Chicken Challenged

Becca said:

Tonight, I roasted a chicken until the thermometer read 180 degrees (F).
I always use a thermometer when I roast beef, chicken or pork.

Unfortunately, the chicken was not done, it was undercooked. Not
believing what I saw, I checked the chicken in 2 other areas, and it
still read 180 degrees. Should I replace my thermometer?

BTW, I cooked the chicken for 15 more minutes, until the juices ran
clear. I had brined the chicken and it was delicious, I just can't
figure out why the chicken was not done.

How did you know the chicken was undercooked? Was it rubbery, or did it
have a pinkish color?

Brined poultry has a pinker color than unbrined.

Feel free to replace your thermometer. You may well need a new one. But
first roast an unbrined chicken using the old thermometer and see if its
performance improves.

Becca said:

Tonight, I roasted a chicken until the thermometer read 180 degrees (F). I
always use a thermometer when I roast beef, chicken or pork.

Unfortunately, the chicken was not done, it was undercooked. Not believing
what I saw, I checked the chicken in 2 other areas, and it still read 180
degrees. Should I replace my thermometer?

BTW, I cooked the chicken for 15 more minutes, until the juices ran clear. I
had brined the chicken and it was delicious, I just can't figure out why the
chicken was not done.

This seems to happen to me a lot too. The pop-up thermometer on the chicken
(Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster) will have popped, the thermometer will read 180
degrees, and yet the meat will still seem undercooked. The main thing is redness
around some of the bones. In my Joy of Cooking cookbook (which is a 30 year old
edition), it says that redness around the bones is normal on a very young
chicken because the bones aren't fully solidified (or some such term) yet and
the marrow leaks out. I don't know if all chickens today, even the big roasters,
are essentially young because they've bred them and fed them to grow extremely
fast. Aside from the temperature used to tell when it's done, maybe the juices
running clear is also good enough even if those bone areas still have redness. I
end up cooking a bit longer than either the pop-up or my digital thermometer
would indicate.

To check a thermometer, if you've got one of the digital ones you can test in
boiling water and make sure it reads close to 212 degrees. If it does, your
thermometer is probably also accurate at 180 degrees. You can also do this test
on other types of thermometers if they go up past 212 degrees.

--
wff_ng_7 (at) verizon (dot) net

Becca said:

Tonight, I roasted a chicken until the thermometer read 180 degrees (F).
I always use a thermometer when I roast beef, chicken or pork.

Unfortunately, the chicken was not done, it was undercooked. Not
believing what I saw, I checked the chicken in 2 other areas, and it
still read 180 degrees. Should I replace my thermometer?

Probably. I cook my chicken no more than 160. 180 is certainly
done.

Put you thermometer in boiling water. It should read 212F, minus
1 degree for every 1000ft of elevation.

-sw

Becca wrote on 18 May 2007 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Tonight, I roasted a chicken until the thermometer read 180 degrees (F).
I always use a thermometer when I roast beef, chicken or pork.

Unfortunately, the chicken was not done, it was undercooked. Not
believing what I saw, I checked the chicken in 2 other areas, and it
still read 180 degrees. Should I replace my thermometer?

BTW, I cooked the chicken for 15 more minutes, until the juices ran
clear. I had brined the chicken and it was delicious, I just can't
figure out why the chicken was not done.

Becca

I use the drumstick wiggle test to tell if chicken is totaly cooked and I
never go over 160F on the digital thermometer for chicken. But I rarely
roast chicken I prefer them rotiserated. I find them more juicy and tastier
that way.

wff_ng_7 was spot-on:

Quoted message said:

This seems to happen to me a lot too. The pop-up thermometer on the
chicken (Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster) will have popped, the thermometer
will read 180 degrees, and yet the meat will still seem undercooked. The
main thing is redness around some of the bones. In my Joy of Cooking
cookbook (which is a 30 year old edition), it says that redness around the
bones is normal on a very young chicken because the bones aren't fully
solidified (or some such term) yet and the marrow leaks out. I don't know
if all chickens today, even the big roasters, are essentially young
because they've bred them and fed them to grow extremely fast. Aside from
the temperature used to tell when it's done, maybe the juices running
clear is also good enough even if those bone areas still have redness. I
end up cooking a bit longer than either the pop-up or my digital
thermometer would indicate.

