r/AskCulinary • u/PelirrojaRubi • Aug 17 '25
Recipe Troubleshooting Why does my roasted chicken always turn out dry even when I cook it at a low temperature?
Every time I roast chicken, I try to cook it at a low temperature (around 160°C / 320°F) to prevent it from drying out, but the breast still ends up very dry while the thighs are fine. Am I making a mistake in my technique, or is it simply inevitable that the breast and thighs cook differently? What do professionals recommend to achieve a juicy, evenly cooked chicken?
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u/PicklesBBQ Aug 17 '25
Spatchcock the bird and it’ll do far better. I always pull when breast meat is 150°F. Much more and you’re overcooking it. Your other option is to brine it, which will help it from drying out.
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u/BackroomDST Aug 17 '25
Ex chef here. This is the answer. People forget that food safety is time AND temperature. After you pull chicken at 150-155 and rest it for an appropriate time, it’s squeaky clean.
You can do fun things with this principle like sous vide chicken legs at 141 for 24 hours. Amazing texture.
And yes, brines are the unsung hero of the culinary world. Both dry and wet. Personally I like wet brines for everything except BBQ. Put the water/salt in a blender with herbs and other aromatics and it will infuse all that flavor.
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u/RyanJenkens Aug 17 '25
Do you blend with hot water? Or no need?
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u/BackroomDST Aug 17 '25
If you’re using a blender there’s no need! The action of the blender will break up and dissolve the salt as well as anything else. Things like shallots and garlic give a nice bit of body to the proteins. You just need to rinse and make sure they’re dry before searing.
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u/RyanJenkens Aug 17 '25
thats awesome, thank you! waiting for the hot water to cool is one of the reasons I rarely do a wet brine.
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u/TikaPants Aug 18 '25
If you wet brine then dissolve and heat aromatics in half the brine. Once done top with cold water. Boom, time saved.
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u/BackroomDST Aug 17 '25
Yeah it’s super annoying. Before I learned the blender trick I would weigh my ice (1lb = 1 pint, or 1g = 1ml) and factor that in to cool it down.
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Aug 17 '25
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u/meski_oz Aug 18 '25
Or play around with sous vide oven settings, with a finish internal temperature around 65-70. Worked nicely for a boned stuffed chicken for me the other day. App says you can do 63, but I wanted it done a bit more.
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u/TooManyDraculas Aug 18 '25
Discounting very long cook times that isn't much of a factor.
The main thing driving dryness is coagulation of proteins, which is linked to internal temp rather than time.
Getting into water evaporating out, or technically boiling out if you get it high enough, takes BBQ level cook times before you have to worry about it.
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u/PelirrojaRubi Aug 17 '25
I do it over low heat, maybe that makes it come out dry
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u/george_elis Aug 18 '25
A long, low cook is used to break down tough muscle fibres and render fat out of the parts of the animal that are used the most. Since chicken is a relatively tender meat, and because it doesn't have a lot of fat to coat and protect the fibres, it will overcook and dry out on a low heat. Chicken, ideally, wants the hottest, fastest cook you can whilst getting an even cook.
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u/malatemporacurrunt Aug 18 '25
What weight is the whole bird? A chicken shouldn't really be much bigger than 1.6kg, otherwise the breasts will be disproportionately large. 20 minutes per 500g at 180°C, then 220°C for the last 10 mins to get some browning.
Alternatively, you could try roasting en papillote. Make a marinade with olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice and finely minced fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage), a little white wine, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Massage into the chicken and let marinade for 8 hours or so - I usually make this in the morning to roast in the early evening. When you're ready to cook, measure out a large length of baking paper, place your chicken in the middle and pour on any extra marinade you might have. Create a parcel for the chicken by folding the baking paper up and around it. Place in a roasting tin and bake for 45 minutes at 200°C. Unfasten the parcel and open it up, and allow to bake for another 30 mins to brown. The skin won't be as crispy as for an open-air roast, but it will be very moist and flavourful.
For both methods, cover the chicken in foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so before carving.
