbook is here! Get ready for 60 brand-new ways to love your favorite bird. Inside this clever collection by Food52 and chef Tyler Kord, youll find everything from lightning-quick weeknight dinners to the coziest of comfort foods.

The 165 Degree Chicken Rule: Fact or Fiction?

FAQ

What temperature should chicken breast be cooked at?

When it comes to the internal temp for chicken breast, the same rule applies. The thickest part of the breast must reach 165 °F (73. 9 °C) to ensure it’s safe to eat. Similarly, the chicken thigh internal temp should also reach this minimum temperature. When cooking a whole chicken, the entire bird must reach this temperature throughout.

How long should a chicken breast be cooked at 165?

To ensure a safe internal temperature, it is essential to use a food thermometer to check the temperature at the thickest part of the breast. As a general rule, cook chicken breast on the grill over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until it reaches 165°F (74°C) inside.

What temperature should boneless chicken be cooked at?

Smaller cuts of chicken will cook faster than bone-in chicken because they will need less time to reach the desired internal temperature. No matter what you’re serving, the USDA says that the chicken should be 165° inside to make sure it is safe. Is it better to bake boneless chicken at 350 or 400?.

What temperature should a chicken breast thermometer read?

The thermometer should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the chicken (180 degrees Fahrenheit if stuffed). If you pierce the meat, the juices inside should run clear instead of red or pink, and the meat should be white. 2. Chicken Breast Temp.

How do I check the internal temperature of chicken breast?

Using a meat thermometer is the best method to check the internal tempt for chicken breast because it provides an accurate, reliable measurement that ensures food safety while preventing overcooking. The Harold Import Co. Large Face Meat Thermometer is an excellent tool for measuring internal meat temperatures. Its key features include:

What temperature do you cook chicken on a stovetop?

Recommended Temperature: The stovetop should be set to medium-high heat, usually around 350°F to 375°F (175°C to 190°C) for a skillet. Chicken Breasts or Tenderloins: These will cook in about 5-7 minutes per side for boneless options. Always check the internal temperature to ensure it reaches 165°F (74°C).

What is the minimum temperature for chicken breast?

Is chicken safe at 145 degrees?

Chicken is notorious for food contamination. Hence the 165 degrees gives instant safety zone for eating. If you drop to 145 you need extended time at temperature for safety reasons but it will then be safe to eat.

Does chicken really need to be 165?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) instructs us to cook meat to a safe internal temperature: namely, 165 degrees for poultry and 145 for beef and pork. But by the time it reaches those temperatures, meat, especially lean meat, has tightened up and lost a lot of its juiciness.Jan 31, 2024

What is the minimum internal temperature that the chicken must reach in Quizlet?

165 degrees, minimum internal cooking temp.