How Long Can this Keep?

We’ve talked about the importance of food thermometers and cooking chicken properly and how to store it in the fridge and freezer, but how long does it keep?

Here’s some handy information about cold storage:

Refrigerator (4°C or 40°F)

• Whole chicken – 2-3 days
• Chicken pieces – 2-3 days
• Cooked chicken – 3-4 days
• Ground chicken – 1-2 days

Freezer (-18º or 0°F)

• Whole chicken - 12 months
• Chicken pieces - 6 months
• Cooked chicken - 3 months
• Ground chicken - 3 months

If you’re using frozen chicken, you will want to follow safe thawing times. DO NOT THAW FROZEN CHICKEN ON THE COUNTER! Make sure you use the chicken within 48 hours of thawing.

Thawing methods and times:

• Wrapped, in refrigerator - 10 hours per kilogram (5 hours per pound)
• Wrapped, in several changes of cold water - 2 hours per kilogram (1 hour per pound)
• Microwave, defrost* - 10-15 minutes per kilogram (or according to microwave guidelines – 5 minutes per pound)

*When defrosting in microwave, chicken should be loosely covered and pieces turned, separated and rotated several times during thawing to ensure even penetration.

Tagged as: Food Safety, refrigeration, thawing