Any food hygiene experts around pls?

[funkybobbles]

I am a chemotherapy patient with reduced immune system and any time I eat something even slightly past its eat before date it really affects me badly, hence why I'm asking for posters who know their facts pls.

I have bought a fresh whole chicken from Tesco and have roasted it. There's too much and I'm going away tonight . Can I FREEZE the remainder and if so, how do I re-cook it next week? (Defrost first and then heat it in the microwave? Or another way)?

I've been made nervous by another thread this week where everyone was talking about all the germs that are present in chicken if you don't cook it correctly.

It's a genuine question from a worried cancer patient so please be kind and pls don't comment unless you really know your food facts!

Thank you x

If you roasted it properly, i.e. so that the juices ran clear when you prodded it with a knife, rather than pink, then yes you can freeze it.

If I was going to cook with it later, I'd let it defrost and then use it that way. I wouldn't eat it just defrosted/cold though. So I'd make a curry or a pilaf or something with it. And make sure that it's been cooked thoroughly and for long enough so that it's piping hot

So, roast fully and eat what you want then. Take the meat off the bones whilst still warm. You want to aim to chill and freeze the chicken within an hour or so of roasting. So enough time to eat and then strip the chicken.

To reheat, defrost in the fridge and then reheat. You can do this in the microwave to piping hot, or cook into a sauce/pie etc. As long as it’s hot when you eat it you’ll be fine.

Yes, roast fully and cool as quickly as possible then freeze, easiest to do this in portions rather than trying to take it apart after frozen.

To defrost - in the fridge, may take up to 12 hours depending on portion size. Defrosting on the worktop in the kitchen generally means it will get too warm and bacteria thrives in warmth.

To use it after defrosting you can heat it in the microwave, oven, in curry, pies etc. But make sure it gets hot enough. The danger zone is between 40 and 60 degrees C, so make sure it is above 60 degrees. When I was catering (for children) if I remember correctly the food had to be a minimum of 67 degrees C otherwise we couldn't serve it.

Also, you can eat it cold, as long as it has defrosted in the fridge and not brought up to room temperature.

And eat within 24 hours once defrosted. But to be safe I would aim to eat it asap after defrosting.

Get a thermometer for checking temperatures of food. Assuming you're not neutropenic then you'll be fine. If you do end up with a barely existent neutrophil count I would err against freezing things at all personally as a belt and braces approach.

Thank you everyone, that's v helpful.

@AnnieOH1 not neutropenic at the moment, thanks for checking this.