Imagine it is your responsibility to make Thanksgiving dinner. You are cooking both a whole chicken and a whole turkey. The chicken is for those who do not want turkey. You know that if you don’t cook both of those meats fully, people could get sick eating from uncooked chicken or turkey. You don’t want that to happen.
So, you invest in a meat thermometer. You know that the chicken must be cooked to a certain temperature so that you know that it is fully cooked. When you are cooking a large piece of meat such as a whole chicken, you must make sure that all parts of the chicken are fully cooked. Therefore, you should place the thermometer in all parts of the chicken especially in the very center of it.
A meat or instant-read thermometer is your best bet for determining the temperature of your chicken, and if you're cooking a whole bird, it should be inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching bone. 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe internal temperature for both the white meat and dark meat. If you don't have a thermometer, an easy visual clue is that all the juices that come from the chicken should run clear and not be pink.
Chicken, especially whole or bone-in chicken, can be tricky to cook since it's oddly-shaped. And unlike beef or lamb which is okay to eat rare or medium rare, you want your chicken cooked through to avoid getting anyone sick.
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