Not sure how to store the whole chicken you just bought at the grocery store? Get our best tips on where and how to store a whole chicken until you’re ready to cook it.
How to Store a Whole Chicken
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If you’ll be cooking the chicken right away, keep it in your refrigerator. If you don’t plan to use it in the next few days, you should keep it in your freezer.
How to Store a Whole Chicken In the Refrigerator
If you know that you’ll be cooking that chicken soon, keep it in your refrigerator. A whole chicken (or chicken parts) can stay in your refrigerator for up to 2 days before it should be cooked. Once it’s cooked, you should use it or freeze the leftovers within 3 days. If you won’t be ready to cook the chicken within 2 days, you should put it in the freezer.
Store a whole chicken in the original packaging, when possible. Always keep the chicken inside a tray with a lip, in case the packaging does leak. This will help to prevent any spills or cross-contamination in your refrigerator.
If the original packaging has a hole or a tear, repackage it for the refrigerator. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, put it in a large Ziploc bag, or in a large container with a lid. If your chicken is in plastic wrap or a bag, keep it on a plate or inside a tray with a lip to prevent any spills.
Make sure to keep the chicken covered while it is in the refrigerator. This will keep the chicken from drying out, prevent the chicken from absorbing any other smells from your refrigerator, and will prevent cross-contamination of other food and surfaces in your refrigerator.
How to Store a Whole Chicken In the Freezer
If you bought a whole chicken but don’t have a plan to use it in the next 2 days, it should be kept in your freezer. A whole chicken can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 year before the quality starts to decrease.
You can keep the chicken in its original packaging in the freezer. This is best if you’ll be using the chicken in a relatively short period of time. Not all grocery store packaging is air-proof, so over a long time in the freezer (months), the chicken may start to get freezer burned. If you re-wrap the chicken, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, plastic wrap and butcher paper, or Ziploc freezer bags.
A whole chicken can take a few days to thaw, so be sure to plan ahead when you’re getting ready to cook it. This article has some helpful tips for thawing chicken. And if you don’t plan to cook it whole, you’ll need to know how to cut the chicken apart! Check out this video for the step-by-step instructions to cut up a whole chicken.
Free Printable to Help Know When Your Chicken is Done
It can be hard to tell when chicken is fully cooked. Get our best tips, and grab the free printable cheat sheet to keep handy in your kitchen so you never have under-cooked chicken again!
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- How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken
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