Whether you are new to the world of cooking or just new to using chicken as an ingredient, there are several very important things that you should know before using chicken in recipes.
Selecting Your Chicken
First of all, only buy chicken within its expiration date that feels cold to the touch. Do not buy fresh chicken, which is leaking or damaged.
Chicken is chilled during its distribution to retail stores to keep it cool and fresh. If you need to buy fresh chicken, it is a good idea to make it the last item you buy before heading to the checkout so it does not get warm. Double bag the chicken separately from your other groceries and put it in the refrigerator as soon as you get home, in its original packaging.
Chicken Basics - Chilling, Freezing, and Thawing
If you are not going to use the fresh chicken within a day or so, you will need to freeze it. When you want to defrost it again, you can either use cold water or a microwave. Alternatively, you can let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator, which is the safest way. You can defrost boneless chicken breasts in the refrigerator overnight but a whole chicken can take up to two days. If you do not need all the defrosted chicken, you can refreeze it.
If you want your chicken defrosted quicker, you can do it in water. Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag if it is not in sealed packaging and submerge it in cold water. You will need to change the water every half an hour to keep it cold. A whole chicken should be thawed in two or three hours and a pound of chicken breasts will be done in an hour.
Only thaw chicken using a microwave if you plan to cook it right away because it might start getting warm in places and cooking, which can lead to bacteria spreading through it.
You cannot cook chicken from frozen in a slow cooker or in the microwave but you can cook it from frozen on the stove or in the oven if you allow for a 50% longer cooking time.
If you want to stuff, a chicken you will need to cook it right away but you can marinate chicken in the refrigerator for up to two days. It is important that cooked chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. This ensures that any bacteria are killed.
If you have leftover Kentucky fried chicken after your delicious homemade meal, you should refrigerate it within a couple of hours so it is safe to enjoy the following day.
How Long Can You Keep Chicken?
Raw chicken parts will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator or nine months in the freezer. A raw whole chicken keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator or a year in the freezer. Cooked chicken parts or a cooked whole chicken will keep for up to four days in the refrigerator or four months in the freezer.
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