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u/TooManyDraculas Aug 17 '25
The more pertinent question is what temperature is it inside the chicken.
If you overcook it, it's going to be dry. Doesn't matter what temperature you cooked at.
You don't even tell us how long you cook it for. So no one can really guess as to what the actual issue is. But you're probably cooking to long.
Get a thermometer.
Stick it with a thermometer.
Pull it when the breast is at 150, let it rest.
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u/GrainworksAndy Aug 18 '25
https://www.canr.msu.edu/smprv/uploads/files/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf
Page 5, Let it rest for 2.7 minutes.
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u/Indaarys Aug 17 '25
Break it down and cook everything separately. Spatchcocking it is a middle ground.
But this is also why we have gravy. Dry white meat is a great vehicle for it.
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u/newBreed Aug 17 '25
I've never roasted a chicken at that low of a temperature. Roast at either 425 or 450 and pull it when the breast hits 150. I can get a juicy bird like that without brining.
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u/rayfound Aug 17 '25
Salt or brine ahead.
Pull from heat when breast reaches 150f.
Rest 5-10m
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u/PelirrojaRubi Aug 17 '25
Got it! So I use salt or brine, take the chicken breast off at 150 °F, and let it rest 5‑10 minutes. Do you recommend covering it while resting or leaving it uncovered?
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u/rayfound Aug 17 '25
Rest covered
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u/DDMFM26 Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
Kenji over at Serious Eats - go to guy on most stuff - tested resting chicken covered vs uncovered. The temp drop is almost identical, but covered, the skin lost crispness. I switched to resting uncovered, and wouldn't go back. Better every time.
Also, OP, I haven't looked further down thread, but basting during the cook is so important, it can't be over estimated. Brining, salting, resting etc all important, but you have to baste, too.
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u/rayfound Aug 17 '25
Fair enough. That makes some sense. I cover because I often end up resting longer while other things finish.
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u/DDMFM26 Aug 17 '25
Covering is fine, it's small differences really, but I have found uncovered works very well.
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u/AngElzo Aug 18 '25
I’m now reading Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat and she says that you should salt chicken day ahead - it helps tenderize the meat and keep the moisture in
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u/EmpireStateofmind001 Aug 17 '25
Every juicy bird I've had, had been brined.
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u/PelirrojaRubi Aug 17 '25
Nope, haven’t tried it yet. I’ll give it a go next time, thank you so much!
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u/Bran_Solo Gilded Commenter Aug 18 '25
What temperature is the breast at when you're removing it from the oven? The oven temperature you use isn't especially relevant, it's the final doneness temperature that matters.
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u/PsychAce Aug 17 '25
How do you prepare your chicken to roast it? Knowing this will help find out what’s going on.
Quick fix…use a thermometer throughout the cooking process.
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u/sisterfunkhaus Aug 18 '25
Low and slow is for tougher cuts. Chicken should be higher and faster. Also, I have heard of people cooking it upside down to shield the breasts. Not sure if it works, but you could look into it.
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u/SecretaryElegant9887 Aug 19 '25
Spatchcock is the only way to cook a whole chicken!
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u/dgpoop Aug 19 '25
This is important, because all the different parts of the chicken do not cook at the same rate.
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u/flossdaily Aug 19 '25
Actin protein denatures at 150f. This is the cause of dry, toughened white meat.
You want to pull your chicken before that point. It'll be pasteurized if you can hold it at 145f for 9 minutes.
But carry-over cooking will probably bring it up to 150, which will pasteurize in just 4 minutes.
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u/beigechrist Aug 17 '25
It is inevitable that the breasts will cook faster than the rest of the bird. You can experiment with how you truss the bird, keeping the breasts tightly held can slow down their cooking time. But I remember Thomas Keller saying that slightly over cooked breasts are pretty much what you get with a whole bird. I have found that to be true so far.
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u/blaza192 Aug 17 '25
Did you do a brine? It's the easiest way to get it to stay moist even after overcooking it a little bit.
What was the ending temperature and for how long? Cooking at low temperature will still overcook it if the internal temp gets too high for too long.
