How much raw and cooked chicken can be stored in the freezer, conditions and rules
Chicken meat is recommended for people who have suffered from an illness. It is easy to digest and rich in useful elements. It is not always possible to cook fresh meat, sometimes it has to be frozen. If done correctly, useful substances will remain in the bird for the entire freezing period. But how much chicken can you keep in the freezer? Depending on the type of product, the shelf life of chicken meat is different.
Requirements for GOST and SanPin
Chicken can be found for sale:
- Cooled. Meat temperature - up to 25 ° . At -5 ... -8 ° C, the meat is stored for 3 months, and at -18 ... -24 ° C - a year.
- Cool (from -2 to +4°С). Store at temperatures of -2 to + 2°C. If it is a whole carcass, it is stored for 5 days, and if it is cut into pieces, no more than a few days. In the freezer, it will retain its useful qualities throughout the year.
- Frozen (down to -12°C). Store at -12°C. A whole carcass can be in the freezer for up to 8 months, divided into parts - 30 days.
- Frozen (up to -18°С).According to GOST, it is stored at a temperature of -18 ° C. A whole chicken can be in the freezer for a year, and a cut chicken can be in the freezer for 3 months.
At storage temperatures down to -25°C, a whole carcass can be stored for up to 14 months.
How to choose the right one
If the chicken is in the package, the date should be on it. If it is absent, it is better to open the packaging to check the quality of the product. When buying in the market, the chicken should be sniffed at the incision on the stomach. Fresh meat is virtually odorless. The carcass should not smell of bleach or vinegar. These smells confirm that the bird has been lying down for a few days and they have tried to "resuscitate" it.
It is also worth paying attention to the condition of the skin. If the chicken was sold loose, it should be a bit dry. Its normal color is white. The fat bird and the corn-fed bird have a slightly yellowish tint.
If you press fresh chicken meat, it will quickly spring back into shape. The poultry should be pink and the fat should be light yellow. You shouldn't buy a product that's in a puddle of pink liquid. This indicates that the bird was soaked for a long time to give it extra weight. If the bird is frozen, there should be no pieces of ice on it. Ice crust indicates repeated freezing.
If you plan to freeze poultry for several months, it is recommended to get a chilled one. Its advantage is that even without leaving the counter, you can determine the freshness of the product. And it will be much easier to prepare chilled poultry by dividing it into pieces.
Rules and methods of storing raw chicken
If you bought a chicken in the market that was slaughtered yesterday, you can safely put it in the refrigerator. If the bird was recently slaughtered, it should be kept in the refrigerator for a few hours before freezing. Currently, chemical processes are still going on in the meat, and if it is frozen, it will negatively affect the taste.
Ice
The chilled carcass can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The same time is stored in its parts: fillet, chicken legs, back, wings. Chilled poultry is immediately placed in the freezer after purchase. There it can last up to 7 months.
Frozen
Frozen poultry is kept in a home freezer for about six months. But only if it doesn't thaw.
Thawed
Poultry should not be refrigerated after defrosting. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. After thawing, his muscles lose their previous structure, so they will deteriorate much faster. The bird should be cooked and kept still ready to use.
Waste
On the refrigerator shelf, by-products are kept for up to 6 p.m. For long-term storage, the offal is placed in the freezer. At a temperature of -8°C, they can be stored for up to 60 days, and when it reaches -18°C - up to six months.
Finished
Cooked poultry is kept in the same container in which it was boiled or cooked. If it was necessary to take meat and broth, the chicken is boiled again, cooled and put in the refrigerator.
It is forbidden to store prepared meals in the compartment with fish or raw vegetables. After thawing, do not refreeze, it will affect the quality of the product and its nutritional value.
Once thawed, cooked poultry should be eaten within a few hours.
Boiled
If a grill was cooked, the poultry should be removed from the broth and placed in a container. The broth should be discarded. Due to the rapid growth of the broiler, harmful substances accumulate in its cells, which are released during the cooking process and remain in the broth.
Advice! If you plan to store boiled chicken in the refrigerator, it should be vacuum sealed. Its shelf life is therefore extended to 5 days.
Frozen chicken is stored, both in broth and without, for 90 days. Freeze it in small portions to make it easier to thaw. Plastic bags are not suitable for storing boiled poultry.
Fried
Fried chicken can also be frozen, only after defrosting it will be a little tough and only suitable for salads. It is frozen on the day of cooking, only the meat must be completely cooled beforehand. It is allowed to store no more than a month.
Smoke
Smoked foods should be treated with extreme caution. Even a slight violation of cooking technology will lead to spoilage of the product. It is recommended to freeze only small parts, for example wings. They must be packed in special freezer bags. This will prevent them from coming into contact with raw foods.
