I’ve recently upgraded my thermometer to a Thermapen ONE and decided to cook pan cooked chicken breasts, on two separate occasions. Both times the breasts were ridiculously overcooked when I try a target temperature of 145F, relying on residual heat during resting on a cutting board to bring it to 150-155F.

My first thought was a miscalibrated thermometer and so I tested it with boiling water, alongside my original thermometer (a probe)—identical results, both read very close to 212F.

My next thought was my technique, so in my second attempt, I tried to get the thermometer as horizontal as my pan’s edges would allow, deeply inserting around 1” into the meat, pulling the chicken from the pan at 150. Without resting, I cut into it immediately and nearly all the chicken was overcooked. I took the surface temp (e.g. 1/4 inch from surface) and it was a whopping 168 degrees. The center was indeed 150, but only a tiny part at the thickest portion was at 150.

I’m cooking dry brined breasts from the refrigerator, pounded from 1.5” to 1” using a stainless steel skillet at medium high heat.

Why is my chicken horribly dry?