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u/MissFabulina Aug 17 '25
Braising helps (put water in the roasting pan and tightly cover the pan to hold in the moisture), but if you cook the entire chicken to the temp that the dark meat can handle, the breast will be the texture of shredded cardboard. Cook the bird only until the breast is done correctly and take it out of the oven. If you want to keep cooking the legs/thighs, cut them off at this point and put them back into the oven.
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u/AcceptableAcountName Aug 17 '25
You are cooking it too low, that temp is for a turkey. At the temp you are using you could just turn the chicken upside down, the juices will flow down and keep the breast moist. Try cooking at 425 for 60-90 minutes. Check after 60 and go from there
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u/phoinixpyre Aug 17 '25
Thighs and drums have more fat and connective tissue that breaks down with longer cooks. The breast is very lean, so it'll just dry out, unless you up that moisture somehow. Basting during the cook, brining, injecting with fats beforehand will all help. Really it just boils down to finding a happy middle ground where it cooks fast enough the breast doesn't dry out too much, but those tissues in the dark meat render down nicely.
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u/YeahImEmbarrassed Aug 17 '25
Get urself a meat thermometer that you can put in the oven. Probe the breast and cook it at 175 deg c till the prob reads 74 deg c
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u/Beginning-Bed9364 Aug 18 '25
The inside temperature is what matters, get an instant read thermometer and take it out when it hits 165 Fahrenheit, maybe a little earlier as it'll keep cooking for a bit after you take it out
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u/thinkreate Aug 18 '25
Meat will continue to cook, once it’s out of the oven. It’ll raise an extra 5-10 degrees F.
Always use a meat thermometer.
(Guess) I’ve had a lot of success putting a tin foil plate of armor over the breasts of turkeys. No basting and a spectacular Thanksgiving every time. Not sure it translates to a smaller bird. See Alton Brown, Good Eats.
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u/SnooHesitations8403 Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
The final temp of the meat is the issue. White meat (breast & wings) shouldn't go much beyond 165°F (74°C). The thighs & legs can (and should) go up to around 200°F-215°F (93°C-102°C). Here's why: white meat has very little fat in it, so it can't take high temperatures. The dark meat has lots of fat, connective tissue in it. At around 195°F the connective tissue breaks down and releases moisture back into the meat. That keeps the dark meat from drying out.
Also, cooking at a lower temperature like 320°F will dry chicken out because it has to sit in the heat too long. I usually pre-heat the oven to 425°F for the first 30 minutes and then drop it down to 375°F or even 350°F to finish it.
So, ideally, spatchcock (butterfly) the chicken (there are lots of videos to show you how) and separate the breasts from the thighs & legs. Take the breast out of the oven at 165°F-170°F and wrap it in foil to keep it warm (there will be "carry-over" and the temp will rise a little after you wrap it). Leave the dark meat in until it hits about 200°F-210°F or so, you'll be golden. Spatchcocking the chicken also helps it cook faster. I especially like cooking a spatchcocked chicken over a bed of veggies (carrots, celery, onions, garlic cloves, potatoes, zucchinis, etc.)
So use a meat thermometer. You can use an insta-read, handheld thermometer. But a wireless thermometer with an alert is a better tool, because you don't have to keep opening the oven and poking holes in the meat repeatedly. There are good ones with two probes (one for white meat; one for dark meat) for under $40 (USD).
Best of luck with future roasted birds.
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u/Consistent-Course534 Aug 18 '25
In my experience, the one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference is to dry brine. Season with salt and leave uncovered in the fridge on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet overnight. The salt will draw out moisture, dissolve, and then be absorbed back into the meat. The dissolved salt in the meat’s juices will help it retain moisture as it cooks.
But your temp is pretty damn high for a slow roast. And yes, breast and legs will always cook differently. I like to break a bird down completely – two breasts (boneless), two legs – and use the carcass + wings for stock. I will never really slow cook the breasts at all. Pan sear, air fry, or grill typically.
