how safe is this chicken

May 14, 2009 7:03 PM

I just found a frozen chicken dish in the freezer that is one year out of date.

So hive mind, if I microwave it thoroughly, would it be safe to eat?

posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth to food & drink (12 answers total)

Definitely edible, probably awful.
posted by smackfu at 7:04 PM on May 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

are we talking fridge/freezer, or deep freeze?
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:13 PM on May 14, 2009

It is safe to eat. The texture may be unpleasant though. Heat it up and see how you like it.
posted by ssg at 7:14 PM on May 14, 2009

It's the top part of a fridge freezer with an external door - not a small part of a fridge. It was buried in at the back.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 7:15 PM on May 14, 2009

Throw it out. Why risk it?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:34 PM on May 14, 2009

Bake it--every time I've nuked a frozen chicken dish the meat turns out like rubber.
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 7:35 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Would you be aware of and able to recall any blackouts over the last year?
posted by anonymisc at 7:40 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

quick update: I ate it and it was a little tough but quite tasty. I nuked it for some extra time until it was extremely hot.

anonymisc, not aware of any electricity blackouts but it is quite possible there were some brief ones.

If I feel ill in the next day or two I shall post. Thanks for all the responses.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 7:49 PM on May 14, 2009

love these threads, keep 'm coming
and the audacity of the MeFI crowd never ceases to amaze me (we are, after all, mostly neurotics here with a tendency towards hypochondria, right?)
posted by NekulturnY at 5:09 AM on May 15, 2009

I would eat anything that was deep frozen for up to three years. I would add lots of seasoning to it however.
posted by h00py at 5:47 AM on May 15, 2009

For anyone checking this question in the future, the FDA has lots of guides to food safety and quality posted online. This one is for food quality when stored in the refrigerator, or freezer. Freezing food keeps it safe almost indefinitely (per the FDA), assuming no power outages.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:48 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

I recently grilled some butterflied chicken breasts that were vacuum packed and frozen for at least two years. I have pretty high standards for chicken quality, and these were from a free range local bird. Properly marinated and then cooked through, they were actually pretty indistinguishable from any other decent frozen chicken breast.
posted by Caviar at 8:15 AM on May 21, 2009