Questions and Answers - Internal Temperature of Chicken

Question:

At what temperature and how long should boneless chicken breasts cook in the oven? I have recipes that call for 20 minutes up to one and a half hours - Nell Levy (10/28/99)

Answers:

I, too, have seen recipes that call for cooking the chicken over a hour. I just ignore their inaccurate times and use the following logic:

The time your chicken will bake in the oven does depend on the baking temperature. Generally I bake chicken at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 40 minutes. To be sure that it is cooked thoroughly, use a instant digital Cooking or Meat Thermometer for the proper temperature of 165° to 170°F.

One and a half hours is much too long to cook the chicken at 350 degrees. Maybe at 300 degrees (but I'm not sure). Always test your chicken to make sure it is cooked.

If you brown your chicken before placing in the oven, this will also shorten your baking time as you have already started the cooking process.

Check out my Internal Temperature Chart for Cooking Meats.

Read how to use an internal thermometer HERE.