The 165 Degree Chicken Rule: Fact or Fiction?

Let us start with a moment of silence for all the dry chicken breasts that will be cooked today and then let's be eternally grateful that we know how to do it another way.

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[surg]

"The FDA Food Code recommends cooking chicken to 165°F (74°C). But the pasteurization of chicken is actually a function of both temperature and time. If you can hold your chicken at 145°F (63°C) for 8.5 minutes, you can achieve the same bacterial reduction as at 165°F (74°C)."

It does matter what temp you cook it to and for how long to make sure the salmonella is taken care of. But you can do a lower temp for a longer time and be okay.

[RandomlnternetGuy]

Cool experiment! Could you make a marinade comparison? 30 min, 4 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours?!

[ddubsr]

Sonny is the only chef who asks if you’d like your chicken rare, medium rare or well done

[Flippokid]

Completely cooked through and completely gotten rid of salmonella (or other) bacteria aren't necessarily the same. Not saying 150 is not enough to kill all bacteria, just stating there's a difference between the two.

[csl]

I've been cooking chicken breast tip 150 to 155 for awhile now. The thought that it would carry over to 165 anyways. It is a game changer. Even makes chicken breast superior to chicken thighs for certain applications.

[eddiethomas]

Hey Somny! For the next test can you keep the temperature probes in after cooking to see what the final temperature is after resting? As you know the temperature will rise after pulling the meat from cooking. Just curious to see how high the temperature will rise from each cooking process.

[phtevenstevin]

PSA for everyone!! I'm sure you know this. But 165 F is what kills the bacteria instantly. If you cook lower, you need to be sure the chicken can hold at the target temp for long enough to kill the bacteria.

155 is a temp where most recommend that you cook it because the chicken breast is able to retain its own heat on the countertop as you rest it for (3? it's either 2 or 3) minutes. Which is long enough to kill the bacteria.

If you go too much lower, you really can't just rely on the color of the meat. The amount of time the chicken must be held at the target temp increases exponentially as you go lower. So if you go lower than 150 F, you should really study up on this to determine how long it must be held at the target temp and resort to things like Sous Vide to ensure you don't get sick.

[jameshopkins]

Hi Sonny! Loved the video, I freaked out when I saw this because I've been cooking chicken breast sous vide style for YEARS at 146F and its the juiciest, most tender chicken I've ever had. I cook chicken THIGHS to 165 because it's primarily darker meat, but if you're looking for the lower bound, I'd guess the chicken starts to get a little..."crunchy" below 145F. Best of luck, I can't wait to see your second experiment!

[BluRibbonReviews]

It would also be interesting to see the probe kept in it to include for carryover cooking

[davidgrossmiller]

You have rapidly become one of my favorite chefs to watch. Thank you for the knowledge.

[woopsnap]

I’ve done 145°F Sous vide whole chickens on more than one occasion. Completely cooked. Tender. Juicy. And most importantly. Pasteurized.
I’d say any lower with quicker cooking like pan frying or baking though wouldn’t be cooked at 145. There isn’t enough time at that temp to pasteurize and make it safe.

[errollleggo]

I baked a chicken once on 350 for 45 minutes or so. It was probably underdone ever so slightly, but it was the juiciest chicken I ever ate.

[alexandercommander]

Hey boss love your videos! My little girl Harley who’s 2 yrs old always asks to watch one of your vids before going to bed at night 😂 she refers to them as “chicken videos”, she particularly finds the violence towards your fridge the funniest part..not sure if that’s a good or bad thing but anyways keep up the good work we’ve seen your channel go from 0 to 💯 real quick!! Cheers from Houston

[nolanarnold]

My dude beat the shit outta his fridge lmaooo, love it

[alexsantiago]

Next time leave the probes in and monitor them. It would be interesting to see the carryover heat based off the temperature as well!

[LeutnantJoker]

While it might indeed be more tender at lower temps, for chicken the temp is all about killing bacteria, not about making it the most tender.
I've had a salmonella infection once.. trust me that is NOT fun. I'd rather take a chicken that's a bit dry and try to compensate for that with a nice sauce and some juicy vegetables. Marinading the chicken first usually also helps. In this case I'll rather error on the side of caution.

[sethaaronson]

165 is great to kill the salmonella quickly- time at temp is also important, lower temps can kill it as well but more over the timeframe of few secs/mins. Carryover cooking does some heavy lifting too.

[mikorahming]

It's not about cooking the meat through. It's about pasteurizing the meat (killing any foodborne illnesses).

[franb]

A cook pre-salted chicken breast sous-vide at 140 f. To make it safe, the meat have to stay at that temp for several minute (I just trust the Joule app). Then, refrigerate over night, this make the best chicken sandwich.
Also, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal cook, in a oven, a whole chicken at 140 f. Kind of extreme. You can find it on youtube.

[dixinears]

I rewatched that spinning back kick multiple times. Very impressive!