How do you thaw chicken? How do I freeze chicken? What do I have to do to keep from getting foodborne illness? Marie answers these questions and much more.

 

I use a lot of frozen chicken. I like to buy it on sale and freeze it for quick and easy meals. When you want to freeze chicken there are a few things to keep in mind.

1-Take it out of the grocery store packaging. It is hard to thaw in the Styrofoam packaging from the store.

2- Make it into individual or meal-size portions for your family. You don’t want to thaw an entire block of chicken when you only need one breast.

3- You may want to cut it in cubes or butterfly it for easy use in recipes later.

4- Wrap it and freeze it flat on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a bag or container once it is solid.

 

There are three ways to safely thaw frozen chicken. I use all of these methods frequently depending on the day.

• (The best way in my opinion.) Place in a container in the refrigerator and thaw overnight. I use a Tupperware or a glass pyrex baking dish. If you can put a lid on the container that is even better.
• Thaw for 3-4 hours in cool water changing the water every 30 minutes.
• Thaw in the microwave. (It is important to cook it immediately after thawing so it does not spend too much time in the danger zone of 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit where bacteria grow quickly.)

Links from this episode can be found here.