{"id":23783,"date":"2026-09-12T09:25:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/?p=23783"},"modified":"2026-09-12T09:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:31:35","slug":"chicken-safe-temperature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/chicken-safe-temperature\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken – Safe Temperature"},"content":{"rendered":"

From House Outlook<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

While you might choose to ignore official temperature recommendations if\u00a0 you prefer a medium-rare steak or a soft egg, most of us are happy to accept the guidance on chicken. The USDA specifies that chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but you may not need to cook your poultry as long as you think to guarantee food safety. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

Cooking Chicken to a Safe Temperature<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s the thing about the USDA\u2019s official temperature recommendations: They\u2019re conservative by design, focusing on a temperature that will kill bacteria instantly. However, according to the USDA\u2019s own guidance for commercial food producers, a lower temperature held for a longer time works just as well. For example, maintaining a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 52 seconds gives the same result. The problem is that food manufacturers have the resources to be that precise, and home cooks like us don\u2019t. The good news is that we don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s thanks to something called \u201ccarryover cooking.\u201d When you remove a whole chicken (or a piece of chicken) from your stove, oven, or grill, a lot of heat is already trapped inside. This heat means the cooking process will continue, and the interior temperature will continue to rise. The bigger the cut, the more carryover cooking you\u2019ll see. A whole chicken retains more heat than a leg quarter, which retains more heat than a boneless breast.<\/p>\n

A Meat Thermometer Is Essential for Food Safety<\/h2>\n

So relax a little, and allow time for carryover cooking when preparing chicken. For a whole bird, you can safely pull it from the oven when the temperature hits 150 to 155 degrees Fahrenheit. For smaller cuts, 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit is a safe range. The only way to know for sure, however, is with an accurate meat thermometer. Check the temperature in a couple of places before you take the chicken off the heat, and then leave the thermometer in place while the meat rests for five to 10 minutes before serving. As long as the internal temperature stays at 155 degrees Fahrenheit or above (in the lowest-temperature part) for at least a minute or two, you\u2019re golden.<\/p>\n

NOTE FROM GRANDPA<\/span><\/p>\n

THIS IS THE ONE THAT I GOT, AND IT’S GREAT<\/a><\/p>\n

I ALSO GOT ONE OF THESE<\/a>
\nTO CHECK PAN TEMPERATURE BEFORE COOKING<\/p>\n

ARTICLE SUMMARY<\/span><\/p>\n

Heat to internal temperature of\u00a0 about 155\u00ba F<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From House Outlook While you might choose to ignore official temperature recommendations if\u00a0 you prefer a medium-rare steak or a soft egg, most of us are happy to accept the guidance on chicken. The USDA specifies that chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but you may not need to cook your … Continue reading “Chicken – Safe Temperature”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grandpas-private-collection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23784,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23783\/revisions\/23784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}