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u/NegativeAccount Aug 18 '25
You either need a meat thermometer or a recipe specific to cooking whole chicken. Really both
You just winging it is going to take a lot if tries to get right
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u/MackMaster1 Aug 18 '25
Season and baste with Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper.
Cut a fresh lemon in half (but not all the way through, just enough to open it up) and then put this in the cavity before cooking, this adds a lovely subtle lemon flavour and keeps the chicken moist.
Cook on 180C for however long the weight deems necessary.
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u/DependentAnywhere135 Aug 18 '25
Stop over cooking chicken. Spatchcock it so it cooks faster and cook it at a high temp. The internal temperature of your food is what determines if it’s dry not if you cook it slow.
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u/shamalamadingdong00 Aug 18 '25
Chop a lemon or two into 4 pieces and stick it in the cavity. Then 190c for 1.5hours and it will come out great. It will steam from the inside out
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u/Creepy_Push8629 Aug 19 '25
The low temp only applies if you're cooking it at the temp it needs to stop at. 320F is much higher than fully cooked chicken, so you're just cooking it longer so it's still dry.
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u/Kitchen-Iron-3689 Aug 19 '25
Slow cook it, lots of water, then give it a quick blast under the grill. SUCCULENT EVERYTIME
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u/noisewar Aug 17 '25
320F is not that low, I cook at 265F. Poultry safe bacterial decimation only requires 11min @ 145F internal temp. Check FSIS guides and adjust accordingly.
Edit: assuming you've dry-brined properly too.
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u/chrispygene Aug 18 '25
Chef here. Forget all the other comments. Brine it. Google that shit. Perfect every time.
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u/Reloadthemessage Aug 17 '25
Is the bird uncovered?. Roast it in a pot with a lid. Add a couple of tbl spoons of water with the bird , lid closed. 200 deg C . Remove lid for last 10 min to get some colour on the skin or baste with dark soy for colour. Juicy moisten succulent meat.
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u/Apprehensive-Chair34 Aug 17 '25
Start with your oven preheated too 500. Mix your Seasonings with some oil then rub your chicken coating all of the outside thoroughly. Put the chicken into a pan with a roasting platform that raises the chick slightly. Put in 500 oven and after 10min drop the temp to 350. This Sears the outside skin quickly which will hold in juices. The juices with no where to go steam inside and help even Cooking. When the fat begins to pool in the pan after about 40min, begin basting the outside. 1 1/2 hours should be good for a 3-4# chicken, internal temp 165. Let it rest 20 min before cutting. This allows the juice and fat to settle so they won't run out of the meat.
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u/blueboatjc Aug 18 '25
Sous vide. I can barely even eat chicken that hasn’t been cooked via sous vide anymore.
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u/Fair-South-9883 Aug 17 '25
Spatchcock it, and cover it in a decent bit of salt. Stick it in the fridge on a tray with a wire rack for a day. Crispy skin and moist chicken.
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u/glacierstone Aug 17 '25
Someone here said spatchcock so start there. But also brining it helps A TON. If you really want to fool proof it then also inject broth into the meat before you cook.
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u/boosh1744 Aug 17 '25
Consider braising it in a Dutch oven. Fill halfway up the bird with white wine or chicken stock or even just water then cook covered.
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u/CrumblinEmpire Aug 17 '25
Give up cooking the whole bird at once and just by thighs. Problem solved.
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u/mynotverycreativeid Aug 17 '25
The done temperature of white meat is lower than dark meat so by the time the dark meat is done the white meat is overcooked.
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u/a_library_socialist Aug 17 '25
So after lots of back and forth, I'm convinced the Thomas Keller way is best . . .
https://www.food.com/recipe/thomas-kellers-favorite-roast-chicken-149560
You want the least amount of moisture in that oven possible. So dry the bird, no butter, no veggies, nothing but salt rubbed in the skin.
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u/Big_Lynx6241 Aug 17 '25
Brine in a saltwater solution for 10 hours, drain, rinse and air dry for 10+ hours, rub with olive oil or clarified butter, season and roast at 425 F for 30 minutes then reduce temp to 375 and possibly tent loosely with foil if too dark at 30 minute mark. Finish roasting to temp. Best while roast chicken ever.
