How to prepare chicken?

"At 158 degrees, but not lower, bacteria inside the chickens’ cores was reduced to safe levels, and when cut open its flesh appeared dull and fibrous, not glossy like raw chicken. But meat began changing from pink to white far below this threshold, and most color change occurred below 131 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes, the chicken’s core would be safely cooked, but unsafe levels of bacteria still lingered on surfaces that hadn’t touched the grill plate.

Many people think chicken is safe before it is, Dr. Langsrud said. Her advice?

You can check the core for fading pinkness, dulling glossiness and more apparent fibers, all signs of degrading proteins and cooking meat. But those alone won’t bring you safety.

You’re really better off buying a thermometer. Ask a salesperson how it works and where to measure temperature, said Bruno Goussault, a scientist and chef specializing in precise-temperature cooking at the Culinary Research and Education Academy in Paris and Washington, D.C. Dr. Goussault was not involved in the study.

Use it to “follow the temperature,” he said, by measuring often. Temperature still increases in the meat’s core after it is removed from a heat source. Depending on thickness, a chicken breast’s core temperature, for example, may increase 41 degrees Fahrenheit in the 10 minutes after it is removed from heat."