How long to temper chicken

Hi, I'm trying to figure out how long to leave a whole chicken out to bring to room temperature before roasting. How long can a 5 or 6 pound chicken stay out of the fridge before it's dangerous?

Dalila
  • Posted by: Dalila
  • September 14, 2017
  • 10330 views
  • 3 Comments

3 Comments

Voted the Best Reply!

Cav September 15, 2017
Although it's pertaining to steaks, Serious Eats tested allowing a cut to come up to room temperature here http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06/the-food-lab-7-old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak.html.

And found it was both impractical and rather pointless.

Allowing meat to come to room temperature depends on what temperature your room is, what temperature the meat is, how bulky the meat is and how long you have. These factors vary so much that there's no real easy answer. And as it has never seemed to have an actual effect on the cooking time, I've never bothered.

As for safety, unless your room is a sauna then you're probably safe to leave it out for an hour or two if you want to.
 
PHIL September 15, 2017
Why wait? By the time you clean it and prep it for the oven it will be warm enough. I am not sure why you need to warm it up to room temp, I never do. I am curious what others say. You may want to spatchcock them if you want to lessen the cooking time if that is your goal.
 
BerryBaby September 15, 2017
I take chicken out one hour before but from what I recall two hours maximum. Bacteria builds up quickly.
 
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