If you love to eat chicken, you might be wondering if you can eat medium-rare chicken without getting sick. This is a common question as many people enjoy cooking chicken at home.
Many people also enjoy eating medium-rare meat rather than having it fully cooked. As such, it’s not uncommon for people to wonder if they can apply the same cooking method to chicken as they would steak or hamburgers.
However, it’s always important to do some thorough research before attempting this, as certain meats require cooking to a certain degree. And you want to follow these rules because they usually exist for a good reason.
Read on to find out whether or not you can eat medium-sized chicken and how to tell if your chicken is safe to eat.
You shouldn’t be eating medium rare chicken
If you often cook chicken at home, you may be wondering if you can eat medium rare chicken. This is something you definitely shouldn’t do, as all health resources strongly warn against eating chicken that is undercooked.
Chicken is one type of meat that you should not eat medium rare as it contains harmful bacteria. The majority of the chicken you buy contains harmful bacteria that need to be eliminated through the cooking process.
If the chicken isn’t fully cooked, these bacteria won’t be eliminated and you will most likely end up consuming it. Something that often leads to you getting salmonella or food poisoning, depending on how severe the case is.
Because of this, you should never eat chicken that is undercooked, as it’s not worth the risk. Some people can do this and not get sick, but your chances of getting sick are still very high.
The same rule applies to pork, which should always be well cooked and never medium rare. As there are certain meats that contain parasites and bacteria that you need to kill by cooking.
So it’s always better to play it safe and prepare meat the way it needs to be cooked to be safe.
How do you know when the chicken is fully cooked?
Now that you know it’s not safe to eat medium-sized chicken, you might be wondering how to tell when chicken is fully cooked. This is an important question to ask as you need to make sure you cook your chicken all the way through.
Most people rely on how the chicken looks, but that’s actually an approach you should avoid. As appearances can be deceiving and the chicken is not always as finished as it seems and vice versa.
For example, sometimes your chicken is a faint pink hue and is still fully cooked through. But looking at it, you would have guessed it was still raw and needed more cooking time.
As such, it’s always better to ensure your chicken is fully cooked in a variety of ways, rather than just relying on how it looks. Because when cooking different types of meat, it’s not always about the appearance.
internal temperature
If you’re cooking chicken, it’s a good idea to invest in a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. This is without a doubt the most reliable way to ensure the chicken you are preparing is fully cooked through.
Chicken should have an internal temperature of 165° to be safe to eat. You can check this by sticking the meat thermometer in the center of the chicken to see what reading you’re getting.
Ideally, you should rely on this method as it is the most reliable. Whether or not meat is safe to eat depends entirely on the internal temperature, as this determines how raw or cooked it is.
Firmly under control
You can also test if your chicken is done by tapping it with your finger. Fully cooked chicken should be firm and springy, not mushy when you press on it.
When you test the inside of a chicken, it should also be firm and springy, but not mushy or slimy. The chicken should look the same throughout with no area in the center that looks or feels different.
However, it’s always better to rely on checking your chicken’s temperature rather than trying to test it with your finger. As this can also be unreliable and hard to tell unless you are very experienced with cooking chicken.
Is eating raw chicken dangerous?
Although you will most likely not die from eating raw chicken, it is still very dangerous to do so. You could easily get salmonella poisoning or severe food poisoning if you ate raw chicken.
This can make you very ill and, in severe cases, require you to go to the hospital for professional treatment.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoy cooking chicken at home, you need to make sure you cook the chicken all the way through and don’t leave it medium rare. Chicken must be fully cooked to be safe to eat.
Chicken should have an internal temperature of 165° to be safe to eat. Because this ensures that all harmful bacteria have been killed during the entire cooking process.
