![](\"https:\/\/www.simplyrecipes.com\/thmb\/BqHYRE9JsqcEd4fDDmCKfsaApok=\/6016x4016\/Simply-Recipes-Best-Way-Freeze-Chicken-LEAD-01-565bde8b4983491d8e438e40f16b889a.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We eat a lot of chicken, so I always stock up when I see chicken breasts on sale. When they\u2019re individually wrapped, like at Costco, I just pop them in the freezer as is. But when it\u2019s a big package of individual pieces, I typically open the package and freeze each breast separately in a zip-top bag.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFreezing chicken is an excellent way to extend shelf life and give consumers flexibility,\u201d says Jacob R. Tuell, PhD, assistant professor at Northwest Missouri State University and member of the Institute of Food Technologists\u2019 Muscle Foods Division.\n<\/p>\n
That said, there are few drawbacks to freezing chicken when it comes to maintaining quality. \u201cAs 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,\u201d says Tuell. \u201cThis results in a decrease in the chicken\u2019s 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.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The two key elements to freezing chicken correctly are timeliness and making sure it\u2019s wrapped airtight, says Tuell. \u201cTo preserve the quality of chicken while freezing, the most important factor is to freeze as quickly as possible,\u201d he says. \u201cQuick freezing minimizes the amount of damage that occurs to the structure of the meat.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Raw chicken should be used within 1 to 2 days of purchase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When it\u2019s frozen, it can last for 9 to 12 months in the freezer.\u00a0 Or maybe even longer. \u201cFrom a food safety standpoint, frozen chicken is safe to consume indefinitely so long as it remains frozen,\u201d says Tuell.\n<\/p>\n Simply Recipes \/ Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n When you freeze chicken, it\u2019s important to wrap it well. \u201cIdeally, using an airtight packaging material like foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags is going to preserve the quality for longer,\u201d Tuell says.\n<\/p>\n 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\u2019s OK to freeze chicken in the original store package, but then you need to use it within two months to avoid noticeable freezer burn.\n<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, the packaging most poultry products are in from the supermarket is permeable to gases,\u201d Tuell says. \u201cThis allows the outside of the chicken to dehydrate over time in the freezer, causing freezer burn.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Another way to freeze chicken is by flash-freezing individual pieces so that they can get stored together but won\u2019t be stuck together when you take them out as needed.\u00a0To flash freeze, place chicken pieces on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure they\u2019re not touching each other. Freeze for at least an hour and then transfer to a zip-top bag.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n When you know you can\u2019t 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.\n<\/p>\n \u201cFreezing cooked chicken is another great way to extend its shelf-life,\u201d says Tuell, who points out that the USDA recommends using frozen cooked chicken within 4 months to keep quality at its best. \u201cAlthough, again, it will remain safe to eat indefinitely as long as it stays frozen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #Freeze #Chicken #Expert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We eat a lot of chicken, so I always stock up when I see chicken breasts on sale. When they\u2019re individually wrapped, like at Costco, I just pop them in the freezer as is. But when it\u2019s a big package of individual pieces, I typically open the package and freeze each breast separately in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13,194,702],"class_list":["post-809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dinner","tag-chicken","tag-expert","tag-freeze"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} How to Freeze Chicken <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Wrap Chicken Well Before Freezing <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\nFlash Freezing Chicken<\/h3>\n
\n Freezing Cooked Chicken <\/span> <\/h2>\n