In an Instagram post that’s now gone viral, the celebrity chef Ina Garten revealed her secret to perfectly juicy chicken. “Undercook it slightly” before letting it rest. Apparently, this allows it to come up to the perfectly cooked (and safe) temperature. According to Ina, this method will prevent your chicken breasts from drying out. “You won’t believe what a difference this makes!” she raves in the caption.
Of course, Ina isn’t suggesting you go out and serve or chow down on a hunk of still-pink poultry. Instead, she shares exactly how she perfected the cook so that, by the time you’re ready to eat, it’s safe to consume. And, of course, deliciously moist.
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How to safely cook your chicken using Ina’s method
For Ina’s method, all you’ll need is a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of your chicken as it cooks. “Take the chicken out when its internal temperature reaches 155 to 160 degrees,” she says, noting that she prefers to cook her chicken with the skin still on. Then let it rest under a sheet of aluminum foil. “It will keep cooking to 165 degrees as it rests under the foil, at which point it will still be hot and fully cooked.”
It’s a phenomenon known as carryover cooking, which is when food continues cooking even after you remove it from a heat source. And it’s the technique that Ina refers to in her viral Instagram post. “The chicken keeps cooking and then all the juices get back into the chicken,” she explains in her Instagram video.
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To confirm your chicken is at the correct and safe-to-eat internal temperature, the USDA agrees with Ina that a food thermometer is necessary. Relying solely on visual cues isn’t enough. To properly measure the temperature of your chicken, the USDA says to place your thermometer in the thickest part of the meat (whether it’s a breast, thigh, or wing) away from bone, fat, and gristle. This ensures the chicken is cooked all the way through.
Before eating, it’s a good idea to check the temperature of your meat again to ensure it has reached the USDA-recommended temperature of 165 degrees. Even the juiciest bite of chicken isn’t worth consuming foodborne bacteria. Better safe than sorry, we say.
