I was roasting a chicken this week with a probe in the breast, and the question came up: what temperature do I actually pull it at, and how long can it rest before the skin goes soft? The answer turned out to apply to steak just as much as chicken, so I turned it into an infographic.
Why resting works
Three things happen once the meat leaves the heat.
- Carryover cooking. The outside is far hotter than the centre, and that stored heat keeps moving inward. A whole chicken climbs about 3°C after it comes out of the oven.
- The heat evens out. The gap between the edge and the centre closes, so you get the same doneness across the slice.
- The juices stay put. Straight off the heat they are thin and run out when you cut. A few degrees cooler they thicken and stay in the meat.
The numbers
| Roast chicken | Steak, medium-rare | |
|---|---|---|
| Pull at | 72°C | 52°C |
| Rests to | about 75°C | about 55°C |
| Probe in | Thickest part of the breast, away from bone | Centre, from the side |
| Rest for | 10-20 minutes | 5-8 minutes |
| Also | Thighs are better at 75-80°C | Pull at 49°C for rare, 57°C for medium |
The carryover figures are approximate. Bigger pieces cooked in a hotter oven climb more, and a thin steak barely climbs at all, so let the probe decide.
The process
- Pull early. Take it off the heat about 3°C below your target.
- Get it off the hot metal. Move it to a rack or a warm board. A hot tray keeps cooking the underside.
- Leave it alone. Uncovered, somewhere warm. Watch the probe peak and level off.
- Carve and keep the juices. Slice across the grain and tip whatever is on the board into the gravy.
Keeping it crisp
This was my real worry. Foil is what softens the skin, because it traps steam, so rest the bird uncovered on a rack and keep the gravy off the skin until it is on the plate. If the skin has softened by carving time, 3-4 minutes back in the oven at 220°C brings it back.
Is 72°C safe?
Yes. Safety is time and temperature together: chicken held at 70°C for 2 minutes is as safe as chicken that touches 75°C, and a resting bird stays above 70°C for far longer than that. Steak is a different case, because on a whole cut the bacteria sit on the surface and the sear deals with them.
