Barb Freda wrote:Of course, I thought right away: isn't that the proverbial "danger zone" for bacteria? And 140 is at the top...
I think you’re confusing the zone (40 to 140°F) where bacteria grows most rapidly with the temperature that kills bacteria. According to the USDA Food Guide from 2001, a “hold time” of 140°F for 10 minutes will kill the principle types of common bacteria, all of which are surface bacteria and not internal to the meat. I would question that Blumenthal is able to get the internal temperature of the chicken up to much above 120°F in 6 hours. Are you sure that he was using the Fahrenheit scale and not Celsius? 140°C is roughly equivalent to 285°F, a temperature more reasonable for slow cooking meat. I wrote an
article on the subject 5 years ago, but I believe the information is still applicable.
The restaurants I've worked in in France generally use 75°C (167°F) as the set temperature for their holding cabinets. For one example, we would cook lamb legs to an internal temperature of 105°F and then hold them for 4 to 6 hours. When carved, they were perfectly pink with an internal temperature of 125 to 130°F.
Part of the problem with the temperature you describe is its relationship to the manner of cooking, namely roasting. Dry heat methods, such as this, have very poor heat transfer. In other words, it is difficult to transfer the heat in the air of the oven to the item being cooked. Alternatively, if you poach the chicken in warm water, say 155 to 160°F, it will cook rapidly without overcooking. This is how I cook chicken breasts for use later in cold preparations. I usually poach the chicken breast, on the bone, for about 20 minutes to achieve an internal temperature of about 150°F. Overcooking is almost impossible because the meat temperature cannot excess the water temperature. The breasts, when cool, will still be moist tasting and not stiff.
