A 4-ounce chicken breast should be roasted at 350°F (177°C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Knowing how to prepare chicken properly can keep you safe and well-fed.
Cooking can be dangerous (especially if you’re a fan of flambé!). While the risks are relatively low when creating a meal in your kitchen, baking chicken or cooking any poultry always comes with the potential for foodborne illness.
Read on to learn how to cook chicken properly and how to be careful to avoid contamination.
Salmonella is a foodborne bacteria responsible for
Salmonella is largely found in raw poultry. When cooked properly, poultry is safe, but if it’s undercooked or handled improperly while raw, it can lead to trouble.
All poultry in the United States undergoes inspection for signs of disease, but this doesn’t mean it’s free of bacteria. In fact, it’s not unusual for raw poultry to contain many different types of bacteria.
Cooking tips
- There are only three ways to thaw chicken properly: Thaw in the refrigerator, under cold water that gets replaced every 30 minutes, or during the cooking process.
- Bake a 4-ounce chicken breast at 350°F (177°C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature is 165°F (74°C).
The USDA lists how to roast, simmer, and grill chicken:
| Type of chicken | Weight | Roasting 350ºF (177º C) | Simmering | Grilling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| breast halves, bone-in | 6 to 8 oz | 30 to 40 minutes | 35 to 45 minutes | 10 to 15 minutes per side |
| breast halves, boneless | 4 oz | 20 to 30 minutes | 25 to 30 minutes | 6 to 9 minutes per side |
| legs or thighs | 4 to 8 oz | 40 to 50 minutes | 40 to 50 minutes | 10 to 15 minutes per side |
| drumsticks | 4 oz | 35 to 45 minutes | 40 to 50 minutes | 8 to 12 minutes per side |
| wings | 2 to 3 oz | 20 to 40 minutes | 35 to 45 minutes | 8 to 12 minutes per side |
This guide can help you estimate how long to cook your chicken, but because ovens have slight heat differences and chicken breasts may be larger or smaller than the average, it’s important to double-check the internal temperature of the meat.
To destroy any possible contagions in your poultry, you must bring the internal temperature of the meat to 165°F (74°C).
You can check this by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast. In this case, close is not good enough, so be sure to put it back in the oven if it hasn’t reached this temperature.
Don’t rely on how your chicken breast looks to determine whether it’s ready. Pink meat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s undercooked. Similarly, white meat doesn’t necessarily mean all bacteria have been killed.
Be cautious about cross-contamination if you’re cutting into your chicken to check its appearance. When raw poultry comes into contact with work surfaces, knives, and even your hands, it can leave behind bacteria.
These bacteria can transfer from surface to surface and end up in your salad, on your fork, and ultimately in your mouth.
Wash and thoroughly disinfect surfaces that come into contact with raw poultry. Use paper towels so you can throw them away after picking up possible contaminants.
Preparation and storage are also important. The USDA suggests always thawing frozen chicken in the refrigerator, microwave, or a sealed bag submerged in cold water.
If you use the cold water method, you’ll need to replace the water every 30 minutes until it’s defrosted. It cannot stay sitting in the same cold water for long periods of time.
Chicken should always be cooked immediately after thawing. Bacteria are more likely to grow on raw meat that’s between 40°F (4°C) and 140°F (60°C).
It’s important to refrigerate chicken breasts within 2 hours of cooking. Your leftovers should remain safe to eat for 2 to 3 days.
Cooking and cleaning
- Wash surfaces that come into contact with raw chicken.
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after handling raw chicken.
- Wash utensils with hot, soapy water after using them on raw meat.