Eating raw chicken is really dangerous, so it’s extremely important to know how to tell if chicken is cooked fully. There are a multitude of ways to check your chicken, and since I know a meat thermometer isn’t always accessible, I’m going to cover the ways I use when I’m without a thermometer as well as checking with one. Learning how to check your chicken without a thermometer is a lot simpler than it may sound and will come in handy when you find yourself without one
Disclaimer: For best results, insert a thermometer into the thickest section of the poultry to check if your chicken is at 165ºF. Cooking chicken over a low heat will help the poultry cook throughout.
If you do not have a thermometer on hand, there are other indications of cooked piece of chicken:
1. Shrinking of the meat.
Once chicken is fully cooked, it will be smaller than it was when started. If your chicken looks white on the outside but is the same size, it may not be fully cooked yet.
2. Check the color of the juices.
When dealing with chicken, you can check to see if the juices are more clear/white to tell if it’s done. This works for chicken specifically, do not apply this to other meats. If the juice coming out of the chicken is still tinted pink, then your chicken needs more time.
3. Make a small incision in the thickest part of the meat and check the color.
If you don’t want to cut apart your chicken, then a small incision will work fine. Just pull apart the sides using a fork and a knife until you can see the color of the meat all the way through. Make sure to use this method in good lighting to make sure the meat is actually the color you see. Sometimes the meat will have some pink hues in the white, meaning that it needs to be cooked a tad bit longer. If the meat is white, then it is fully cooked.
With practice and time, checking your chicken will become an easier and quicker task. When in doubt, remember the temperature of 165ºF. Enjoy!