Would you cook this chicken?

[Thejoyfulstar]

On Thursday night, I took a pack of 4 huge chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them into the fridge to thaw. I kept checking on them and they were still partially frozen until today.

I get really nervous about meat being past its date (I don't know when the breasts went into the freezer) and read once that meat smelling fine isn't necessarily a sign that it hasn't gone off.

What would you all do? Would you cook it?

Yes, I wouldn't hesitate.

If chicken is off, the smell will tell you. It's unmistakable. You say it was still partially frozen until today - it'll be fine.

Thanks Drama.

Exciting update...iys not fully defrosted yet. Will it be OK tomorrow?

If it's sealed in a watertight package, just put it in some cold water for half an hour to defrost completely.

If you cook them in a hot enough oven or over high heat on the hob to start with, and check carefully that they're cooked through before serving, they'll be fine today. I'd take them out of the fridge now as it will speed up the final defrosting. It's not a warm day (where we are) and we don't have the heating on in daytime unless it's really freezing, so our kitchen is usually very cool.

I would cook them yes.

I wouldn't as I thought they needed to be used within 1-2 days of being taken out of freezer, and whilst some bits were still frozen, others weren't. Unless it's properly vacuum packed (not just wrapped) which may give you an extra couple of days.

Off chicken smells absolutely vile. If it doesn’t stink it will be fine.

They are properly sealed in their packaging. If I leave them on the counter, how long before I can cook them?

Yes, wouldn't worry about it at all. While some parts of the chicken were still frozen, they will have been keeping the rest of it very cold, acting like an ice pack.
Just check that it is properly cooked through, as you always would with chicken.

Cook it as soon as you like, I would say. I've cooked chicken breasts before now that were still frozen in the middle when they went into the oven, and they were fine.

This is the reason I don’t freeze anything,
I tried in the past but end up throwing things away due to fear of food poisoning.

Well that's a bit extreme in fairness.

There really is nothing to fear as long as you use some common sense. The freezer is a wonderful invention and saves an enormous amount of food waste and money if used appropriately. I use mine a lot for leftovers that can be used to make a meal for one or two on another day, or for making good use of bulk purchases at a good price.

You can cook chicken directly from frozen. I do it regularly. you need to make sure it is cooked all the way through but there are many ways to do that, often easier if the whole lot is frozen from the beginning. You simply need to adjust the cooking time or method.

no need to avoid freezing chicken or throw out good food.