Have you ever thought you had a perfectly cooked chicken breast, but when you sat down to eat it wasn’t quite cooked all the way through? A meat thermometer is the only way to know if that chicken is really fully cooked, or if it just looks like it’s fully cooked.
Is This Chicken Done?
{This post was sponsored by Indiana’s Family of Farmers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
I know I’ve done it… The chicken looked done on the grill (or in the pan, or in the oven), so I took it off and got ready to serve it to my family. Or even worse, to my friends! And when I made the first cut into the chicken, it was still pink inside. It wasn’t ready to eat, so back to the grill it went. Then it ends up overcooked and dry on the outside, and just barely cooked in the middle. Nobody likes to eat chicken like that. Yuck.
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Let’s take a look at a chicken breast during grilling… and see how we can tell if it’s cooked!
Undercooked Chicken
What do you think? Is this chicken breast done?
A tell-tale sign that this chicken isn’t cooked is that when I flipped it over on the grill, it stuck to the grates. That happens when the chicken isn’t “ready” to be flipped yet. When the outside of the chicken is cooked, you should be able to easily flip it over on the grill (or on your stove).
Cutting into the chicken breast shows that it is definitely not cooked. Still very pink and raw in the middle. Don’t eat this!
And when I checked the internal temperature with a digital thermometer, it’s barely hitting 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius). We want chicken to be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73.9 degrees Celsius).
Okay, so what about this one? Looks nice and brown on the outside, and it has those beautiful grill marks. It flipped over pretty easily, and I left it on the grill a lot longer than I did the first one.
Cutting it open, it looks pretty good. It’s white all the way through, and the juices are clear. In fact, it looks like a pretty juicy chicken breast!
But when I checked the internal temperature, it’s just at 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius), still way under the 165 (73.9) degrees we’re shooting for.
Fully Cooked Chicken
What about this one? Looks done… nice and golden brown, pretty grill marks, and I left it on even longer.
The inside looks pretty – it’s white all the way through, the juices are clear. It doesn’t look too dry. It looks like it’s cooked through!
The internal temperature was 163 degrees Fahrenheit (72.7 degrees Celsius), just shy of the 165 (73.9) we’re looking for. I wouldn’t put this back on the grill, but I would let it rest for a few minutes before eating it. You wouldn’t be wrong if you wanted to cook this chicken for just a little bit longer.
The best way to tell if your chicken (or any other meat) is fully cooked is with a meat thermometer. The way it looks on the outside and on the inside can be a good indication, but sometimes looks can be deceiving. If you don’t have a good meat thermometer, it is definitely worth the investment! It’s an inexpensive way to keep your family safe from potential food poisoning from bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia.
Do you want to see it in action? Watch me grill chicken and take its temperature in this video:
Free Printable for Is This Chicken Done?
Click here to download your free printable. Keep this cheat sheet handy in your kitchen or near your grill, and never have undercooked chicken again!
Is This Pork Done?
Now that you know how to tell when your chicken is done, what about pork? Pork can get overcooked and dry pretty easily. Use these tips to know when your pork chops are cooked perfectly!
How to Cook the Perfect Steak
There is a way to get a good estimate if your steak is done – you can use the “touch test” that I explain in this post. But I still recommend double-checking with a thermometer!
Can’t remember all the recommended cooking temperatures for different meats? Check out this article, and download your free printable cheat sheet!
Enjoy!
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