What Makes Meat Dry?

Higher temperatures cause muscle tissues to tighten and squeeze out moisture. That’s why chicken cooked to 160°F is much juicier than chicken cooked to 175°F. Many people overcook poultry for safety reasons, but this dries out the meat unnecessarily.

Here’s What Most People Don’t Know

Virtually all foodborne bacteria and pathogens die almost instantly at 165°F. So when we cook chicken or turkey beyond that temperature, we’re just drying out the meat without adding any safety benefit.

The Time-Temperature Principle

You don’t always need to reach 165°F to safely kill bacteria. The trick is understanding the relationship between temperature and time. The longer you hold meat at certain lower temperatures, the more effectively bacteria are killed.

How Long Does It Take?

Most bacteria begin dying around 125°F, but it requires considerable time at that temperature to kill them effectively. Here’s what the data shows:

• At 165°F: Most pathogens die in seconds
• At 155°F: Most pathogens die in under 2 minutes
• At 150°F: Most pathogens die in 10 to 15 minutes

This means you can cook poultry to a lower temperature and still achieve food safety, as long as you hold that temperature long enough.

The Bottom Line

While we recommend following FDA and USDA guidelines, understanding this time and temperature relationship lets you cook meat more effectively. You can achieve both food safety and juicier, more tender results by maintaining the right temperature for the appropriate duration.

Here’s an interactive chart showing the time and temperature combinations needed to kill various pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria: