How to tell if a chicken is ready

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This can be determined by the type of meat or by using a thermometer.

How to determine if a chicken is done with a thermometer

You will need a special cooking thermometer with a stylus - a long needle. It is also called a temperature probe. This device greatly simplifies the process of cooking (and not only chicken). For a more accurate result, it is better to choose a digital thermometer, but a mechanical one with an arrow is also suitable.

Before checking, you need to calibrate the core temperature sensor to make sure it gives an accurate reading. To do this, fill a glass or pitcher with ice and cold water and stir thoroughly. Then place the needle in there so that it does not touch the walls or bottom. Wait 30 seconds and without removing, adjust the thermometer so that it reads 0 ° C.

To determine if the chicken is done, insert the dipstick into the thickest part of the chicken. The tip of the needle should be approximately in the middle of this area. If the chicken is whole, it is usually pierced between the drumstick and breast. Do not pierce the meat through or cut into bones.

Wait for the arrow or numbers on the device to stabilize. If the thermometer reads 74 ° C, then the chicken is ready.

If the temperature is lower, the meat needs some more time to reach. If it is higher, then the chicken was cooked longer than necessary.

How to determine the readiness of a chicken without special devices

It is quite easy to do this by looking at the outside and inside of the meat.

Touch the chicken

The finished meat will be soft, but elastic: when pressed with a finger, it should spring, that is, restore its shape.

Weigh the chicken

You literally don't need to do this. During cooking, the bird loses moisture and shrinks. Take a closer look at the meat: it should decrease slightly in size.

And if you bake a chicken, there will be juice at the bottom of the mold, which was just lost due to cooking.

Cut the chicken

Cut the meat at the thickest point or close to the bone. On the inside, it should be evenly white. The pinkish chicken needs more time to cook.

In addition, if you start cutting or piercing the finished chicken with a fork, knife or toothpick, clear juice will be released from it. If the chicken has not reached, the juice will be pinkish, that is, bloody.