Foods & cuts · Chicken

Chicken thigh, bone-in

The most forgiving piece of chicken and the one where the safety endpoint and the good endpoint point in the same direction — thighs improve past the temperature at which they become safe.

What it is

Form: Bird portion
Typical weight: 115–225 g
Typical thickness: 30–45 mm
Cut: Not a cut of anything

Why it behaves as it does

This record is split from the boneless thigh, because the retrieved timings differ by a factor of three or four: Weber gives 30–40 minutes indirect for bone-in leg and thigh pieces and 8–10 minutes direct for a boneless one. Bone state is not a detail on a thigh; it is most of the answer. Rubbery skin is the commonest complaint and it is a rendering problem rather than a doneness problem.

When is it done?

Food-safety endpoint

Food Standards Agency
In the UK, food should reach 70 °C held for 2 minutes, or an equivalent time-and-temperature combination, at the slowest-heating point.
- 80 °C (176 °F) held for 0 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 75 °C (167 °F) held for 1 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 70 °C (158 °F) held for 2 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 65 °C (149 °F) held for 10 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
- 60 °C (140 °F) held for 45 min — measured at the slowest-heating point of the food.
The rule and its source
In the UK, food is considered adequately cooked when it reaches 70 °C held for 2 minutes, or an equivalent time-and-temperature combination.
Well established
- Food Standards Agency — States this directly
  “70°C for 2 minutes”
  How it was measured:
  Temperature is that of the food itself, at the slowest-heating point.
  Equivalent to a six-log reduction in vegetative bacteria.
  Where it applies:
  England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland follows equivalent guidance.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- Food Standards Agency — States this directly
  “60°C for 45 minutes, 65°C for 10 minutes, 70°C for 2 minutes, 75°C for 30 seconds”
  The combinations are presented as alternatives, not as a scale of increasing safety.
  Long, low cooks may satisfy a lower-temperature combination many times over without ever reaching the highest figure.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Scotland
In Scotland, a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the food should read 75 °C or above, and minced meat products such as burgers, sausages and kebabs must be cooked thoroughly all the way through.
- 75 °C (167 °F) — measured at the thickest part of the food.
The rule and its source
In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland advises consumers that food is adequately cooked when a thermometer in the thickest part reads 75 °C or above.
Well supported
- Food Standards Scotland — States this directly
  “When inserted in the thickest part of the food, the thermometer should read 75°C or above.”
  Safety regime:
  Consumer guidance, addressed to people cooking at home.
  Where it applies:
  Scotland.
  A single core temperature where the FSA publishes 70 °C held for two minutes plus a ladder of equivalents. Two food bodies in one state giving different consumer advice, and neither is in error — the same shape as the FSA/USDA/MPI divergence the safety model was built around, arriving inside the United Kingdom.
  The page states no resting guidance.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-14
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
In the United States, all poultry — whole, in portions, or ground — should reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- 74 °C (165 °F) — measured at the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle.
The rule and its source
In the United States, all poultry — whole or ground — has a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
Well established
- United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service — States this directly
  “Cook poultry (ground or whole) to an internal temperature of 165 °F”
  Form:
  Applies to whole birds, portions and ground poultry alike.
  Stated as a temperature to reach, without an accompanying hold time.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- Clemson Cooperative Extension — States this directly
  “All poultry and all stuffing, whether cooked alone or in the bird, must be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 °F.”
  Where it applies:
  United States.
  This is the USDA figure restated, not an independent determination. Clemson's COOKING TIMES on the same page are its own work; this number is not.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries
In New Zealand, meat should reach 75 °C or more at the middle of the thickest part, or an equivalent combination: 75 °C for 30 seconds, 70 °C for 3 minutes, or 65 °C for 15 minutes.
- 75 °C (167 °F) held for 1 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
- 70 °C (158 °F) held for 3 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
- 65 °C (149 °F) held for 15 min — measured at the middle of the thickest part.
The rule and its source
In New Zealand, meat should reach 75 °C or more at the middle of the thickest part, or an equivalent combination of 75 °C for 30 seconds, 70 °C for 3 minutes, or 65 °C for 15 minutes.
Well established
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  “the middle of the thickest part (where the temperature should be 75°C or more)”
  How it was measured:
  Middle of the thickest part, explicitly.
  Where it applies:
  New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  “75°C for 30 seconds, 70°C for 3 minutes, or 65°C for 15 minutes”