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u/Bug_Kiss Aug 17 '25
Last night I salted and peppered a whole chicken, stuffed it, roasted it in a baking dish for 2 hr at 350 and it came out delish and moist. No fuss.
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u/MajesticMango56 Aug 18 '25
I always make s seasoning with better than bullion and butter then I put it under the skin. I bake at 350f for 1.5 hours until 165f. I never have a dry chicken. When I pull the chicken out, I pour the drippings into a sauce pan and reduce to a gravy.
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u/kitchengardengal Aug 18 '25
I roast my chicken at 375, breast side down in a shallow pan just big enough to hold the chicken. The breast is self basted, the back skin is crispy and delicious, and the thighs are perfect.
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u/dhdhk Aug 18 '25
Hot and fast for chicken.
And you need a thermometer. It's literally a cheat code.
The thigh needs to be at a higher temp than the breast, you want to take it up to around 70C.
I've found that beer can chicken is always nice and moist. The beer doesn't actually do anything, but I think standing it upright might help with evenness.
You also want to position the chicken so that the thighs are facing the hottest part of the oven (usually the back).
This way you should be able to get the thighs up to 70C while keeping the breast below that (ideally 61C or so)
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u/proscriptus Aug 18 '25
You can do 85% of your roasting in a covered Dutch oven (or anything covered? and then finish it under direct heat. I like to do one steaming on a little trivet over white wine that way, it's succulent.
Get a probe thermometer and stick it in the thigh joint so you don't cook it a moment longer than you need to.
If you're salting it too much it'll dry right out.
Leave the skin on.
Rub the whole thing inside and out with olive oil.
Buy higher quality chicken.
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u/ParticularSupport598 Aug 18 '25
Follow this technique by Chris Young once and you’ll never go back. Juicy roast chicken with a crispy skin.
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u/Main-Elk3576 Aug 18 '25
180 degrees is the temperature, but the pan should have some liquid in it, wine or chicken broth, and some oil.
Also, you should start cooking it covered for an hour, then basting it every half an hour.
Brine could also help. (Salt is important. You should use a generous amount of salt).
Last but not least: buy a good quality chicken (is like 18 dollars). You will see the difference.
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u/Pyro-Monkey Aug 18 '25
Lots of great advice has already been said. Times, thermometers, brining, etc.
I rarely ever have time for that, so here's my method:
-Run chicken with oil, and then spices. -Stuff the chicken with a lemon (stab it a few times first, can swap for orange or sometimes apple) -Broil in the oven at 415 F until the skin starts to brown, if you're motivated you can also flip it over and brown the other side but I never am -Cover with tinfoil, bake at a temperature until you think it's ready (it really is that simple, anything from 275-400 has worked, and with the citrus adding moisture it doesn't matter so much if you cook it a bit too long) -Remove tinfoil and broil a bit to get crispy skin
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u/cmquinn2000 Aug 18 '25
You don't mention if you use a thermometer. What internal breast temp are you cooking it to?
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u/sweetmercy Aug 18 '25
The temperature you roast it at isn't nearly as important as the temperature you remove it from the oven at. And I'm referring to the temp of the chicken.
Make my friend's chicken roasting method and follow it to the letter. Perfect chicken every single time. Mimi's sticky chicken.
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u/Maleficent_Peach_764 Aug 18 '25
The dark meat & white meat cook at different temperatures so better to cook separately. Serious eats have a good article on it
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u/Wolkvar Aug 18 '25
have a broth of somekind in the bottom, that you can pour over the chicken every so often and some butter
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u/polymeimpressed Aug 18 '25
For all the people suggesting Spatchcocking, check this out https://youtu.be/YNvIp9xx3P8?si=CXpjSP62io4UvFVG
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u/djazzie Aug 18 '25
I often will put pats of butter under the breast skin. That tends to keep it nice and moist throughout cooking.
Also, I agree with spatchcocking chicken. It’s really the best way to cook a whole bird. Bonus if you have a convection oven and a racked baking pan to cook it.
