Can you eat chicken at 160?
Armed with an accurate thermometer like the Thermapen, you can verify the safety and quality of your chickenregardless of its color. A probe inserted into the thermal center of a chicken breast, leg, or thigh should read 165xb0F (74) when itx26#39;s time to eat.
Is 145 degrees safe for chicken?
The truth is, time is as important as temperature when it comes to cooking chicken. At 145 degrees, the threatening bacteria will still be destroyedit will just take longer. If the temperature holds at 145 for at least 9 minutes, then the chicken should be safe to eat.
Does chicken have to be 165?
The FDA Food Code recommends cooking chicken to 165xb0F (74). But the pasteurization of chicken is actually a function of both temperature and time. If you can hold your chicken at 145xb0F (63) for 8.5 minutes, you can achieve the same bacterial reduction as at 165xb0F (74).