A National Fried Chicken Day Conundrum

[+ LIguy]

Get an air fryer. I have the Cuisinart one and the Ninja Grill that's also an air fryer. My mom makes the best fried chicken. Soaks chicken in buttermilk then dips it in a flour mixture for a light coating. I remember when growing up and she would fry 6-7 chickens for Sunday afternoon dinner and my brothers and I would have friends over. I also remember her leaving the leftover chicken out on counter and we would pick at it all evening and no one ever got sick.

[MikeBiDude]

Get an air fryer. I have the Cuisinart one and the Ninja Grill that's also an air fryer. My mom makes the best fried chicken. Soaks chicken in buttermilk then dips it in a flour mixture for a light coating. I remember when growing up and she would fry 6-7 chickens for Sunday afternoon dinner and my brothers and I would have friends over. I also remember her leaving the leftover chicken out on counter and we would pick at it all evening and no one ever got sick.

Air fryer a good solution for many!

 

 

My mom makes the best fried chicken. Soaks chicken in buttermilk then dips it in a flour mixture for a light coating

She and I would get along....special cast iron skillets too!

[Daverwr]

Damn you, @Gar1eth, I missed a day that I could have had fried chicken with zero guilt! Anyway, I prefer my chicken, actually most foods, cold. The internal temp of 165F is the main reason I don’t cook fried chicken. To me, it’s an art to get fried chicken golden brown while getting the inside 165F. I’ve tried and tried and I can’t get it.

[maninsoma]

I think the idea is this:

 

Proper refrigeration keeps the development of bacteria at bay.

 

Once the food item's temperature increases past 40 degrees F, bacteria can start to multiply. Depending on one's method of reheating, it might take quite a while for the food to reach 165 degrees. During that time and before 165 is reached, the food item potentially has a lot more bacteria than had it just been kept cold that entire time. That's why it's considered safe to eat it right from the fridge but not at a sufficiently reheated temperature.

 

Now, are you definitely going to get sick if you only reheat to 125 degrees? No. I assume a lot depends on how much bacteria was on the food to begin with. But if you want to be as safe as possible with your leftovers, following the guidance you read.

[MikeBiDude]

Boy, I really hate to blow everyone’s minds here but chicken at 165° is ruined. See article here. Interesting table on how long chicken needs to be at a certain temperature to kill bacteria, example of one line from the extensive table :

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]155°F (68.3°C)[/TD]

[TD]49.5 seconds[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Which is what I cook chicken breasts to 155° in my sous vide for shredding for tacos, salads, etc. the meat needs to be at that temp for only 49.5 seconds to kill bacteria.

 

Most chefs, companies, manufacturers, cookbooks won’t put less than 165° in printed form. Liability? Don’t fight the FDA? But in fact it’s completely unnecessary albeit I understand people’s personal choice. Enjoy this article:

Chicken Temps

 

That all said, I’ll admit it’s difficult to probe (whole) chicken properly to test for even temps.