Ahhh, chicken.  It’s a staple at the dinner table because it’s high in protein, versatile and cost-effective.  You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have a favorite chicken dish of some kind, be it fried, baked or barbecued.  While chicken allows a home cook to be adventurous, cooking it properly can sometimes be tricky.  There’s nothing worse than presenting your family with a beautiful looking bird, only to have them cut into a raw mess.  Or an overdone bird that’s so dry and tasteless, it’d be better suited as a paperweight.

So how do you know when your chicken is done?  Well, first it helps to know a few facts about the bird itself.  As we all know, chicken is made up of white and dark meat.  The leg and thigh are dark meat and have a lot of fat and connective tissue.  White meat consists of breasts and wings and has little to no fat.  When you’re planning your next chicken recipe, keep in mind that white and dark meat should be cooked quite differently. 

In general, you want to cook dark meat in a lot of liquid such as braising or stewing.  These methods will cook the proteins out and allow your meat to become soft.  White meat should be cooked using a quick, dry heat like sautéing, grilling or broiling.  Cooking white meat at a high heat will keep the chicken moist and give it the most flavor.  If you’re trying to watch your fat intake, you can still cook white meat with the skin on; just discard it later.  You haven’t lost any of the taste.  If you’re cooking white and dark meat together, put the dark meat in first to give it a head start.  Finally, if you plan to roast a whole bird, make sure to truss (the act of tying the legs together and tucking the wings close to the body) the bird first, so that it cooks uniformly.     

The absolute best way to know if your chicken is done is to use a meat thermometer. Don’t rely solely on juices running clear, although if you want to use that as a backup method, that’s fine.  Meat thermometers are inexpensive, readily available and a must-have in the kitchen.  For chicken, 140 degrees is ideal for doneness, although you’ll want to take the chicken off the heat just a touch before it reaches that temperature. Insert the thermometer into the end of a piece of meat, rather than the top, for a more accurate reading.  The reason you want to take the chicken off the heat is because you want to let it “rest.” Placing your chicken on a plate and cover it with aluminum foil for 15 minutes.  It will continue to cook while you finish the rest of the meal, but won’t overcook. The result will be moist, tasty chicken.

Armed with these tips, your next chicken dinner is sure to be a hit.  Enjoy!

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