# Defrosted chicken



## Douzer77 (Mar 17, 2008)

Defrosted a chicken overnight but never got to cook it today, will it be okay to cook tomorrow or should i just throw it out?


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## babetoo (Mar 17, 2008)

Douzer77 said:


> Defrosted a chicken overnight but never got to cook it today, will it be okay to cook tomorrow or should i just throw it out?


 

did u defrost on counter or in fridg.?  in the fridg should be fine. if u did it on the counter, throw it away. not safe.

babe


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## Alix (Mar 17, 2008)

If you defrosted it in your fridge you are likely fine to wait another day. If you did the cold water method, you are likely still fine. However, if you left it out on the counter to thaw, you should probably chuck it.


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## auntdot (Mar 17, 2008)

Yep, defrosted in the fridge it will be fine.


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## GB (Mar 17, 2008)

Well it depends. How old was it when you froze it? Had it been sitting in your fridge for 5 days before you froze it or did you bring it home from the market and freeze it right away?


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## Douzer77 (Mar 17, 2008)

Defrosted on counter top overnight and then put it in fridge at 10 this morning when i left house for an hour ---- 12 hours later after Paddies day parade, rugby match and chinese in friends house i arrived home so reckon i'll chuck it!  

Btw, if I had defrosted it fridge would it have defrosted in 12 hours?  it weighed just under 5 pounds.


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## GB (Mar 17, 2008)

Defrosting on the counter is never safe so it is a good thing you are chucking it.


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## GrillingFool (Mar 17, 2008)

so what we are saying is that the chicken was unsafe by 10am this morning...
BEFORE it went into the fridge, right?

I just gotta learn my chicken etiquette! LOL


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## GB (Mar 17, 2008)

GrillingFool said:


> so what we are saying is that the chicken was unsafe by 10am this morning...
> BEFORE it went into the fridge, right?


Yes that is right.


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## PastaKing (Mar 18, 2008)

auntdot said:


> Yep, defrosted in the fridge it will be fine.


 
I second this. Why? Because I have done it 1000 times lol. Maybe even more. Don't know if you have kids, but life can get....ah.....distracted


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## BreezyCooking (Mar 18, 2008)

I LOVE these discussions - LOL!!!! But then I'm the "bad girl" of food safety defrosting around here - lol!!!!! Yet amazingly enough, I'm still alive to enjoy them - lol!!!

I always defrost my whole chickens on the counter (actually, inside my cold oven to deter pet interest) overnight & then pop them into the fridge the next morning. Even then they're still ice-cold to the touch & still frozen inside. If I defrosted them in my cold, cold fridge, it would take DAYS for a 5-pound roasting chicken to thaw, & frankly, I have neither the time or the forethought for that.

I would have definitely cooked & enjoyed that chicken - but heck, that's just me.


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## Barb L. (Mar 18, 2008)

If it was still cold to the touch, I would say its ok - smell it before cooking though.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 18, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> I LOVE these discussions - LOL!!!! But then I'm the "bad girl" of food safety defrosting around here - lol!!!!! Yet amazingly enough, I'm still alive to enjoy them - lol!!!
> 
> I always defrost my whole chickens on the counter (actually, inside my cold oven to deter pet interest) overnight & then pop them into the fridge the next morning. Even then they're still ice-cold to the touch & still frozen inside. If I defrosted them in my cold, cold fridge, it would take DAYS for a 5-pound roasting chicken to thaw, & frankly, I have neither the time or the forethought for that.
> 
> I would have definitely cooked & enjoyed that chicken - but heck, that's just me.


 
I do the same thing, but I put the bird or whatever in the sink.  The only side effect I have is my skin glows a little green.


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## Barb L. (Mar 18, 2008)




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## suziquzie (Mar 18, 2008)

Barb L. said:


> If it was still cold to the touch, I would say its ok - smell it before cooking though.


 
I second that motion. Depends on what time "overnight" started. If it was stil cold I'd say ok. I've had them still mostly frozen after sitting overnight, but my overnights are only 5-6 hours.


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## Douzer77 (Mar 18, 2008)

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, chicken is in the bin!!!! But i have always defrosted overnight on the counter cover with a bowel or foil. This particular birdie was def defrosted at 10 am but still cold to touch. Would have risked cooking it last night at 10 though, but no way would i have gotten out of bed to take it out of the oven!!!!!!!!!! 

Also agree totally with BreezyCooking would think it would take days to defost the birdie in the fridge and deffo don't have the time or energy to be planning that far ahead! is there a general rule of thumb or anything on how many hours in a fridge per frozen pound??? now don't all come back telling me it depends on how cold the fridge is etc etc, i'm just looking for an idea of times!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## BreezyCooking (Mar 18, 2008)

If it was still cold to the touch when you stuck it into the fridge @ 10 a.m. & it's still there, I'd definitely cook it.

But again - that's just me.  Many others here are sure to tell you that you'll end up in the hospital.

"You pays your money & you takes your choice" - lol!!


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## mudbug (Mar 18, 2008)

I would have cooked it the next day.


