#Chicken internal temperature code#

160☏ and higher: Dry, stringy, and chalky.Īs you can see, the breast meat will become dry if taken too far above 150☏ (65.5☌), while the leg meat needs to reach the temperature range of 160–170☏ (71-77☌) in order for the connective tissue to dissolve into mouthwateringly rich gelatin.

155☏: White and opaque, starting to turn a little bit stringy bordering on dry.

150☏: White and opaque, juicy, and firm.

145☏: Pale, pale pink but completely opaque very juicy, a little soft.

140☏: Pinkish-tinged and almost translucent extremely soft, with the texture of a warm steak fleshy.

160-170☏: When held in this temperature range for ten minutes, collagen in the leg meat will begin to convert into rich gelatin, keeping the meat moist and juicy even after the muscle fibers have expelled most of their liquid.Ĭhicken Texture at Different Temperaturesīelow is a breakdown of what the texture of the breast meat of chicken will be at different pull temperatures:.

Above 150☏: Muscle fibers in breast meat have become almost completely squeezed dry.Water that was forced out of the cells and collected within the sheaths is squeezed out of the breast meat. At 150☏: Proteins in the sheaths themselves rapidly coagulate and contract.The coagulated proteins make the meat firm and opaque. At 140☏: The remaining proteins within the muscle cells of the breast meat coagulate, forcing all of the liquid out of the cells.At 120☏: The protein myosin begins to coagulate, forcing out some liquid that remains within the protein sheaths at this point.The muscle cells are bundled up in long, thin fibers giving the meat its “grain.” Under 120☏: The meat is still considered raw.In The Food Lab, Kenji breaks down what is going on with the protein as the internal temperature of poultry rises: Take a look, especially if you’d like to see the USDA document about times and temps! What Happens to Chicken During Cooking? We’ve written a more extensive explanation about how times and temps relate in making chicken safe than we can fit here. As the internal temperature increases, the holding time for a 7-log 10 reduction decreases. Not widely known is the fact that chicken can achieve the same 7-log 10 reduction at temperatures as low as 136☏ (58☌) as long as that temperature is held at 136☏ (58☌) for at least 63.3 minutes. Salmonella isn’t anything to be trifled with, and 165☏ (74☌) is indeed the temperature to target if preparing food for individuals at higher risk of illness (older adults, pregnant women, young children, and others with compromised immune systems). This temperature is suggested because at 165☏ (74☌) the chicken achieves a 7-log 10 reduction-meaning that 99.99999% of the bacteria present are destroyed-instantaneously: a foolproof rule to follow for safety.

#Chicken internal temperature code#

The FDA Food Code suggests cooking chicken to 165☏ (74☌) to be sure all bacteria is killed and safe to eat.

Food Safety is About Temperature and Time Proper cooking and refrigeration temperatures when dealing with chicken are critical to avoid foodborne illnesses. According to the CDC, 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from foodborne illness each year, and about one million of those cases can be attributed to salmonella. It lives in the temperature range of 35-117☏ (2-47☌) which is beyond what most other common food bacteria can tolerate. Why is there so much concern with this particular bacteria? Salmonella is a very hardy bacteria. Verifying the internal temperature of chicken is particularly important given the threat of salmonella bacteria in poultry. To learn the necessary thermal secrets, keep reading. In his book, Kenji López-Alt uses this principle along with the principle of carryover cooking in large masses of meat to achieve succulent, perfectly safe results at a dramatically lower pull temp. If you can hold your chicken at 145☏ (63☌) for 8.5 minutes, you can achieve the same bacterial reduction as at 165☏ (74☌). But the pasteurization of chicken is actually a function of both temperature and time. The FDA Food Code recommends cooking chicken to 165☏ (74☌).