  These differ from the FSA's equivalents at the same temperatures — 3 minutes against 2 at 70 °C, 15 against 10 at 65 °C.
  Where it applies:
  New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Tenderised meat is grouped with minced meat rather than with whole cuts, and must be cooked through when barbecued.
Well supported
- New Zealand Food Safety / Ministry for Primary Industries — States this directly
  New Zealand Food Safety advises that chicken, tenderised meat and minced meat products need to be barbecued until they are cooked through, over 75 °C all the way through.
  Form:
  Groups tenderised meat with mince rather than with whole cuts — direct support for treating mechanical tenderisation as an interior-contamination form.
  Stated specifically in the context of barbecuing.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Health Canada
In Canada, whole poultry should reach 82 °C (180 °F) and poultry pieces — breasts, legs, thighs and wings — 74 °C (165 °F). Ground poultry and stuffing cooked in poultry are also 74 °C.
- 82 °C (180 °F) — measured at the thickest part of the breast, on a whole bird.
- 74 °C (165 °F) — measured at the thickest part of the piece, not touching bone.
The rule and its source
In Canada, whole poultry should reach 82 °C (180 °F) and poultry pieces 74 °C (165 °F).
Well established
- Health Canada — States this directly
  “Pieces, for example, breasts, legs, thighs, wings 74 165 ... Whole 82 180”
  Form:
  The answer to a long-standing open question. The 82 °C and 74 °C figures are not a disagreement and never were: they are two food FORMS in one table from one authority, and the difference is a whole bird against a portion of one.
  The United States gives ALL poultry 74 °C. Canada gives a whole bird eight degrees more. Two countries, one continent, different judgements, neither in error — which is the argument of the whole safety model arriving between neighbours.
  What it covers:
  Consumer guidance. The chart is published for people cooking at home.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-15
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Across Australia and New Zealand, cook chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly to an internal temperature of 75 °C, checked with a food thermometer. Steaks may be cooked to preference.
- 75 °C (167 °F) — measured at the internal centre of the food, checked with a food thermometer.
The rule and its source
Across Australia and New Zealand, FSANZ advises cooking chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly to an internal temperature of 75 °C, while stating that steaks may be cooked to preference.
Well established
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “Cook chicken, sausages and hamburgers thoroughly, to an internal temperature of 75oC - check the temperature with a food thermometer.”
  Where it applies:
  Australia and New Zealand together. FSANZ's remit is bi-national, which is why a New Zealand reader is covered by this AND by MPI.
  Form:
  Names chicken, sausages and hamburgers — poultry plus the two commonest minced forms.
  Method:
  Stated in the context of sausage sizzles and barbecues specifically.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “Steaks can be cooked to preference”
  A regulator saying explicitly where its own rule stops. Most authorities leave this to be inferred; FSANZ writes it down.
  Form:
  The distinction is FORM, not species: the same animal appears on both sides of the sentence.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Use separate equipment for raw and cooked meat, and never put cooked meat back on a tray or plate that held it raw. Throw away leftovers unless there is refrigeration available to cool them quickly.
The rule and its source
At a barbecue, raw and cooked meat must be kept apart: separate equipment, and cooked meat never returned to the tray that held it raw.
Well established
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — States this directly
  “never place cooked meat back on the trays that held the raw meat”
  The single most common barbecue food-safety failure, and one that no cooking temperature prevents.
  Where it applies:
  Australia and New Zealand.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Food Standards Agency
Wash a thermometer stem in hot soapy water before and after each use, and do not put the head in water.
The rule and its source
A thermometer stem should be washed in hot soapy water before and after each use, and the head should not be put in water.
Well established
- Clemson Cooperative Extension — States this directly
  “Make sure to clean the stem of your food thermometer with hot soapy water before and after each use. Do not immerse the head in water.”
  Before and after, not just after. a probe that went into an undercooked bird and then into the next one is a cross-contamination route BBQHQ's food-safety model already recognises between surfaces and hands, and has never described for the instrument that touches every piece of meat on the grate.
  The head exclusion is an equipment instruction rather than a hygiene one — electronics — and is recorded here because it is in the same sentence and separating them would misquote the source.
  About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-21

Culinary doneness — a preference, not a safety figure

cooked through — 74–82 °C (165–180 °F)

Measure at: The thickest part of the thigh, avoiding the bone.

Bone-in thigh is the most forgiving piece of chicken there is: it stays good well past the safety endpoint, and the connective tissue softens with the extra time.

Where this comes from

In the United States, all poultry — whole or ground — has a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).

