If you're at the mercy of a "sell by" date, you may not know exactly how long your chicken will last after you bring it home. And because microbes that can cause illness don't change the appearance or odor of food, you can't rely solely on a foul smell to tell you that your raw chicken has gone bad. Instead, use these concepts to determine how to cook chicken when it's freshest, safest and most delicious.
Refrigerator Temperature
Keep your refrigerator below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and store raw chicken in the coldest part of the fridge, which is usually the back of the bottom shelf or in the meat drawer. Make sure to decrease the storage time if you can't guarantee that the temperature will stay under 40 degrees F.
Package Dates
Package dates indicate the date by which the chicken should be sold and leave the store. Always cook or freeze the chicken within two days of bringing it home, regardless of what the package date tells you. Never store raw chicken in the fridge for longer than two days. In the store, commercial refrigerators keep the chicken colder than your fridge does, and putting it in your cart and transporting it home raises its temperature, allowing some bacterial growth.
Cooked Chicken
You can keep cooked chicken in the fridge for up to four days. Wrap the cooked chicken in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. Put it in the refrigerator -- at the back of the middle shelf -- as quickly as possible after it cools to room temperature. You can also store multi-ingredient dishes containing cooked chicken, such as chicken salad or chicken casserole, for up to four days.
Tips and Warnings
Don't trust your senses to tell you when chicken is safe to eat since many microbes are odorless, tasteless and can't be seen. However, you should immediately discard any chicken that has a foul odor or visible discoloration, even if it's within two days of bringing it home from the store. Some grocery stores refund the price of potentially contaminated food if you return it shortly after purchase. Don't try to rinse or wash chicken you think might be bad. That only contaminates your sink and kitchen surfaces without appreciably reducing the microbes on the chicken.
References
- University of Maryland Extension: Food Safety Chart
- NPR.org The Salt: Don't Panic! Your Questions on (Not) Washing Raw Chickens
- The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook; Jack Bishop
Writer Bio
Andrea Lott Haney writes articles and training materials for food industry publications. Having studied foodservice sanitation, nutrition and menu planning at Purdue University, Lott Haney has more than 10 years of experience as a catering and event planner for luxury hotels and currently tours the Midwest as a corporate customer service trainer and consultant.