From www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp:

Dark Bones
Darkening around bones occurs primarily in young broiler-fryers. Since their
bones have not calcified completely, pigment from the bone marrow can seep
through the porous bones. Freezing can also contribute to this seepage. When
the chicken is cooked, the pigment turns dark. It's perfectly safe to eat
chicken meat that turns dark during cooking.

Pink Meat
The color of cooked chicken is not a sign of its safety. Only by using a
food thermometer can one accurately determine that chicken has reached a
safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout. The pink color in
safely cooked chicken may be due to the hemoglobin in tissues which can form
a heat-stable color. Smoking or grilling may also cause this reaction, which
occurs more in young birds.

Quoted message said:

To check a thermometer, if you've got one of the digital ones you can test
in boiling water and make sure it reads close to 212 degrees. If it does,
your thermometer is probably also accurate at 180 degrees. You can also do
this test on other types of thermometers if they go up past 212 degrees.

Yep.

Bob

Becca said:

Tonight, I roasted a chicken until the thermometer read 180 degrees (F).
I always use a thermometer when I roast beef, chicken or pork.

Unfortunately, the chicken was not done, it was undercooked. Not
believing what I saw, I checked the chicken in 2 other areas, and it
still read 180 degrees. Should I replace my thermometer?

BTW, I cooked the chicken for 15 more minutes, until the juices ran
clear. I had brined the chicken and it was delicious, I just can't
figure out why the chicken was not done.

Becca

I'd say that you should replace your thermometer.
--
-Gina in Italy

Currently Reading:

Micah by Laurell K. Hamilton
Cold Fire by Dean Koontz

Stitching WIP:

Rosemarkie by Long Dog
St. Sylvestre by Long Dog
St. Georges by Long Dog

Soon to start:

Pompeji Garden Mandela by Chatelaine
Tuscan Town Mandela by Chatelaine

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I appreciate it.

BTW, I roasted the chicken on a rack, and when the chicken was done,
according to the meat thermometer, bloody juices were dripping from the
middle of the bird. I lifted the wing and the blood in the veins
underneath the wing were still red, it had not turned black. The chicken
had cooked for only 35 minutes, so I was wondering how that chicken
cooked so fast. lol

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Thanks to everyone!

Becca

Becca said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I appreciate it.

BTW, I roasted the chicken on a rack, and when the chicken was done,
according to the meat thermometer, bloody juices were dripping from the
middle of the bird. I lifted the wing and the blood in the veins
underneath the wing were still red, it had not turned black. The chicken
had cooked for only 35 minutes, so I was wondering how that chicken
cooked so fast. lol

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Thanks to everyone!

Becca

Hi- it's easier to use cold H2O. Use lots of ice and let it sit for a
few. Should read 32F. If you have a dial type, you can calibrate it by
turning the nut at the base of the dial.

merryb said:

Quoted message said:

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Thanks to everyone!

Becca

Hi- it's easier to use cold H2O. Use lots of ice and let it sit for a
few. Should read 32F. If you have a dial type, you can calibrate it by
turning the nut at the base of the dial.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

Becca

Becca said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I appreciate it.

BTW, I roasted the chicken on a rack, and when the chicken was done,
according to the meat thermometer, bloody juices were dripping from the
middle of the bird. I lifted the wing and the blood in the veins
underneath the wing were still red, it had not turned black. The chicken
had cooked for only 35 minutes, so I was wondering how that chicken
cooked so fast. lol

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Thanks to everyone!

Becca

How much did the chicken weigh? You only cooked it for 35 minutes?

I thought the rule was 15-20 minutes per pound. I have a small 4
pounder "fryer" in my fridge right now. I would never consider it
done after 35 minutes. Then again, I wouldn't roast a 3 or 4 pound
chicken. I cut those up for fried chicken or stew.

-Tracy

Tracy said:

Becca said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I appreciate it.

BTW, I roasted the chicken on a rack, and when the chicken was done,
according to the meat thermometer, bloody juices were dripping from the
middle of the bird. I lifted the wing and the blood in the veins
underneath the wing were still red, it had not turned black. The chicken
had cooked for only 35 minutes, so I was wondering how that chicken
cooked so fast. lol

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Thanks to everyone!

