essexsmoker wrote:Thing with chicken is that it is full of bacteria inside the meat itself, so washing and potentially splashing bugs all over the shop won't make a great deal of difference. The outside will defo get cooked, so just a risk not worth taking.
Re. The temp thing I always find that chicken can be quite chewy if not cooked out properly, especially thighs and tougher cuts. I've always taken my chicken to 74C and never have dry meat. I use fatty parts and leave the skin on.
I think the 74C thing is for clarity. Most of the public don't have a scooby and 74 is instant kill. That's what I meant before when I put 'you had a long cook'. As in, even though the IT was low, the long cook will have fixed that. Bugs like salmonella can actually start dying as low as 52C, but would need hours and hours to be safe.
I am certainly glad I asked as you have all helped clear things up in my mind,
I would never think of popping a thermo in a roast chicken I have cooked in my oven I would just accept that cooking at the correct temp for correct amount of time will get the job done and confirm this visually. The info you guys have passed on has made me realise that there isn't really a difference when using my smoker. My cooking temp was stable and the cook time was plenty to cook the made properly and after inspecting I knew deep down it was cooked properly.
I will proceed with a lot more confidence now.