Ate some chicken breasts cooked to 140F/60C

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The discussion centers on cooking chicken breasts using sous vide at 140°F (60°C) for several hours, resulting in tender and juicy meat. While FDA guidelines recommend cooking chicken to 165°F (74°C) for immediate safety, the science of pasteurization shows that maintaining 140°F for 27.5 minutes effectively kills bacteria. The guidelines are designed for simplicity, but understanding the time-temperature relationship allows for safe cooking at lower temperatures.

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and they were great!

FDA food safety guidelines, as everyone knows, is 165F/74C

but the trick they were at 140F for several hours in a sous vide. Came out very tender and juicy. learned some of the science behind the guidelines - the goal is to kill bacteria by a factor of 10^-7. The guideline are meant to be idiot-proof so they list the temperature at which this happens more or less instantaneously, but bacteria begin to die as temps get into the 130s, so longer times at temperatures between 140 and 165 can cook safely

pasteurization time for chicken (not cooking times as it needs to be at this internal temperature for the time proscribed)

TemperatureTime
136°F (58°C)68.4 minutes
140°F (60°C)27.5 minutes
145°F (63°C)9.2 minutes
150°F (66°C)2.8 minutes
155°F (68°C)47.7 seconds
160°F (71°C)14.8 seconds
165°F (74°C)Instant

https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/07/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast.html
 
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