Chicken breast
Always cook thoroughly for food safety.
Rare
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Medium rare
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Medium
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Well done
Rest time
Cooking helper: how long to go?
Check the core temperature of your chicken breast now and then. After two readings the helper works out when it will be done. Then start the rest timer.
1. Pick your doneness
2. Measure the core temperature
Measure every 5 to 10 minutes at the thickest point. Your readings are kept if you close the page.
3. Let it rest
Tip: large cuts rise another 2 to 5 °C while resting, so take them off a little before the target.
All internal temperatures in one chart · Resting meat: how long and why
About Chicken breast
Chicken breast is the pectoral muscle: lean, fine grained and low in connective tissue. With chicken, food safety sits alongside texture, and here the two pull in the same direction but with very little room between them.
The safety figure you see everywhere is 74 degrees. That value is an instantaneous one: at 74 degrees salmonella and campylobacter are killed almost immediately. The same effect is achieved at a lower temperature held for longer, but that is hard to monitor with a pan and a probe. For home cooking, 74 degrees is the practical floor.
The problem is that chicken breast starts drying out at very nearly the same temperature. That is why the margin is so narrow and why it pays to measure rather than to cook by the clock. A breast of ordinary thickness is often up to temperature after eight minutes in the pan.
Measure in the thickest part, from the side towards the centre. Chicken breast is considerably thicker at one end; measure the thin end and you will pull it off the heat too early.
Tips
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Most voted
Kip altijd doorbakken tot minimaal 74°C kerntemperatuur in verband met salmonella.
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