Freezing chicken is a great time and money saver, but if you’re using chicken from the freezer, you’ll need to plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of time to defrost safely. There are three methods for safe defrosting – in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave.  Never defrost your chicken at room temperature in the kitchen sink or on your counter!

The long thaw

The easiest method of defrosting is in the fridge overnight, but for smaller cuts of chicken you can get away with putting your frozen meat in the fridge in the morning if you want it defrosted by dinner.  It’s also perfectly fine to keep the frozen meat in its original packaging while defrosting, but just take care to put it on a separate plate so that no juices drip onto the other foods in your fridge. Once thawed, the meat can keep in the fridge for 1-2 days, again, remembering to keep the meat covered so that other foods are protected. Take a look at our storing and thawing guide for some more information.

The cold water method

If you weren’t able to plan ahead, a quicker method of defrosting the cold water method.  Using a bowl in the sink, submerge the chicken in cold water so that it is completely immersed.  It‘s important to keep the water cold, to prevent bacterial growth, so check on the process every half hour and change the water as need be.

Go Nuclear

The fastest method of defrosting is in the microwave, but it can also be the most uneven. The time it takes to defrost depends on the microwave, but many have a built-in defrost mode.  If you don’t, start defrosting in two-minute increments on a medium power setting.

In either case, make sure all the packaging is removed before starting, and place the chicken on a microwave-safe dish to catch any juices. You don’t want parts of the chicken to cook while it’s defrosting, so be patient and check frequently!

Finally, when defrosting, remember to always wash your hands, and clean any surfaces or kitchen tools that have come in contact with the raw meat.

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.

This is another installment in our ongoing series Dear Chicken Farmer. Real questions asked by Canadians and answered by the Chicken Farmers of Canada.

If you’ve got a question about chicken or chicken farming in Canada, send us a note to Dear Chicken Farmer and we’ll do our best to answer it.

Dear Chicken Farmer:

We bought a fresh chicken, approximately 10 lbs, and put it in the freezer. It took one and a half days to thaw in the refrigerator and when we cooked and cut it, the breast meat along the bone was green. Should we be concerned?

It’s hard to say definitively what caused the meat to be green, but it was likely from a damaged blood vessel. This isn’t a food safety concern, even if you ate it. It’s something that rarely happens and cannot always be detected at the processing plant. It’s kind of like a bruise, except that it’s from a high level of exertion like strong flapping of the wings. Chickens in the barn will flap their wings and perhaps that chicken did it hard enough to damage a blood vessel. If this ever happens again, you should take the chicken back to the grocery store or butcher for an exchange.

Check back next week for more questions and answers.

It’s early Saturday morning, you’ve just returned from the grocery run for that new recipe you’re going to serve your friends tonight. But what do you do with the chicken once you get it home?

It’s important that you waste no time between shopping and returning home with perishable foods to get them into the refrigerator or freezer. The ideal time frame is within two hours. So watch your time. If you decide to stop off at the mall or for lunch, make it short. Better still, make grocery shopping the last thing on your To Do List. It could mean the difference between safe food preparation and risking foodborne illnesses.

The Thaw Law

There are several other things you can do to observe safe handling practices. For instance, many people leave meat out on the counter to thaw. This is a big no-no. You should always thaw your chicken in the fridge. It may take longer, but it’s the safest method. Make sure you keep it on the bottom shelf of your fridge and place it on a plate or something that will catch any juices as it thaws. This way, you’ll avoid contaminating other foods in your fridge.

Cool Tip – Cold foods should be kept at 4°C (40°F)

If you’re in a hurry and are going to be using the chicken right away, you can always use the defrost mode on your microwave. There are some drawbacks to this method, including uneven thawing – sometimes parts of the meat gets cooked before other parts thaw. Another trick is to thaw in cold water. This method is popular among chefs, because it can be done in under two hours, but it requires a lot of attention. The water needs to be changed regularly – about every 30 minutes – to ensure the temperature doesn’t exceed 21°C (70°F). Food must be thoroughly sealed to avoid contamination. Cold, running water works best, but is an awful waste of water and isn’t a very environmentally friendly option.