Raw Chicken Room Temperature

Temperature plays a role in determining how well chicken keeps.

Raw chicken room temperature.

Temperatures above 40 f found in situations such as leaving your chicken out on your kitchen counter can create a bacteria breeding ground. Cooked chicken can only sit out for a maximum of two hours. Refrigerating chicken in temperatures of 40 f and below is best if you plan to eat the chicken within a couple days. If your cooked chicken has been out longer than this sadly you should throw it away.

If you only have a few hours to thaw your chicken you can use the cold water method for same day defrosting. Don t thaw meat on your kitchen counter. When you re gathering all of the ingredients for dinner go ahead and take the chicken in the plate or dish where it s stored out of the fridge. But for thick cuts like a big pork chop or animals you re roasting whole like a chicken or turkey a little tempering i e letting it come up to room temperature makes a big difference.

Although well informed cooks are well aware that chicken is highly susceptible to contamination by harmful bacteria many still follow the high risk practice of thawing their chicken at room temperature on the counter. A 15 minute sit at room temperature will make the chicken cook more evenly helping you avoid a brown outside with a raw undercooked inside. Additionally if the temp is beyond 90 f it is best to only leave it out for no more than an hour.