Frozen chicken - how long is it good for?

[schoolgirl]

Originally Posted by Jeekinz

Someone here ate some 2 year old chicken once. LOL

Are they still here?

LOL...another fine thread. "tee hee"

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums...use-43429.html


Oh and for the record, 3 weeks is good.

Yes Jeekinz, we are still here. Had no ill effects, but probably won't do that again. I hope to keep a better watch on everything in the freezer. Since I have quit work I have really been using food from it. Hope itwill be a good yr. for veggies so we can restock for next winter. With food cost going up we will be using more and more from it.

[Biser]

I bought two packages of 24 chicken thighs yesterday at BJ's (a Sam's Club/Costco type store). They came in a flimsy plastic outer package but inside were heavy plastic vacuum packed three-packs. In other words, eight packages of three thighs. The price was $0.99 per pound. Drumsticks were the same price; breasts were more but I don't remember how much more.

The interesting thing about these thighs is that they have very little added water. The thighs that I purchased were 3% water and drumsticks were labeled as 1% residual water. I don't remember what the water content of the skinless breasts was. Most packaged chicken has a whole lot of water added to it. Take a look at the package next time you're in the grocery store.

This chicken was not frozen, but labeled on the outer package as "ready for freezing".

[archiduc]

Originally Posted by Easton

I immediately froze up some chicken cutlets about three weeks ago. I'm sure it's still OK to eat, but would you rather throw it out?

Hi Easton,

They are fine providing the frozen (RAW?) chicken, which you froze remains/ed in a FROZEN state. Allow to thaw in the `fridge and cook and, if you cook previoiusly frozen chicken which was frozen when raw and thawed, cook, in a sauce you could freeze again becuase you are now freezing cooked chicken. Now, why is this and why is it perfectly safe?

Well, thawing the chook bits in the `fridge brings them back to the temperature they were before you froze them in a cold temperature and one unlikely to be deliterious in terms of texture and safe in terms of temperature - providing your `fridge is set to and maintains a safe temperature as advised by your Government. After thawing, I would suggest not keeping them more than 6-10 hours in the `fridge. Chook bits should be wiped with kitchen paper and cooked as per the recipe, cooled rapidly and then frozen. For example, in order to chill quickly, place a shallow tray in the deep freezer 30 - 60 minutes before use. Place the mix to be frozen in the chilled tray. Stir, chill and when cold, pack and freeze in appropriate portion sizes for future thawing and use.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by Biser

... The interesting thing about these thighs is that they have very little added water. The thighs that I purchased were 3% water and drumsticks were labeled as 1% residual water. I don't remember what the water content of the skinless breasts was. Most packaged chicken has a whole lot of water added to it. Take a look at the package next time you're in the grocery store. ...

Residual water is simply the chlorine-water wash not removed from the surface of the chicken during processing. It is not added water per se. If you wash a chicken, or chicken parts, in water when you get it home ... the moisture on the surface, and what gets under the skin, is residual water.

If "chicken has a whole lot of water added to it" - then it is probably injected - and will be labeled as such, often noted with terms like "flavor enhanced". Not the same as residual water.

[college_cook]

I don't know about frozen chicken's durability in a sanitary or healthy sense, but the second it looks like it's thinking about getting freezer burned, get it out of there! If it's still ok to eat at that point, it definitely won't be as enjoyable for very much longer.

[archiduc]

Originally Posted by Easton

I immediately froze up some chicken cutlets about three weeks ago. I'm sure it's still OK to eat, but would you rather throw it out?

Hi Easton,
My last post was edited by Michael in FtW but I would like to re-iterate what I said.

RELAX (I said relax, but in a very particular Scottish way of saying it!). If the chicken was wrapped (correctly) and frozen after purchase it will sit quite happily in a domestic deepfreezer for several months.

Remove from the deepfreeze and thaw in the `fridge - or to be less succinct, thaw in one`s refrigerator! Use as you would for any chicken recipe. If the recipe requires that you sautée the chicken first, ensure that the chicken is thawed in the fridge and wipe dry using kitchen towel or paper. In the UK kitchen towel is absorbent kitchen paper which one buys on a roll and not under any circumstances to be confused with a KITCHEN TOWEL which is an item upon which one would dry one`s hands or a KITCHEN TEATOWEL which one would employ to dry dishes. Thank-you Michael in FtW for pointing out the need to clarify such issues.

All the best,
Archiduc

[CharlieD]

Originally Posted by Jeekinz

Someone here ate some 2 year old chicken once. LOL

Are they still here? ...

I know it was not me. I do not even bother to defrost the chicken until it's been seating in the freezer for at least one or two years.

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by Easton

I immediately froze up some chicken cutlets about three weeks ago. I'm sure it's still OK to eat, but would you rather throw it out?

If they were properly wrapped (as in not in the store package) they should be fine for a whole lot longer than 2 weeks.

[sabixatzil1]

If ur sub freezing it, and warping it well, the options are infinite :)