You should not buy a bird that has a white bloom in the folds, indicating the presence of a microbial breeding process. When frozen, the finished product can be kept for 1 month at a temperature of -17°C.
Grill
The shelf life of grilled chicken is the same as that of fried foods - 1 month. Since the sub-zero temperature negatively affects the taste, it is recommended to use a refrigerator.But the thermometer in it should not show a temperature above +6 ° C. Chicken meat can stand on the shelf in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Before storage, it is placed in a container with a sealed lid. Thus, the meat will not come into contact with other foods and will not absorb foreign odors.
At room temperature, grilled chicken goes bad within hours. Therefore, you should not put a bird that has been on the table for more than 6 hours in the refrigerator, this will not save it. Place the grilled chicken in the refrigerator as soon as it has cooled.
Important! Failure to observe the shelf life can lead to food poisoning. If the bird develops a foreign smell or taste, it should be discarded.
Marine
If marinated chicken is placed in the freezer, it will not affect its taste. Poultry should be frozen with the marinade. Do not add onions to the marinade, it can give a bitter taste. Chicken should be marinated for two hours before freezing to enhance flavor.
We recommend storing marinated poultry in the freezer for 2 weeks. Then it is thawed at room temperature or in the microwave. Many housewives add pickled pieces to their first dishes, which makes them tastier. Pickled poultry is stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, then the processes of decay begin, which can seriously harm health.
How to Freeze Properly
It is not recommended to store whole carcasses in the freezer, they must be cut into pieces. This will freeze them faster and take up less space. The prepared bird is placed in a bag, paper or container. It is advisable to stick a sticker, then you will know exactly how long the meat is in the freezer.
Frozen poultry should be quickly divided into pieces and placed in the freezer so that it does not have time to melt. If you plan to cook the chicken whole, you don't need to cut it. The carcass is placed in a dense plastic bag, the air is removed from it, and then placed in the freezer.
Choice of containers
Packaging for storing chicken must be:
- moisture resistant;
- sealed;
- sustainable.
Each piece of poultry should be wrapped separately. By-products and minced meat should be stored in separate containers.
Plastic bag
It is not recommended to store chicken meat in a plastic bag. First, the chicken is wrapped in cling film or foil, then put in a bag. The bag of chicken must be ventilated before the bag of chicken is sent to the freezer.
It is not worth storing smoked meats in a bag, especially if you do not use a freezer, but a refrigerator shelf. Condensation accumulates there, which will lead to rapid deterioration of the product.
If the chicken was purchased in branded packaging, it is not removed from the packaging. In this bag, the bird is placed in the freezer.
A plastic container
It is convenient to store jellied meat in plastic containers. It will stay in the freezer for about a month and in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It is taken out of the freezer in small portions, thawed and eaten throughout the day.
Glass
For storage, both in the refrigerator and in the freezer, glass containers are often used, which are covered with aluminum foil on top. This helps protect the product from extraneous odors.If there is no foil in the house, you can use a plastic lid.
Empty
In vacuum packaging, chicken can be stored at -5°C for up to 1 year. If the meat is left on the refrigerator shelf, it will stay fresh for about 10 days.
How to extend the shelf life
If it is not possible at this time to put the chicken in the freezer, the following methods will help to extend the shelf life:
- Ice. The chicken is placed in a container with ice, prolonging its freshness for 2 days.
- The vinegar. In it, a cotton cloth is moistened and the chicken is wrapped. The shelf life in the refrigerator is one week. You can also grease the sides of the pan with vinegar and put the bird there. This will keep the chicken fresh for up to 6 days.
- Salt and black pepper. This mixture is rubbed with chicken and placed in an airtight container. It is stored in this form for up to 5 days. Rinse the spices before cooking.
If you choose between a bag and a container, it is better to take a container for storage. The bird will stay there for a few more days. You can also add ice in a plastic container.
Common Mistakes
Often, before freezing, housewives wash the bird. It's not worth doing. It is better to treat the bird with water after thawing. If for some reason it was necessary to wash it, excess moisture should be removed with paper towels or napkins. This will prevent the formation of a hard ice crust on the surface of the product.
Additional tips and tricks
Chicken should be inspected for feathers and dandruff before freezing. It is advisable to get rid of it. Also, by examining the chicken, you can determine whether it is suitable for long-term storage.From poultry, giblets should be removed before freezing. They are stored in a separate container.
Do not freeze poultry that has been refrigerated for 2 days. Harmful bacteria have already started to multiply there. Such meat should be cooked immediately. Heat treatment will kill germs.
The same is true for a bird lying down for more than 3 hours at room temperature. If the chicken has been in a room with an air temperature of +10°C for more than 24 hours, it should be discarded or used for cooking animals. Such meat will harm the human body.