Carryover Cooking

• All meats continue cooking after you remove them from heat. How much they continue cooking, or how much their internal temperature increases, depends on the cooking temperature, the type of protein and its size. The greater the size, the greater the increase in internal temperature. The internal temperature of the breast of a whole chicken rises 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit after 1.5 hours in a 425-F oven, so professional chefs take whole chickens out of their ovens when they reach 150 to 155 F in the center of the breast to prevent overcooking and to retain juiciness. Cook whole chicken with an oven-safe thermometer inserted in the breast, and check the temperature after about an hour of cooking. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack as soon as the temperature reaches 150 F. Don't remove the thermometer from the breast.

Safe Holding

• Moisture and juices redistribute throughout chicken in the minutes right after you take it out of the oven, referred to as the rest period. Letting the chicken rest at room temperature has a big effect on its juiciness when you heat it back up for serving later. That's why cooks in a professional kitchens never cut into a whole chicken until after the rest period, and why they don't cool them down in the walk-in cooler, either. Putting hot foods in a cold refrigerator stresses the cooling system and can bring other foods into the temperature danger zone, or the temperature gradient between 40 and 140 F. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil and let it sit at room temperature until the internal temperature of the breast measures about 140 F.

Cold Storage

• The walk-in coolers and refrigerators of professional kitchens are subject to random checks by health department inspectors, who have the power to shutter a restaurant if it falls below code -- quite an incentive to make sure they're free of cross-contamination. Cross-contamination refers to bacteria from one food transferring to another food, usually by dirty hands, tools or improper storage. Wrap the chicken after it cools down in plastic food film or place it in an airtight food storage container, and store it on a shelf above any raw meats to prevent cross-contamination.

Reheating

• Professional cooks know that following the proper procedure when cooling down a whole chicken means nothing unless they can get it back to its hot, crispy glory within a few minutes of receiving an order. That's why restaurants have their reheating ovens roaring at 350 F, and their chickens waiting at room temperature. Restaurants, however, sell chickens at a rate fast enough to prevent them from sitting out too long. You can remove the chicken and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes, or while your oven heats to 350 F, and reheat it just until the breast reaches 165 F. You can also insert the oven-safe thermometer in the same hole as before.