Well established

United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service — States this directly
“Cook poultry (ground or whole) to an internal temperature of 165 °F”
Form:
Applies to whole birds, portions and ground poultry alike.
Stated as a temperature to reach, without an accompanying hold time.
About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13
Clemson Cooperative Extension — States this directly
“All poultry and all stuffing, whether cooked alone or in the bird, must be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 °F.”
Where it applies:
United States.
This is the USDA figure restated, not an independent determination. Clemson's COOKING TIMES on the same page are its own work; this number is not.
About this source · Original · retrieved 2026-08-13

Texture endpoint — how you actually know

Skin rendered and crisp, meat pulling from the bone

The skin is taut and coloured rather than slack, and the meat has shrunk back from the end of the bone. Rubbery skin is a rendering failure, not an undercooked one — the answer is more direct heat at the end, not more time.

How long it takes

Chicken thigh, bone-in, indirect heat

Estimated cooking window

20 min–40 min

Moderate confidence

Why this is a range, not a number

Weight varies within the range this covers
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
Individual animals and pieces differ
Thickness varies between pieces

Cook to the endpoint, not to the clock. The window tells you when to start checking.

What this rests on

BBQHQ publishes a window for this cook.

Observations: 3
Documents: 3
Publishers timing this cook: 2

Clemson Cooperative Extension · Weber-Stephen Products LLC

Also on this page, supplying endpoints or doneness rather than timings: United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. They are not a second opinion about how long the cook takes.

Why confidence is not higher

At least one source does not state the cooker temperature.
No source states the thickness, which governs cooking time more than weight.
No source states whether the food went on fridge-cold or rested.

How the sources were combined

Weber gives 30–40 minutes indirect medium for bone-in leg and thigh pieces; Clemson gives 10–15 minutes a side, which is 20–30 in total. The windows overlap at 30 minutes, so they combine as 20–40. Confidence is held down by something specific: Clemson does not state whether its pieces are bone-in, and on a thigh that is the variable that matters most. Two publishers agreeing about a figure while one of them has not said what it is measuring is weaker evidence than the count suggests.

What makes the window as wide as it is

Weight varies within the range this covers
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
Individual animals and pieces differ
Thickness varies between pieces

One open question tracked for this.

Chicken thighs and drumsticks, direct heat

Estimated cooking window

14 min–20 min

Low confidence

Why this is a range, not a number

Weight varies within the range this covers
How cold the food was when it went on
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
How much food is on at once

Cook to the endpoint, not to the clock. The window tells you when to start checking.

What this rests on

BBQHQ publishes a window for this cook.

Observations: 2
Documents: 2
Publishers timing this cook: 1

Chicken Farmers of Canada

Why confidence is not higher

Only one source applies to these conditions.
Several documents, but all from one publisher.
No source states the thickness, which governs cooking time more than weight.
At least one source does not state the cooker temperature.

How the sources were combined

Chicken Farmers of Canada times bone-in thighs and drumsticks over direct heat BY WEIGHT rather than by guess — 7 minutes a side at 80 g raw, 10 a side at 130 g — which is the shape almost nobody publishes and the reason this row was worth a profile of its own. It sat held for a long time because the only thigh profile in the catalogue was indirect, and a direct cook is a different cook rather than a faster one. The safety endpoint is the American 74 °C for the reader's territory; CFC's own chart states the Canadian figures, which apply to a Canadian reader and are carried by the Canadian safety rules rather than by this profile.

What makes the window as wide as it is

Weight varies within the range this covers
How cold the food was when it went on
Cookers hold temperature imperfectly
How much food is on at once

One open question tracked for this.

When it goes wrong

It came out dry: The meat came out dry — 4 distinguishable causes.
Burnt outside, underdone inside: Chicken is coloured outside and still pink at the bone — 2 distinguishable causes.
Still raw in the middle: Chicken is coloured outside and still pink at the bone — 2 distinguishable causes.
It stuck to the grate: Food sticking to the grate — 2 distinguishable causes.
It caused flare-ups: Flare-ups — 2 distinguishable causes.
The skin was rubbery: Chicken skin is rubbery — 3 distinguishable causes.
The sauce or coating burnt: The sauce or glaze burnt black — 2 distinguishable causes.

Afterwards

Cooling, keeping and reheating what is left is general guidance for barbecue leftovers. Neither UK authority publishes anything specific to chicken thigh, bone-in, and BBQHQ does not invent a distinction they do not make.

Traditions that cook it

焼き鳥
A Japanese practice of grilling skewered chicken over charcoal, using a detailed vocabulary of cuts and parts, served across settings from standing bars to sit-down restaurants.