How to tell if fried chicken is done without a thermometer

Download Article

Chicken is an appetizing, easy dish that can be paired with almost anything. Eating undercooked or raw chicken is incredibly dangerous and can make you very sick, so it’s important to know when your food is safe to eat.[1] Using a thermometer and inspecting your chicken is a sure-fire way to make sure that you are consuming safe, healthy, and delicious food.

1. 

   1

   Choose a meat thermometer. Buying the right thermometer can make your cooking process much easier. To get the most accurate reading, a digital meat thermometer is best, but an analog thermometer can also be used.[2][3]

2. 

   2

   Calibrate your thermometer by reading a freezing temperature. Fill a large pitcher with ice and cold tap water, and mix thoroughly until the ice is distributed evenly. Place your thermometer into the pitcher of ice/water mixture and wait 30 seconds, or until the temperature reading stays on one number. Adjust your thermometer reading until it stays at 32 °F (0 °C).

   • No matter what kind of thermometer you are using, making sure it is calibrated correctly is essential to ensure you get an accurate temperature reading.

   Advertisement

3. 

   3

   Find the thickest part of the chicken. Testing the temperature of the thickest part of the meat ensures that your entire piece of chicken is cooked, and not just the thin portions. Identify which area of the chicken has the most meat on it, usually toward the center of the piece.

4. 

   4

   Insert your thermometer. Stab your thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken, making sure that the end of the thermometer stays near the middle of the piece. Wait about 30 seconds, or until your thermometer reading becomes steady.

   • Chicken should be cooked until it is 165 °F (74 °C).[4][5]
   • If your chicken is above these temperatures, it may be overcooked. If it is under these temperatures, it needs more cooking time.

Advertisement

1. 

   1

   Test the firmness of the meat to make sure it is cooked. When cooking, chicken loses moisture and will tighten up.[6] Raw chicken feels rubbery or wobbly, while cooked chicken should feel firm and spring back from your touch.

   • A good example of what cooked chicken should feel like can be felt by keeping your hand limp and pressing your middle finger to your thumb.

2. 

   2

   Check for white/clear juice to test whether your chicken is ready.[7] While cooking, there is often juice that collects in the pan or dish that your chicken is cooking in. Cooked chicken juice will be a white/clear color, while uncooked chicken juice will be more pink.[8]

   • Checking the color of the juice to test whether meat is done is a trick that only works for chicken, and not other types of meat.

3. 

   3

   Determine if your chicken has shrunk in size to see if it is cooked. Uncooked chicken holds a lot of moisture which is expelled during the cooking process. Meat also tends to shrink while cooking, because the muscle fibers contract. Your cooked chicken piece will be slightly smaller than the piece of uncooked chicken that you started with.

4. 

   4

   Look for a white meat color to see if your chicken is cooked. Raw or undercooked chicken has a pink tone to it. By cutting open the thickest part of your chicken and looking at the color, you can identify whether your chicken needs more cook time or not. Cooked chicken will be white on the inside with no pinkish hue, and a golden brown on the outside.

Advertisement

Add New Question

• Question

  How do you know if chicken is cooked without a thermometer?

  

  JoAnna Minneci is a Professional Chef based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. With more than 18 years of experience, Chef JoAnna specializes in teaching others how to cook through private cooking lessons, team-building events, and wellness and nutrition classes. She has also appeared in numerous television shows on networks such as Bravo and Food Network. Chef JoAnna received Culinary Arts training from the Art Institute of California at Los Angeles. She is also certified in sanitation, nutrition, kitchen management, and cost control.

  

  Professional Chef

  Expert Answer

  Without the thermometer, you're just going to end up guessing. One thing you can do is poke the chicken. If it's firm it and the chicken is really firm.

• Question

  How can you tell if chicken is overcooked?

  

  JoAnna Minneci is a Professional Chef based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. With more than 18 years of experience, Chef JoAnna specializes in teaching others how to cook through private cooking lessons, team-building events, and wellness and nutrition classes. She has also appeared in numerous television shows on networks such as Bravo and Food Network. Chef JoAnna received Culinary Arts training from the Art Institute of California at Los Angeles. She is also certified in sanitation, nutrition, kitchen management, and cost control.

  

  Professional Chef

  Expert Answer

  If there's a lot of liquid in the pan, it probably means that all of the moisture that would have made a tender chicken breast moist and juicy is now squeezed out because of the muscle contracting as it's been overcooked.

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

VideoRead Video Transcript

References

1. ↑ JoAnna Minneci. Professional Chef. Expert Interview. 23 November 2021.
2. ↑ https://brobbq.com/best-digital-meat-thermometer/
3. ↑ JoAnna Minneci. Professional Chef. Expert Interview. 23 November 2021.
4. ↑ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/teach-others/fsis-educational-campaigns/is-it-done-yet/thermometer-placement-and-temperatures/ct_index
5. ↑ JoAnna Minneci. Professional Chef. Expert Interview. 23 November 2021.
6. ↑ JoAnna Minneci. Professional Chef. Expert Interview. 23 November 2021.
7. ↑ JoAnna Minneci. Professional Chef. Expert Interview. 23 November 2021.
8. ↑ https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/how-to-tell-if-chicken-is-cooked-fully-through

About This Article

Article SummaryX

To tell if chicken is cooked, insert the tip of a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Once the thermometer reads at least 165° F (74 °C), the chicken is done. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, look at the juice in the pan to see if it’s clear, or try cutting into the chicken and checking the color of the juices that flow out. They should be colorless if the chicken is done, not red or pink. The meat should also feel firm to the touch, not rubbery. Cut into the thickest part of the chicken and check the color of the meat as well. Breast meat should be white all the way through, while thigh meat should have a light brown color. If you notice any pink or red meat, the chicken probably needs to cook longer.

Did this summary help you?

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 99,678 times.

Did this article help you?

How do you check if fried chicken is cooked?

Does fried chicken float when done?