zombie chicken
April 24, 2012 7:21 AM   Subscribe

I moved a frozen whole chicken from the freezer to the fridge on Saturday morning. It's Tuesday -- can I cook it for dinner, or do I need to chuck it?

Leaning toward no based on general meat squeamishness (also this chart, which, yes I know the government is overly anal about such things, but then again I'm well outside the 2-day window). Then AGAIN it wasn't a fresh chicken, it was fully frozen. It was also in one of those fully sealed plastic bag thingys, not just plastic-wrapped onto a butcher's tray, if that matters.

It's not the end of the world to toss it and pick up a new one at the store, but what would you do? HAVE YOU EATEN SIMILAR CHICKEN AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE?
posted by Bebo to Food & Drink (14 answers total)
 
Unwrap it, wash/rub it well with fresh running water, pat dry with clean towels, cook immediately. You're fine; I'd eat that and have.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'd say you're lucky if it's fully thawed by now. Open the container, give it a sniff, and cook to 165 at the thigh.
posted by supercres at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2012 [8 favorites]


It probably needed 2-3 days just to thaw out. Just cook it to an internal temp of 165 and the juices run clear.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:24 AM on April 24, 2012


Have done very similar -- I'd bet that if you take the temperature of the inside, it's still very cold, if not frozen in the middle. I'd happily cook and eat.
posted by liquado at 7:25 AM on April 24, 2012


Totally eat it. Chicken on the supermarket shelf sits out with longer sell-by dates than that and is commonly shipped frozen.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:33 AM on April 24, 2012


I did this with a small turkey, thawed in the fridge for about a week.

Was tasty and suffered no ill effects.
posted by royalsong at 7:35 AM on April 24, 2012


I'd eat it. Properly cooked, the chicken will be fine.
posted by gauche at 7:36 AM on April 24, 2012


I wouldn't even hesitate to eat it. I might start wondering tomorrow, and I'd probably chuck it on Thursday.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:38 AM on April 24, 2012


Eat that sexy bird.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:39 AM on April 24, 2012 [3 favorites]


Eat it. You'd be surprised how long a whole chook takes to thaw through. If you have any concerns make sure to cook it thoroughly.
posted by wwax at 7:41 AM on April 24, 2012


I eat white cut chicken, which makes western cooks very squeamish

Why is it squeamish making? Its very little different from the way Hainanese chicken rice chicken is cooked and which I've done.
posted by infini at 7:42 AM on April 24, 2012


Your nose is a fantastic tool for determining the freshness of meat. Don't be afraid to use it.
I've learned in recent years that meat and eggs don't really stealthily go bad, they go bad with staggering olfactory aggressiveness. If the meat is in the fridge, and it looks good and smells good, it probably is.*

You're triply safe in this case. As others have said, it's probably hardly thawed.


*I know this would never cut it in a professional kitchen.
posted by Stagger Lee at 8:12 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I feel like a real AskMe user now that I've posted my first "Can I Eat It?"
posted by Bebo at 8:26 AM on April 24, 2012


Oh please...I've left it like that for two weeks and then cooked it. Give 'er the ole sniff test. As long as you don't smell ammonia or death, fire it up.
posted by spicynuts at 9:22 AM on April 24, 2012


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