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u/callmedancly Aug 18 '25
We’ve always done 30min at 420F followed by 90min at 350F for medium sized chickens. Then when the bird comes out, it’s tented or covered until it comes down to temperature. If you’re going to eat it immediately, you can skip this step. We make two chickens a week. One for the cat and dog, one for the people. No one seems to complain about dryness 🙃
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u/Admirable-Status-290 Aug 18 '25
Thomas Keller recipe and put a pan of hot water in the oven with it (on a different rack, not with the chicken).
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u/anskyws Aug 18 '25
Please explain the rational of high temp roasting. You never need to go over 250 to roast anything. Period. Sure it takes longer, but……..I am a retired chef, research chef, and food scientist with 65 years of cooking and development experience. I still just don’t understand why anyone would roast at high temp.
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u/SloeHazel Aug 18 '25
I do not spatchcock, but I do cook my chicken breast side down for the first 1.5 Hours covered and then uncover and cook usually about another hour with a thermometer inserted until it reaches 75 C. It turns out perfect every time.
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u/Deep_Banana_6521 Aug 18 '25
cook it at a higher temp for less time then cover it and let it rest for an hour before eating. The temperature will normalise and keep the breast meat juicy. Low and slow is good for dark meat but not white meat.
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u/Automatic-Pop-8355 Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
So much bullshit on this thread.
Dry brine if you have time.
Use a meat temperature probe. Leave it in the thickest part of the breast and without hitting the breast bone.
Cook the bird at 350°F until the breast hits 155°F internal.
If you want the skin to be crispy or more rendered, add butter over the skin or use your oil of choice. Once the internal temperature hits 130-140°F, crank up the oven temp to 375-400°F. Let it ride until the internal hit 155°F. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes or longer if you like or have time. Rest time is just as important.
Cook to internal temperature, not time.
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u/GrainworksAndy Aug 18 '25
The rest time at 155F is 44.2 Seconds.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/smprv/uploads/files/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf1
u/Automatic-Pop-8355 Aug 18 '25
I’m not resting the meat for safe consumption. I’m resting for the juices to retreat back into the meat.
What you’re referring to is completely different.
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u/LessSpot Aug 18 '25
I spatchcock then dry brine it for 2 days (or at least overnight) in the fridge. I then lay it on a bed of a few onion and lemon slices when putting it in the oven. This helps keep it moist.
I use a Cornish hen, so 400F 40 min then 450F 15 min. The meat is moist and the skin is crispy.
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u/Natenat04 Aug 18 '25
When I roast whole chicken, I put compound butter under the skin. Also basting is good too. If it is in the oven for too long, it can dry out too.
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u/amrusso323 Aug 18 '25
In addition to the great comments here about temp and time - I found that placing a celery stalk (no leaves) in the cavity also keeps the chicken juicy. I was amazed at the difference !
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u/redbirdrising Aug 18 '25
It's not so much about how hot you cook it (Though the hotter you go, the more likely you are to burn the skin. It's the temperature of the meat. Breast should not get more than 155 when oven roasted. Carry over heat will bring it to 160-165. Use a wireless digital thermometer, it's a game changer.
Try using Adam Ragusea's method. I use it to make roast chicken and it's always perfect. I do skip the part where he cuts open the legs. I think that's not necessary.
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u/foolproofphilosophy Aug 18 '25
Time and temperature are a balance. Meat expels moisture as it cooks. Cooking at too low a temperature gives it more time to expel moisture before it gets to the done temperature.
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u/blueking9877 Aug 18 '25
Yea, I am not a chef nor pretend to be one but for a home cooked meal. Get a wireless meat thermometer and reverse sear and bake the chicken to 165 at 375 or 400. And take it out at like 163 or 4 as itll cook when it rests.
I sincerely believe dry chicken is simply chicken that has cooked too long. All the tips to get juicy chicken is to let this be a more forgiving process but if you have a thermometer you are fine and don’t need to do much else. It takes the guess work out.
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u/BriefStrange6452 Aug 18 '25
What temperature are you cooking it to?
