How to tell if a chicken is ready

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 food (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 probe 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 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 touch the 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.

What to buy

• BROWIN meat thermometer with analogue scale, 620 rubles →
• Electronic temperature probe CEM DT-131, 1,300 rubles →
• Meat thermometer TP-101 with a long probe and an LCD display, 349 rubles → 
• Thermometer Zigmund & Shtain with a large backlit screen and a remote sensor, 1,550 rubles →

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 poultry 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 dish that was just lost due to cooking.

Cut the chicken

Cut the meat at the thickest point or near the bone. From the inside, it should be evenly white. The pinkish chicken needs more cooking time.

In addition, if you begin to cut or pierce 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.