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## GB (Mar 18, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Many others here are sure to tell you that you'll end up in the hospital.


I do not know why it always has to be so all or nothing with you lol. There are plenty of other repercussions other than dying or ending up in the hospital.

I don't know about you, but I sure do not like diarrhea or headaches or other things like that and those are some of the more common symptoms of eating mishandled meat.

Cold to touch can mean so many different things. Your finger tips are close to 100 degrees if you are healthy. If you touch a chicken that is half of that then that could feel cold to you. That is well above the safe holding temp of raw meat. 

Any restaurant that left meat out on a counter overnight would be shut down by the board of health if that was ever discovered. There is a reason for that.

Now of course there are plenty of times when you can practice unsafe food handling and not get sick. You can also drive for 50 years without ever wearing a seatbelt and never getting into an accident. That does not mean that it is safe or even recommended.


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## BreezyCooking (Mar 18, 2008)

I know, I know GB.  I need a new signature line:  "Defrosting Drama Queen" - LOL!!!!


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## suziquzie (Mar 18, 2008)

Could we maybe have a "Questionable thawing method" forum??? 

I try SO hard not to click on these!!!!!


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## Jeekinz (Mar 19, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> Could we maybe have a "Questionable thawing method" forum???
> 
> I try SO hard not to click on these!!!!!


 
They call it "Poultry" here.


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## Caine (Mar 19, 2008)

What gets me is, the people that are telling you to throw your chicken out are the same ones who will defrost theirs in the refrigerator, then let it sit on the counter long enough to come to room temperature before cooking it.


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## GB (Mar 19, 2008)

Caine said:


> What gets me is, the people that are telling you to throw your chicken out are the same ones who will defrost theirs in the refrigerator, then let it sit on the counter long enough to come to room temperature before cooking it.


And just who exactly are you talking about Caine? I do not see anyone who has said to defrost in the fridge saying to ever leave it on the counter for an extended period of time.

I think you are confusing chicken with a big hunk of steak. The people who do advocate letting meat come to room temp before cooking it are not saying it should be left on the counter long enough to be dangerous. Letting it sit out for an hour is usually sufficient. FDA guidelines say that meat is safe in the danger zone for up to two hours so there really is not contradiction in the advice being given Caine.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 19, 2008)

GB said:


> And just who exactly are you talking about Caine? I do not see anyone who has said to defrost in the fridge saying to ever leave it on the counter for an extended period of time.
> 
> I think you are confusing chicken with a big hunk of steak. The people who do advocate letting meat come to room temp before cooking it are not saying it should be left on the counter long enough to be dangerous. Letting it sit out for an hour is usually sufficient. FDA guidelines say that meat is safe in the danger zone for up to two hours so there really is not contradiction in the advice being given Caine.


 

LOL....I never thought of that!  I actually 1) leave it in the sink overnight to defrost 2) put it in the fridge during the day  3) leave it on the counter to "aclimate" before cooking.  I do that will all meats.   LOL


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## ErikC (Mar 20, 2008)

First point I have to make about this (and I have made it before on other food safety threads): As soon as you ask the question, "is this safe?" you MUST answer "no." If the question has come up at all, that's a good enough sign that there is a danger, and this applies to poultry as much as anything. Sure, you might throw away food that was actually untainted, but the chance that you might end up eating tainted food is not worth the risk. Remember that food poisoning is potentially fatal!

If you want a good, fast, safe method to defrost a whole chicken, try brining it. Submerge it in cold water (completely) that has had salt and sugar added to it. You will get a really moist, tasty bird, and the water will regulate the temperature on the surface of the bird and prevent it from reaching the "danger zone". And it will defrost faster than if it is exposed to the air. Defrosting is not about temperature, it is about heat transfer, and water is far more efficient at it than air is.


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## Douzer77 (Mar 20, 2008)

Thats a great suggestion Erikc, have never heard of that before!  Does that work for other meats to be defosted as well?  How much salt and sugar?  Just a dash or a bit more?


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## GB (Mar 20, 2008)

Defrosting in cold liquid is the safest quickest way to defrost something. 

I often times defrost chicken in my sink filled with ice water. It works amazingly well.


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## ErikC (Mar 20, 2008)

Douzer77 said:


> Thats a great suggestion Erikc, have never heard of that before! Does that work for other meats to be defosted as well? How much salt and sugar? Just a dash or a bit more?


 
I like to make sure the water tastes salty and sweet, but not so much that it makes me gag. Too much is not a good thing as it can actually dry the bird out while cooking too. Also, feel free to play around by adding whole spices and bay leaves, but don't add anything acidic since it will start cooking the meat.

I have done this with turkey, and I also like to add red wine. This worked really well with buckets we used to get on the farm for animal feed: they were usually the perfect size to hold enough liquid to regulate the temperature but not require so much liquid that you wasted a bunch of wine. Best turkey ever!

As for other meats, I have done duck, pork and beef roasts, but never ham or anything else already flavored, as you can remove as much flavor as you add. If you like a pork picnic roast, this is the best way to do it. In fact I brine the meat even if it is not frozen, then I slow cook it for about 4 hours at 275 or so.


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