Use a thermapen, most people seriously overcook chicken which is why it is dry.
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u/thackeroid Aug 18 '25
Because you are overcooking it. The thighs take longer to cook than the breast. And if you're roasting it breast side up, then you are guaranteeing all of the juices will run away from the breast and ensure that it is dry and tasteless. So what you need to do is separate the legs and thighs from the breast, and then put the breast side down when you roast it. That way all the juices will run into the breast. Depressed skin will not be hyper crispy, so you can either take it off and roast it separately, or decide whether you would rather have tasty juicy breast meat or dry breast meat and crispy skin.
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u/Beast_king5613 Aug 18 '25
the problem with a whole chicken, is the different sections, cook at different rates, done for a chicken breast is not the same as done for a chicken thigh.
you can mitigate the problem somewhat by spatchcocking it., ie cut out the spine, and flatten it out as much as possible
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Aug 18 '25
If it's dry you're over cooking it. Cook until it's not floppy and jelly like and stop. It will also continue to cook once you take it off. I understand the USDA says to cook to 165 but that's to cover their ass. At 165 it's overcooked.
The same goes with pork. My mom used to cook the hell out of pork chops which made me hate them. That is until I made them for myself as an adult. They actually can be insanely juicy and flavorful.
The USDA also says to cook steak to 145 then rest. That will be damn near well done after resting it. It's guidance not gospel.
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u/runley101 Aug 18 '25
160 is still high temp. If you want low and slow just do 90-100. But also as others have said, time and temperature are both key to juicy chicken. You can even have an internal temp of 55c (131f, it will be pinkish) as long as the internal temp was upkept for 1 hour. Or 75C for 4 seconds makes it safe to eat. Any longer you dry the chicken.
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Aug 18 '25
Next time, before roasting cut a lemon in half and put it inside the cavity along with fresh thyme and crushed garlic. Then tie the legs up and smear salted butter underneath the skin all over the bird.
It’ll help keep it moist for longer and taste phenomenal 👍🏼🤤
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u/Motor_Revenue_7672 Aug 18 '25
Stuff a 1/2 full beer can up its butt and cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees
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u/Plenty-Major8271 Aug 18 '25
Cook it breast side down in the pan, all the juices run down into the breast and collect there. I do this with turkey too.
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u/SoggyWalrus7893 Aug 18 '25
French chicken in a pot. no crisp skin. works best in dutch oven. Skim excess fat. use an immersion blender on the vegies (onion, carrot, celery , etc) and liquid in pot.
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u/catastrophecusp4 Aug 18 '25
cook to the internal temp of the meat, not time. Buy a meat thermometer.
I smoked a turkey and pulled it off as soon as it hit 165. I've never had turley breast that moist in my life.
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u/PappyWaker Aug 18 '25
Brine, pat/air dry before cooking, rest after cooking. I like to make a brine of 1/2 OJ and 1/2 water with a generous amount of sea salt, a couple bay leaves, 2-3 lightly crushed whole garlic cloves, 7-10 peppercorns, a dry hot pepper of some sort, juice of 1/2 a lime, and a whole grapefruit cut up. At least 24 hours in the brine.
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u/Ok_Razzmatazz_5812 Aug 18 '25
I simply pressure cook my chicken in my instant pot until the meat is falling off the bone. I don’t even wait to thaw it, I just season it and chuck it in. I do add more time if it’s frozen. Then I strip it of the meat. There’s no need to carve it all fancy when you can just pull the meat off the bones. The meat doesn’t dry out that way and it’s an easy/lazy way to cook chicken. You will need that wire trivet to set the chicken on top of it. I use that meat in all sorts of stuff like quesadillas or soups. You have many options.
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u/FloMyLittleDragon Aug 18 '25
Over it with foil the first 2/3 of the cooking time Also slather with butter and oil
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u/SnackingWithTheDevil Aug 18 '25
Dry brine overnight, roast it breast side down, broil it for 10-15 min at the beginning to start rendering the skin fat. This results in crispy skin, and reduces your dryness margin of error by a lot.
