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Questioning the chicken butt

Jeet
Jeet Posts: 43
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
I have a question regarding the cooking of chicken. I absolutely love beer in the butt chicken. My usual is to cook it at 400 with Digi II until breast is at 167. I then pull from egg and let her rest for 10 min before carving. I really never thought of measuring the temp of the thigh or leg. Last time I made this the thigh meat looked red close to the bone. :blink: Should I be leaving the chicken on longer? I’ve just recently read that you can place a ziplock bag of ice on the breast for 20 min prior to cooking and this should even things up. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Mike P.
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Comments

  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,846
    uncle sam (USDA-FSIS) says 165 internal for the bird, breast or thigh, same 165.


    "FSIS recommends cooking whole chicken to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured using a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures"

    FSIS - Food Safety and Inspection service


    T
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
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  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,677
    I prefer my beer from the fridge, The ice on the breast works for turkey and next cook just check the thigh temp also. Cant tell if longer is better but if you liked it then it was done right.
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    If the chicken was previously frozen you can get the red color near the bone. Key point is the meat should be 165 internal.
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  • Jeet
    Jeet Posts: 43
    I appreciate the info. It is good to know that the internal temp should be at 165 breast AND thigh. I will be checking the thigh temp on the next cook just in case. That being said if the temp is at or above the 165 mark including the thigh is a little red (not bloody) meat okay? The chicken as far as I know has not been frozen. Not to say that it had not been frozen at store level.

    Thank you all!

    Mike P.
    Cumming, GA
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  • Broc
    Broc Posts: 1,398
    Red-at-the-bone does not necessarily mean uncooked...

    But -- check temp in several places.

    That said, I no longer roast whole chickens, with or without beer, coke or whatever [try a citrus soda].

    At our house, all we now do is spatchcock -- The bird sits flat and cooks white/dark meat much more evenly. Lots of spatchcock recipes out there....

    ~ Broc

    :):) :laugh: :):)
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    chickens are being slaughtered when they reach a certain size, rather than age. immature chickens have porous bones (especially at the joints), and they leak marrow, or leach it thru the bone. it can also happen with frozen chicken.

    "clear juices" and all-white meat are not reliable indicators of doneness. temp is.

    this is actually a BIG problem in the fast food industry. chickens reach slaughtering sizes much more quickly now than even five years ago, and the reddened meat at the joints is off-putting for the consumer even though there is absolutely no safety issue. imagine being KFC and needing vast amounts of legs and thighs, and the industry engineering chickens to grow faster so that they can deliver them to you. ...only your consumers are getting freaked out from the pink or red meat.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Jeet
    Jeet Posts: 43
    Very interesting post. Thanks for the info. I certainly plan on using several readings to test for proper temp. The wife was a little worried about the red meat.

    Thanks again,

    Mike P.
    Cumming, GA
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  • Jeet
    Jeet Posts: 43
    Broc,

    I will give spatchcock a shot! I’ve heard many great things about this technique. I have to say the beer butt chicken is something else.

    Mike P.
    Cumming, GA
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Read it for what it's worth.

    http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Bloody-chik.html

    GG
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  • Michael B
    Michael B Posts: 986
    I still wouldn't eat them.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    there are folks that are deathly afraid of flying even though it is far safer than driving.

    alas... you can lead horses to water, but you can't make them rational sentient beings.

    ;)
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,584
    i dont have a pic of the red in a thigh, thighs show it worse than wings. this wing was low and slowed to 200 plus internal degrees, its still has some red, you can not cook it out.

    DSC_0169.jpg
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Michael B
    Michael B Posts: 986
    :laugh:
    Well stated stike.

    I've eaten bugs, lizards, snakes, dogs, monkeys, some things I couldn’t identify, and others I didn’t want identified.
    I find it nearly impossible to stay awake on a flight.
    You can have this chicken; I'm not that hungry.
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