Chicken cook time?

[Drifter27]

I started 2 chickens this morning, 4lb 7.5oz and 4lb 11.5 weights before stuffed and rubbed. One came off an hour ago at 165 and the other doesn't have a gauge out of three that reads over 159 anywhere. Is this normal and can I pull it before 165 safely?

The first one was delicious even though the skin separated with no effort and was very tough compared to the flesh. They both had been frozen a while

 

[tallbm]

I started 2 chickens this morning, 4lb 7.5oz and 4lb 11.5 weights before stuffed and rubbed. One came off an hour ago at 165 and the other doesn't have a gauge out of three that reads over 159 anywhere. Is this normal and can I pull it before 165 safely?

The first one was delicious even though the skin separated with no effort and was very tough compared to the flesh. They both had been frozen a while

Hi there and welcome!

Some guys pull as early as 160F deep in the breast and count on it coasting up to 165F.

I pull at like 163F if I'm going to rely on a coast because I never truly know how good my probe placement is.

As for skin... welcome the poultry skin dilemma hahhaa. If you cook/smoke your chicken at 325F or higher that should give you edible and/or crispy skin.
Many people do other things in addition to hotter temps but a 325F+ cooking temp the entire time is foolproof.

I hope this info helps!

 

[forktender]

Hi there and welcome!

Some guys pull as early as 160F deep in the breast and count on it coasting up to 165F.

I pull at like 163F if I'm going to rely on a coast because I never truly know how good my probe placement is.

As for skin... welcome the poultry skin dilemma hahhaa. If you cook/smoke your chicken at 325F or higher that should give you edible and/or crispy skin.
Many people do other things in addition to hotter temps but a 325F+ cooking temp the entire time is foolproof.

I hope this info helps!

I pull mine @ 150-155* then toss it into a 500* oven to crisp up the skin while it's finishing off too the internal temp of 162*. The people that are cooking chicken to 165* are missing out on some moist tender vittles. As long as you follow these guidelines your chicken is safe to eat.



Pasteurization Time for Chicken.

Pasteurization Time for Chicken With 5% Fat Content (7-log10 lethality) [TOP]
Temperature	Ti
136°F (58°C)	68.4 minutes
140°F (60°C)	27.5 minutes
145°F (63°C)	9.2 minutes
150°F (66°C)	2.8 minutes
155°F (68°C)	47.7 seconds
160°F (71°C)	14.8 seconds
165°F (74°C)	Instant

Correct me if I'm wrong please as I'd hate to get anybody sick. As stated above I smoke my chicken to 150- 155* then blast at high heat until done at 162* internal temp.

Dan

 

[Chasdev]

Anyone who fails to wet salt brine chicken before cooking is missing out.
Proper cook time for a spatchcock or halved bird is appx 45 minutes, so turn up the heat boys.
Direct over coals is hard to beat.

 

[SmokyMose]

Chicken is probably like pork shoulders and chuck roasts and briskets in that two of the same weight may be done at different times. It's a BBQ mystery...
I've never cooked a bird where the skin didn't slide off while slicing, even when crisped up. I just eat the skin separately :-)
A couple of weeks ago we had company and I did a chicken on a rotisserie to go with the ribs in the smoker. A temp reading in the breast and thighs both showed 165 so I pulled it and let rest in the oven while getting everything else ready. When I cut the bird the white meat was perfect but the dark meat looked pink. One of the girls said that's normal for roast chicken but the wife disagreed.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[Drifter27]

Awesome, thank you! I feel better about the bowl of chicken meat in the fridge. I took it off the grill, in a glass pan under foil while I soaked racks, put the smoker away and took a shower. It was maybe 45 minutes and when I started separating meat it was still mostly too hot to touch, skin still disappointing but interior was super moist and tender. Flavor didn't have much in the way of half a lemon, half a yellow onion or 3 garlic cloves chopped up inside. Like I said before I've never done chicken but man, that was good stuff. Thanks again for the help

Eta: I can't type

 

[tallbm]

Awesome, thank you! I feel better about the bowl of chicken meat in the fridge. I took it off the grill, in a glass pan under foil while I soaked racks, put the smoker away and took a shower. It was maybe 45 minutes and when I started separating meat it was still mostly too hot to touch, skin still disappointing but interior was super moist and tender. Flavor didn't have much in the way of half a lemon, half a yellow onion or 3 garlic cloves chopped up inside. Like I said before I've never done chicken but man, that was good stuff. Thanks again for the help

Eta: I can't type

Glad to hear it came out pretty well!
If you cover this chicken the skin can get tough again absorbing moisture.
Even if you cook at a hot enough time and the skin is what you are looking for, covering can walk it back.
I have this issue with turkey's I smoke and travel with for like an hour to get to holiday meal destinations. Nothing I can do about it but it is still good.

Chicken is cheap so play around with it until you nail it.
Also as mentioned earlier, if you dont wet brine a whole chicken or chicken breast then you are missing out on juicy flavor goodness!!
Let us know when you want to learn about wet brining meat like this that dries out easily. It's a game changer and there is A right way to do it and many wrong ways to do it :D

 

[Drifter27]

I soaked the birds for 6 hours I think the day before with 1c kosher salt and 1c sugar with water to cover whole chickens. I got antsy with them and swirled the bucket around quite a bit but they stayed submerged more than they weren't. Pat completely dry with lint free paper towels and a very light coating of avocado oil (wife wants it besides others, cant remember why) to hold the rub on and into the fridge until time to cook. The meat was stupid tender, I did stuff them with lemon, onions and garlic cloves and do think that played a part.