tenspeed
Executive Chef
The concept of roasting poultry at low temperature and then finishing it off at very high temperature to brown the skin was brought up in another thread and got my interest, so I did some investigation on the internet.
Conventional wisdom calls for roasting at least 300 F, and some feel that this is necessary for food safety. However, the minimum temperature for smoking poultry seems to be 225 F, so I would think that this would be safe for roasting as well (perhaps the smokers can comment). Another point I came across is that the meat must reach at least 140 F in 4 hours or less for safety reasons ( HGIC 3560 How to Cook Turkey : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina ). I'm looking at chicken, so I think that this wouldn't be an issue at 225 F. The few references I found to low temperature roasting chicken seem to indicate that it would take 3 to 4 hours to roast a chicken at 225 - 250 F (for an internal temperature of 165 F). Another interesting tidbit I learned is that the risk of food poisoning with smoked turkey goes up quickly if the bird is more than 12 pounds, as the internal temperature doesn't rise quickly enough at smoking temperatures.
According to Seriouseats, chicken cooked to 150 F is safe, as long as it is at that temperature long enough ( The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Sous Vide Chicken Breast | Serious Eats ). Not sure if you could roast it at that temperature long enough to be safe without drying the meat.
Anyone have experience with this?
Conventional wisdom calls for roasting at least 300 F, and some feel that this is necessary for food safety. However, the minimum temperature for smoking poultry seems to be 225 F, so I would think that this would be safe for roasting as well (perhaps the smokers can comment). Another point I came across is that the meat must reach at least 140 F in 4 hours or less for safety reasons ( HGIC 3560 How to Cook Turkey : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina ). I'm looking at chicken, so I think that this wouldn't be an issue at 225 F. The few references I found to low temperature roasting chicken seem to indicate that it would take 3 to 4 hours to roast a chicken at 225 - 250 F (for an internal temperature of 165 F). Another interesting tidbit I learned is that the risk of food poisoning with smoked turkey goes up quickly if the bird is more than 12 pounds, as the internal temperature doesn't rise quickly enough at smoking temperatures.
According to Seriouseats, chicken cooked to 150 F is safe, as long as it is at that temperature long enough ( The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Sous Vide Chicken Breast | Serious Eats ). Not sure if you could roast it at that temperature long enough to be safe without drying the meat.
Anyone have experience with this?