Is chicken done at 165 °F or 74 °C?

Both describe the same temperature. USDA FSIS prints 165 °F (73.9 °C) with an exact conversion; FoodSafety.gov prints 74 °C. TempChart shows both exactly as each agency prints them.

Does chicken need a rest time at 165 °F?

No. The official 3-minute rest applies to whole-muscle cuts like steaks, roasts, chops and raw ham — not poultry. Poultry is safe as soon as it reads 165 °F (73.9 °C).

Can I pull chicken at 160 °F and let it carry over?

Not under US consumer guidance. The public rule is a straight 165 °F (73.9 °C) with no rest. Time-at-lower-temperature pasteurization math (like 160 °F held for seconds-to-minutes) exists in USDA's technical lethality tables for industry processes such as sous-vide, but the home-cook chart is one number: 165 °F.

What temperature is a whole chicken done in Canada or the UK?

Health Canada's chart lists whole birds at 82 °C (180 °F) — much higher than the US 165 °F (73.9 °C) — while poultry pieces are 74 °C (165 °F). The UK Food Standards Agency frames it as time-at-temperature: centre at 70 °C for 2 minutes (or an official equivalent), cooked through with no pink meat and juices running clear.

Poultry safety

What temp is chicken done? The 165 °F (73.9 °C) rule, explained

Nov 16, 2026 · ~5 min read

"What temp is chicken done?" is the single most-asked kitchen-safety question, and the US answer is refreshingly short: 165 °F (73.9 °C). That one number covers every form poultry takes — whole birds, breasts, legs, thighs, wings, ground poultry, giblets, poultry sausage and the stuffing cooked inside the bird. This guide covers where the number comes from, how to measure it properly, and how Canada and the UK answer the same question differently.

Key takeaways

US rule: 165 °F (73.9 °C) for ALL poultry — whole, parts, ground, giblets, and stuffing, everywhere including inside the bird.
No rest time is required for poultry; the 3-minute rest rule is for whole-muscle red-meat cuts at 145 °F (62.8 °C).
Probe the innermost thigh and wing plus the thickest breast; the lowest reading is the one that counts.
Health Canada lists whole birds at 82 °C (180 °F); the UK FSA frames safety as 70 °C held 2 minutes at the centre.

Why one number for every poultry cut

Salmonella is the driving concern, and it can be present on or in any part of a raw bird — including internally contaminated legs and thighs, not just surface contamination. US agencies therefore publish a single "instant-kill" temperature instead of a time–temperature curve for home cooks: at 165 °F (73.9 °C), salmonella dies fast enough that no hold time is needed. That's why poultry has no rest column in the master temperature chart, unlike pork or beef whole cuts, which rely on a 145 °F (62.8 °C) reading plus a 3-minute rest.

Ground poultry illustrates the logic at its simplest: the same 165 °F (73.9 °C) rule as whole birds, because grinding mixes surface bacteria throughout the meat — the poultry equivalent of the 160 °F (71.1 °C) ground red-meat rule, one notch stricter.

Where to put the probe

FSIS's placement guidance for a whole bird is specific: check the innermost part of the thigh, the innermost part of the wing, and the thickest part of the breast. These are the last places to heat through, so if they read 165 °F (73.9 °C), the rest of the bird is there or hotter. For parts, probe the thickest piece at its centre from the side; for thin cutlets, angle the probe through the meat lengthwise. Never touch bone — it conducts heat and reads hot.

Pink meat and clear juices are not thermometers

FSIS's "Is Pink Turkey Meat Safe?" guidance exists precisely because colour fails: young poultry meat can stay pink at safe temperatures (myoglobin chemistry, plus nitrate-cured or smoked notes), and it can look done below 165 °F (73.9 °C). Juices running clear are a rough visual cue the UK FSA still lists for people without thermometers, but both agencies are explicit that a food thermometer is the reliable test. FSIS also warns that the pop-up indicators built into turkeys are not reliable — by the time many pop, the breast is overcooked while the thigh may still lag. A calibrated instant-read probe settles it; see thermometer types and calibration.

Stuffing: 165 °F everywhere, including inside the bird

Stuffing is the classic undercooked-poultry trap: it sits in the cold centre of the bird and finishes last. The official US rule is that stuffing itself must reach 165 °F (73.9 °C), whether cooked inside the cavity or in a separate dish — and both FSIS and FoodSafety.gov recommend cooking stuffing outside the bird precisely because getting the centre of a stuffed bird uniformly to 165 °F (73.9 °C) is hard in a home oven. Health Canada's chart matches: stuffing, alone or in poultry, 74 °C (165 °F).

Same question, different countries

Jurisdictions genuinely disagree here, and TempChart shows each honestly. Health Canada puts whole birds at 82 °C (180 °F) — a striking 8 °C above the US number — while listing poultry pieces, ground poultry and stuffing at 74 °C (165 °F). The UK Food Standards Agency's framing is time-based: the centre of food should reach 70 °C for 2 minutes, or an official equivalent (65 °C for 10 minutes, 75 °C for 30 seconds, 80 °C for 6 seconds), with poultry cooked through, no pink meat and clear juices. The doneness lookup tool shows all three framings side by side for every cut.

Instant-read thermometer (concept pick)

A probe with a thin tip reads a chicken breast in seconds without draining its juices — the one tool that makes the 165 °F (73.9 °C) rule practical.

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Educational reference, not medical advice

If you are pregnant, immunocompromised or cooking for someone who is, follow the stricter advice published by your health authority for your situation.