How Long To Cook Chicken (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 35 to 45 minutes  

Chicken is easily one of the most loved meat. Chickens stand high in the ratio of existence compared with any other bird. Chicken is the commonly brought meat and a lot of dishes can be made out of a chicken. The reason behind this is its large spread availability and its comparatively economic price.  

It dates back to some thousand years when people started consuming chicken. Different parts of the chicken are used to make different dishes. Some fancy a chicken breast while some love the thighs and bone of the chicken. The byproducts of chicken, such as the chicken blood or its liver are also seen to be consumed by a wide majority of people for various health benefits. 

The chicken you fry at home is the easiest and the quickest to make. It takes around 30 minutes, which includes the marinating process. The cooking time goes higher if you tend to get creative with your dish.  

How Long To Cook Chicken?  

The cooking time of chicken varies with which part of the chicken you are cooking and what you use to cook them i.e a griller, oven, stove, and so on. You can see that the thighs of the chicken take the longest to cook when compared with the other parts.  

If you are using an oven to cook your chicken, cook it until it reaches 165 degrees F. you can use the thermometer to check if your chicken is properly cooked by inserting the thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken like you would for any other meat. If your chicken still feels uncooked, put it back in the oven and see if the positioning of the lid is done right.  

People spend time on chicken before the cooking can even start. You may have heard that you need to wash your chicken for at least 5 minutes. Studies reveal that washing your chicken is only going to spread the bacteria. Therefore, try cooking it without cleaning it with water.  

Why Does It Take So Long To Cook Chicken?  

If you leave chicken or any other poultry half or semi-cooked, it might give you digestion and other problems. Raw meat contains salmonella which is said to cause food poisoning. This is why you should always follow the cooking time and see if it has been properly cooked with the help of a thermometer.  

You have to “cook” food to eliminate any kind of bacteria and germs. It is said that chicken, especially than any food. To save yourself from any kind of illness, make sure to cook it for up to 72 degrees. The more you cook it, the more it kills the germs that the meat contains.  

If you don’t believe a thermometer or if you do not know how to use it properly, the key to finding out if it has been cooked properly is to check if the meat is still pink on the inside. If your meat still looks pinkish on the inside, it is a sign that you still have to cook your chicken.  

A lot of us tend to keep our meat refrigerated which leads to the meat getting frozen. Remember to keep it covered when it’s inside the refrigerator. If it’s too frozen, you need to cook more to remove the frost which can extend the cooking time a little more. Cooking it up to the temperature given will keep you safe and healthy.  

Conclusion  

Chicken is very rich in protein and is seen as a dish that can help in reducing weight if used properly. There are a lot of debates questioning the benefits of a broiler chicken but farm chickens have always stayed on the top of the pyramid. Chicken is also said to contain huge levels of serotine which stimulates the “feel good” hormone of our brain. This is why some people might feel happy after eating chicken.  

The good things apart, chicken is also seen to be linked with urinary tract infections. The other side effects of chicken are hormonal imbalance, weight gain, and an increase in cholesterol. It’s always for the best to take any food in moderate amounts. Moderate your intake is, the healthier you are.  

References  

1. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0230928
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0309174001001711