If you defrost a pack of chicken thighs/drums do you have to use them the same day?

[IwantPeace]

I have a pack I want to defrost. I want to pull the meat off and use of half of the pack one day for a stew and half the next for a chicken risotto.

Is this possible?

I would defrost the lot, take the meat off the half for use today and leave the other half on the bone in the fridge for tomorrow.

How will you be defrosting it?

Personally I would cook them within 24 hours of them being defrosted, so if you say cooked the stew tonight and the risotto tomorrow morning it would be OK. But that's if you defrost them in the fridge; if you're microwave defrosting them you need to use them straight away because the micro leaves hot spots even on defrost that can let bacteria breed.

The advice is to use within 24 hours of defrosting. So if you defrost half quickly, but pop the other half into the fridge so that they defrost slowly overnight, they should be fine to cook tomorrow. (If they are a frozen lump, start defrosting them, then after a wee while, you can break the lump in half, and pop half in the fridge)

I was going to defrost in the fridge.

Defrosting in the fridge absolutely fine as it won't get warm so bateria won't start growing IYSWIM.

Even if they did a bit a thorough cook would sort that out.

I would still follow my original plan, which will be absolutely fine.

Thanks