There are a lot of foods that we Americans cook up and enjoy. As so many foodies have been proclaiming there are even more we just ignore. Take lamb for instance: possibly the tastiest of meats that are readily available at grocery stores and we just barely touch the stuff. But how about we talk about a classic? The meat that appears on dinner tables numerous times a week: chicken. It’s time you stop destroying chicken and enjoy what could be the best of the simplest eating pleasures.
Time and time again I encounter people who overcook their chicken. Not cook it until its “safe” to eat, but wring out all of the flavor and juice to the point of cardboard consistency. People have this weird innate fear of cooking meat that I find both frustrating and infuriating. At the restaurant I work at as the second to the culinary manager there are two items the staff likes me to cook: chicken and salmon. The restaurant’s policy is to cook the chicken breast for at least 8-9 minutes. Anyone who cooks with any regularity knows that you have to cook until the food is done, not until a timer goes off.
Let’s get some truths out of the way about a cooked piece of chicken. If you were to cut into a piece of leg meat and found that near the bone things looked a little pink, and maybe a splash of red on the bone, you’d freak. You can admit it; you’re certainly not alone in this reaction. The truth is that pinkness near the bone is in no way an indication of undercooked chicken. Nor is this pink area a bastion of salmonella and other parasites. Cooking the color out of the meat is a surefire way of drying your chicken out.
This extends beyond the area around the bones as well. A “perfectly” cooked chicken breast may have a very faint pink color. Sitting upright at a table over the breast the casual look at the meat likely wouldn’t reveal this coloring. The problem is that your kill temp and time for poultry is 165 degrees for 15 seconds, and the breast meat starts to dry out at 150 degrees. I’m not suggesting that you should immediately start eating chicken cooked to 150 degrees. You’re likely buying your meat from a grocer, and there’s over an 80% chance that a little salmonella exists due to processing and handling.
But if you keep your hands clean, sanitize the work area and prevent cross contamination there’s no reason you can’t pull the breast from the heat at around 160 and let it rest for a bit. Why are you bothering to eat chicken if you’re going to overcook the stuff? BBQ sauce only goes so far in masking the issue. Trust me I know, I grew up eating chicken that was slathered with BBQ just so it was palatable.
Now you just have to learn how to make these adjustments without overcompensating. The last thing you want to do is go crazy and pan sear a chicken breast then serve it. Unless you raised the chicken and killed it right before cooking. Texturally I can’t imagine rare chicken would be enjoyable…but perhaps that’s an experiment I’ll have to try. The secret to good chicken is in a common kitchen tool. Go grab yourself a probe thermometer and begin using it to cook your poultry. Actually, use it for all of your meats. After a while you’ll be able to cook the “perfect” chicken without the aid of a thermometer. Honestly I’ve never stopped using my thermometer because I like that I never serve a bad piece of meat, and I love technology.
Listen, you’re not going to die if you eat some chicken with a little pink inside. There are people in the world who have eaten rare chicken for generations with no problem. The real issue here is serving your family, friends and loved ones the best food you can provide. Chicken is a dish that is too popular to ignore, so stop leaving it in the oven for 45 minutes.
