• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Simply Healthy Family

For the love of food, family and feeling good

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Tools & Gadgets
  • How to
  • Tastes
  • How long is it good for?
  • Food Substitutes

How To Tell If Chicken Is Done: Four Simple Ways To Do So

Last Updated on February 20, 2019 by simplyhealthy

How To Tell If Chicken Is Done: Four Simple Ways To Do So

Even the most proficient chef in the world has experienced this once in their life --- serving a roasted chicken that looks gloriously burnished outside but turns out to be raw on the inside. This can be quite an embarrassing situation, and one that can potentially ruin your confidence if you are just starting to learn how to cook.

If you’ve experienced this before, or worse, continue to do so, then don’t you worry. I will help you learn how to tell if chicken is done.

How to tell if chicken is done: Four simple ways to do so
Why not eat raw or undercooked chicken?
How to check if chicken is done
Conclusion

Why not eat raw or undercooked chicken?

raw chicken on the chopping board and vegetables

raw chicken on the chopping board and vegetables

Eating raw chicken can be severely detrimental for your health.

Raw chicken could be contaminated with Salmonella, a type of bacteria that is killed when chicken is cooked properly. If you eat chicken that is not fully cooked, you are risking yourself to gastrointestinal problems.

Salmonella bacteria caused by eating undercooked chicken can cause salmonellosis. This condition has symptoms like severe diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, headaches, chills, fatigue, fever and vomiting.

Of course, eating undercooked chicken is simply disgusting for everyone at any ages. I don’t think undercooked chicken can be stomached.


How to check if chicken is done

There are many methods that you can do to tell that the chicken you are cooking is done. Here are five of the easiest ways to do so:

1. Using a meat thermometer

grilled chicken on the furnace bar

grilled chicken on the furnace bar

I guess this is the easiest and most accurate way to check that the doneness is done or not yet. A meat thermometer is a special kind of probe that you can push into the chicken meat to determine its temperature.

A meat thermometer is quite inexpensive so I guess you can spare a few dollars to buy one. A good thermometer that I can recommend is the Habor CP1 meat thermometer.

You don't need to leave this in the oven. Simply insert this into the thickest part of the thigh. It can accurately tell the meat’s temperature in less than 10 seconds.

The internal temperature should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit for the chicken to be considered as cooked.

When you use a meat thermometer, you should keep the probe away from the bone. Why? Because heat tends to transfer quite faster in the bones, which can mean you would end up with a false reading and yes, raw chicken.

A quite petty issue that cooks have with this approach is that poking the meat can have the juice escape, rather than staying in the chicken. But I guess that’s a minor disadvantage that I can pretty much live with.

2. Check out the juice

Another way to check if the chicken is cooked is to look at the juices. Get a knife and then slice the skin between the breast and leg.

If the juice looks clear, then it is very likely that the meat is done. If the juice is colored pinkish, then you need to wait a bit longer.

3. Check if the meat is firm

grilled chicken on the furnace bar and vegetables

grilled chicken on the furnace bar and vegetables

When checking out the juices of the chicken, you should also inspect the meat itself.

The meat of cooked chicken is firm but not rubbery. It should not be tight too as this is a sign of overcooking.

Of course, we have different interpretations as to what firm is. What may be firm to me isn’t firm enough for you. So how can we arrive at the definition for firm in this regard?

Experienced chefs have devised a so-called finger test to give us an idea on how firm the meat of a cooked chicken should be.

Bring the tip of your thumb and ring finger together. Then feel the flesh beneath the thumb. This is how firm a well done chicken’s meat should feel like.

If the chicken is raw, the meat will be softer than that. Here’s how you can tell the softness of raw meat. Gently press the area below the thumb with the palm of your hand opened. That’s how soft raw chicken meat feels like.

The problem with this ‘test’ is that it isn’t the most accurate way of determining the doneness of chicken. Even cooks admit they fail when they use this approach.

4. Compare the size of the meat

It can be tricky to observe the exterior color of the chicken especially when you are grilling it. The chicken breast may look done outside with its grill marks, yet could be raw on the inside.

But you can also look at the size of the chicken. If it appears to look smaller than its original size then it is close to being done.


Conclusion

grilled chicken, lemon and chili

grilled chicken, lemon and chili

Did you learn something from this article? Of course, I hope you did. Again, the easiest and surest way to check the doneness of chicken meat is to use a meat thermometer. I highly recommend that you use the said technique.

LOVE PINTEREST? WE DO, TOO.

Follow SimplyHealthyFamily on Pinterest and see what we're making, saving and taste-testing just for you.


Plus, subscribe to the newsletter and get FREE access to our e-cookbook library!

Filed Under: How to

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Food Substitutes (26)
  • How long is it good for? (28)
  • How to (75)
  • Recipes (20)
  • Tastes (38)
  • Tools & Gadgets (69)
  • Uncategorized (22)

Recent Posts

how to reheat ribs

The Best Way to Reheat Ribs and Keep Them Delicious! – 5 Method

Fried Chicken

The Best Way to Reheat Fried Chicken and Keep Delicious! – (4 Method)

The Best Way to Reheat Chicken Wings and Keep Them Delicious

The Best Way to Reheat Chicken Wings and Keep Them Delicious! – 5 Method Included

12 Tricks to Make Your Smoothie Creamy and Thick All The Time

12 Tricks to Make Your Smoothie Creamy and Thick All The Time

How To Choose The Best Coffee Beans For Latte

How To Choose The Best Coffee Beans For Latte

https://www.simplyhealthyfamily.org/how-to-make-an-americano-coffee/

How To Make An Americano Coffee

Why Do People Drink Coffee – Top 10 Reasons

Why Do People Drink Coffee – Top 10 Reasons

The Proper Way To Cook Pompano Fillets

The Proper Way To Cook Pompano Fillets

Cooking Fresh Ham Steak The Right Way

Cooking Fresh Ham Steak The Right Way

How To Make Patron Margarita The Easy Way

How To Make Patron Margarita The Easy Way

Footer

Keep In Touch

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

Disclaimer

All information on this website is intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. It is not a replacement or substitute for professional medical advice and/or treatment. Consult with your own doctor for information and advice on your specific questions.

All wallpapers and backgrounds found here are believed to be in the “public domain”. Most of the images displayed are of unknown origin. We do not intend to infringe any legitimate intellectual right, artistic rights or copyright. If you are the rightful owner of any of the pictures/wallpapers posted here, and you do not want it to be displayed or if you require a suitable credit, then please CONTACT US and we will immediately do whatever is needed either for the image to be removed or provide credit where it is due.

All the content of this site are do not gain any financial benefit from the downloads of any images/wallpaper.

We’re an affiliate!

Simplyhealthyfamily.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Additionally, Simplyhealthyfamily.org participates in various other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission through purchases made through our links.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

We do not specifically market to children under 13.