Becca

How much did the chicken weigh? You only cooked it for 35 minutes?

I thought the rule was 15-20 minutes per pound. I have a small 4
pounder "fryer" in my fridge right now. I would never consider it
done after 35 minutes. Then again, I wouldn't roast a 3 or 4 pound
chicken. I cut those up for fried chicken or stew.

-Tracy

Tracy, for several years now, I have trusted my meat thermometer to let
me know when the meat was done. This is why I was surprised that the
chicken was done at 35 minutes. It was not done, so I cooked the chicken
for 15 more minutes. I had to do the "leg wiggle" and pierce it with a
fork, to see if the juices were running clear.

Now I need to buy a new meat thermometer, and when I tried to open a
bottle of wine tonight, I could not find the corkscrew. It is hard to
find everything since I moved. I shampooed my hair with shower gel for 3
weeks, because I could not find the shampoo. My hair didn't look too
bad. LOL

Becca said:

Tracy said:

On May 19, 10:57 am, Becca <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I appreciate it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BTW, I roasted the chicken on a rack, and when the chicken was done,
according to the meat thermometer, bloody juices were dripping from the
middle of the bird. I lifted the wing and the blood in the veins
underneath the wing were still red, it had not turned black. The chicken
had cooked for only 35 minutes, so I was wondering how that chicken
cooked so fast. lol

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I will take everyone's advice. I will boil water and test the
thermometer, but I think a new thermometer is probably what I need.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks to everyone!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Becca

Quoted message said:

How much did the chicken weigh? You only cooked it for 35 minutes?

Quoted message said:

I thought the rule was 15-20 minutes per pound. I have a small 4
pounder "fryer" in my fridge right now. I would never consider it
done after 35 minutes. Then again, I wouldn't roast a 3 or 4 pound
chicken. I cut those up for fried chicken or stew.

Quoted message said:

-Tracy

Tracy, for several years now, I have trusted my meat thermometer to let
me know when the meat was done. This is why I was surprised that the
chicken was done at 35 minutes. It was not done, so I cooked the chicken
for 15 more minutes. I had to do the "leg wiggle" and pierce it with a
fork, to see if the juices were running clear.

Now I need to buy a new meat thermometer, and when I tried to open a
bottle of wine tonight, I could not find the corkscrew. It is hard to
find everything since I moved. I shampooed my hair with shower gel for 3
weeks, because I could not find the shampoo. My hair didn't look too
bad. LOL- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I know about moving troubles! Moved too many times to count, and on
the market again now....

Oven thermometers are the best invention yet. When my oven "says" it
is preheated at 350F, the thermometer says 275F- and that is with a
new oven thermometer. I know it is not the same as an instant read
meat thermometer, but you need to have properly functioning equipment
in order to create great meals!

Cooking is a challenge, isn't it?

Tracy

Tonight I cooked a pork tenderloin. Just for grins, I used my new meat
thermometer, and I used the old one (the one that said my chicken was
done).

When the new thermometer reached 160 degrees (F), I took the tenderloin
out of the oven. My old thermometer read 200+ degrees (F), so
apparently it was not working.

I looked for spice racks when I was shopping, those things are hard to
find.

Becca

Becca <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Tonight I cooked a pork tenderloin. Just for grins, I used my new meat
thermometer, and I used the old one (the one that said my chicken was
done).

When the new thermometer reached 160 degrees (F), I took the tenderloin
out of the oven. My old thermometer read 200+ degrees (F), so
apparently it was not working.

I looked for spice racks when I was shopping, those things are hard to
find.

Becca

Ikea carries a nice selection and @ a reasonable price too.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

Becca said:

Tonight I cooked a pork tenderloin.

When the new thermometer reached 160 degrees (F), I took the tenderloin
out of the oven. My old thermometer read 200+ degrees (F), so
apparently it was not working.

For what it is worth, you don't have to cook pork to that internal
temperature anymore. It is perfectly safe, to cook it just til it is
140 degrees.

Christine

Christine Dabney said:

For what it is worth, you don't have to cook pork to that internal
temperature anymore. It is perfectly safe, to cook it just til it is
140 degrees.

Christine

Thanks for the info, Christine.

Becca