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Derek
03-18-2010, 09:36 AM
Ok, Right now my meat thermo probe say's it's 95 for the internal temp.

The smoker has been going for a little over 45 minutes now at 159*f ( still climbing to 225*f ).

And I have the probe sitting in side the thigh!

Does this sound right?

bbqbull
03-18-2010, 09:44 AM
Just make sure the probe isn't touching a bone in the thigh.
What temp are you cooking your chicken?
Have you tested your thermometer in boiling water and ice water to see if it is close to accurate?

I baked over 200# of chicken pieces last Sunday, we bake at 350 degrees and it takes an hour and a half average to get our thighs to 180 degrees.

southernsmoker
03-18-2010, 09:46 AM
Jack up the heat to 300-350, 2 hrs should be plenty. Our regs say 165F for pieces and 185F for whole birds..

Derek
03-18-2010, 09:47 AM
Just make sure the probe isn't touching a bone in the thigh.
What temp are you cooking your chicken?
Have you tested your thermometer in boiling water and ice water to see if it is close to accurate?

I baked over 200# of chicken pieces last Sunday, we bake at 350 degrees and it takes an hour and a half average to get our thighs to 180 degrees.I'm cooking them at 225*f and the probe is not touching the bone, I've made sure it was loose feeling inside the thigh!


and the smoker temp is now at 195*f the target temp is 225*f.



The thermo probe works good I've tested it in a fri daddy & baked bread.

bigabyte
03-18-2010, 09:48 AM
How long has the chicken been in there?

bocephus
03-18-2010, 09:51 AM
I would say make sure enough of the probe is in the meat, it could be giving you a false reading thru the heat of the smoker

btcg
03-18-2010, 10:07 AM
I would say make sure enough of the probe is in the meat, it could be giving you a false reading thru the heat of the smoker

Cumberland, eh? And Hank Jr. fan? Cool. My kid did his 1st year as West Virginia, down the road from you. Love that area.

As an aside, a good idea for a new stickey would be a post that lists all of the ideal internal temps for the various types of meats. That would be very useful!

Derek
03-18-2010, 10:11 AM
How long has the chicken been in there?1 hour total, And I'm going to leave it in there until the thigh hits 180*f.

I would say make sure enough of the probe is in the meat, it could be giving you a false reading thru the heat of the smokerOh trust me boc, I've done that.

Cumberland, eh? And Hank Jr. fan? Cool. My kid did his 1st year as West Virginia, down the road from you. Love that area.

As an aside, a good idea for a new stickey would be a post that lists all of the ideal internal temps for the various types of meats. That would be very useful!That's a very good idea BTCG.....

By the way I'm using hickory wood for the wood choice!

bigabyte
03-18-2010, 10:15 AM
I usually don't put the meat on until the unit comes up to temp, that way the meat is in the danger zone for least time necessary. You'll probably be OK, but something you might be able to try next time.:wink:

Philly-QueMaster
03-18-2010, 10:25 AM
Ok, Right now my meat thermo probe say's it's 95 for the internal temp.

The smoker has been going for a little over 45 minutes now at 159*f ( still climbing to 225*f ).

And I have the probe sitting in side the thigh!

Does this sound right?


Why did you put the chicken on the smoker if it hadn't reached your target temp yet? You shouldn't have put the meat on until your smoker was steady at 225* or so. Once you put the meat on its going to take that much longer for your smoker to get up to temp. Now in the meantime your chicken has been sitting for close to an hour without being cooked properly. I think I would be scared to eat that bird if I was you.

Derek
03-18-2010, 10:26 AM
I usually don't put the meat on until the unit comes up to temp, that way the meat is in the danger zone for least time necessary. You'll probably be OK, but something you might be able to try next time.:wink:That's what I did but dumb Derek forgot to add the water and add to open the door again to add the water to the drip pan.


So I think it's right on que!

Ron_L
03-18-2010, 10:30 AM
The thermo probe works good I've tested it in a fri daddy & baked bread.

I'm not sure how that ensures that the thermometer is reading the right temp. We used boiling water because it will be pretty close to 212 degrees, and if you are significantly off from sea level there are web sites that will calculate the boiling point of water at your location. This gives you a fairly exact reference.

As far as the chicken, make sure that your probe is in the thickest part of the thigh. I normally go in from the inside of the thigh. Also, check a couple of other places to be sure.

Fat Woody
03-18-2010, 10:30 AM
Do you have another thermo you can use to check and compare? Sometimes a probe that was accurate one day is off another (and may need to be replaced). Has happened to me more than once.

Chef Jim
03-18-2010, 10:32 AM
Just keep your temps up and you should be OK.

Derek
03-18-2010, 10:33 AM
Why did you put the chicken on the smoker if it hadn't reached your target temp yet? You shouldn't have put the meat on until your smoker was steady at 225* or so. Once you put the meat on its going to take that much longer for your smoker to get up to temp. Now in the meantime your chicken has been sitting for close to an hour without being cooked properly. I think I would be scared to eat that bird if I was you.It didn't take that long to get up to temp & I think I'll be safe since I know what a chicken looks like when it's done. ( in the oven and on the smokers )

I'm not sure how that ensures that the thermometer is reading the right temp. We used boiling water because it will be pretty close to 212 degrees, and if you are significantly off from sea level there are web sites that will calculate the boiling point of water at your location. This gives you a fairly exact reference.

As far as the chicken, make sure that your probe is in the thickest part of the thigh. I normally go in from the inside of the thigh. Also, check a couple of other places to be sure.Ok Thanks Ron, I'll do that as soon as it reaches 185,


Also the probe says 160 and the smoker says it's holding at 225....

Derek
03-18-2010, 11:02 AM
Ok, the temp on the meat probe says 180 and the temp on the smoker say's says 220, May I leave the birds for another hour, and it get it up to 200 with out over cooking it?

bigabyte
03-18-2010, 11:21 AM
You need to pull the chicken off...it is chicken right? That chicken is ready, you don't want chicken cooked to 200.