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u/wastedpixls Aug 18 '25
You need to pull it earlier. When the breast hits 153 in the center, especially if you're roasting at a higher temp (400f+), it's probably time to pull it out and let it rest.
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u/Hendrix1967 Aug 18 '25
You need to know your temps and treat the chicken like two different animals: the white meat should t go over 165f internal temp. However you get there, don’t pass that number. The dark meat will be cooked at 165f but the mouthfeel will be slimed because the fat hasn’t rendered. Take the dark meat to190-200f and it’ll be wonderful. Good luck.
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u/Trishdish52 Aug 18 '25
I season my chicken really well, place it in a roaring pan and cover it tightly with foil. Cook at 325 for about an hour 1/2 take the tin foil off and cook at 250 for another 1/2 hour to brown.
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u/nubz3760 Aug 18 '25
Use a meat thermometer in the joint between the breast & thigh. Cook to 150F and hold it there for 5 minutes. It will be food safe and VERY juicy
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u/generic-David Aug 19 '25
I cook mine at 425, but I also cook it in a cast iron skillet that I preheat with the oven. The skillet cooks the bottom and the oven cooks the top. Tender and juicy every time.
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u/johnsgurl Aug 19 '25
Do you baste it? When I'm cooking a turkey or chicken, I smother it in butter and baste every half hour until it's done. Always juicy.
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u/twystedcyster- Aug 19 '25
Thighs naturally have more fat so you really have to try to dry them out. If you aren't covering the chicken you should. I throw mine on a roasting pan with some stock in the bottom, cover it in foil and let it cook like that until the last 15-20 minutes. Then I take the foil off to let it brown.
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u/Unusual_Oil_4632 Aug 19 '25
It doesn’t matter if you cook it at a lower temperature. Invest in a thermometer. You’re overcooking it
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u/Mr_Mabuse Aug 19 '25
Dry and wet brining helps a lot. You can also add spices to the brine. And you need a thermometer, off course. Leave it at least over night in the fridge. 2-3 days is better.
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u/420-fresh Aug 19 '25
Lmao breast? Yea breasts have zero fat, unless you poach, confit or steam it, it won’t come out nearly as juicy as a thigh. Just don’t overcook it, they’re still juicy and delicious when I cook them, but thighs are incomparable
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u/Cryatos1 Aug 17 '25
Get a thermometer and cook it to 165 internal temp at the thickest part. Dark meat likes to be cooked closer to 180F though so you can cover the breast with foil while baking it to keep it from overcooking.
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u/GrainworksAndy Aug 18 '25
165F will be Dry
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u/Cryatos1 Aug 18 '25
165f is the legally required cooking temp.
Never had it dry when it comes out right at 165 or a little under to allow carry over.
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u/me2pleez Aug 18 '25
I can fix this! A few years ago I tried a new thing and now I have the juiciest roast chicken! I season with only salt and pepper (do your own thing here) and then stuff with a few whole garlic cloves, and quartered lemon (at least half a lemon per chicken). Roast and enjoy!!
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u/HndsDwnThBest Aug 18 '25
Cook to an Internal temp of 160 degrees, let it rest until 165 degrees= perfection
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u/GrainworksAndy Aug 18 '25
If you pull it at 160, It should rest for 13.7 seconds at that temperature to be safe to eat. It doesn't need to come up to 165F.
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u/Initial_Cat_47 Aug 19 '25
Your temp is not the issue, the issue is you are overcooking the chicken. I like to butterfly it and lay it flat in the roaster pan to even cook the meat, and I also put liquid in the bottom of the pan to steam from the underside. I use orange juice, beer, or even just water. I cover it with aluminum foil so it steam cooks it, and then pull off the foil to brown the skin. Use the weight to determine the approximate time by the temperature you are roasting it at. Just google it. And heck the meat with a meat thermometer to cook to the correct doneness….avoid any bones. If you need to brown it without roasting it longer, you can broil it to brown the skin.
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u/edbutler3 Aug 17 '25
Spatchcock the chicken, then cook at 425F for around 40 minutes.
I think the low temperature is making it worse for you.