The Best Way To Freeze Chicken, According to an Expert
Freezing raw or cooked chicken is a great way to extend its shelf life. Here are the correct ways to do so.
We eat a lot of chicken, so I always stock up when I see chicken breasts on sale. When they’re individually wrapped, like at Costco, I just pop them in the freezer as is. But when it’s a big package of individual pieces, I typically open the package and freeze each breast separately in a zip-top bag.
There are some foods you should never freeze like leafy greens, cooked pasta, and egg-based dishes. But raw chicken is great in the freezer.
“Freezing chicken is an excellent way to extend shelf life and give consumers flexibility,” says Jacob R. Tuell, PhD, assistant professor at Northwest Missouri State University and member of the Institute of Food Technologists’ Muscle Foods Division.
That said, there are few drawbacks to freezing chicken when it comes to maintaining quality. “As chicken freezes, water held within the muscle cells begins to leak into the space between cells. This water then freezes, expanding as it does so, causing the cells to deform and sometimes rupture,” says Tuell. “This results in a decrease in the chicken’s ability to hold onto water, which can result in it being less juicy when cooked. However, if you avoid overcooking, most chicken products remain acceptably juicy.”
How to Freeze Chicken
The two key elements to freezing chicken correctly are timeliness and making sure it’s wrapped airtight, says Tuell. “To preserve the quality of chicken while freezing, the most important factor is to freeze as quickly as possible,” he says. “Quick freezing minimizes the amount of damage that occurs to the structure of the meat.”
Raw chicken should be used within 1 to 2 days of purchase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When it’s frozen, it can last for 9 to 12 months in the freezer. Or maybe even longer. “From a food safety standpoint, frozen chicken is safe to consume indefinitely so long as it remains frozen,” says Tuell.
Wrap Chicken Well Before Freezing
When you freeze chicken, it’s important to wrap it well. “Ideally, using an airtight packaging material like foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags is going to preserve the quality for longer,” Tuell says.
You can freeze a whole chicken or freeze each individual piece. Wrap tightly in a layer of plastic wrap or foil and then place it in a zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible. The USDA says it’s OK to freeze chicken in the original store package, but then you need to use it within two months to avoid noticeable freezer burn.
“Typically, the packaging most poultry products are in from the supermarket is permeable to gases,” Tuell says. “This allows the outside of the chicken to dehydrate over time in the freezer, causing freezer burn.”
Freezing Cooked Chicken
When you know you can’t eat all the leftovers, you can also freeze chicken that has already been cooked. For best results, freeze cooked chicken quickly in airtight packaging like a zip-top bag.
“Freezing cooked chicken is another great way to extend its shelf-life,” says Tuell, who points out that the USDA recommends using frozen cooked chicken within 4 months to keep quality at its best. “Although, again, it will remain safe to eat indefinitely as long as it stays frozen,” he says.
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