How long is poultry good in the refrigerator

Individual pieces of raw chicken stay good in the freezer for 9 months, and whole chickens are good for up to a year when frozen. Freezing cooked chicken is a great way to reduce food waste. The best way to thaw chicken is to move the frozen package from the freezer onto a plate and into the fridge, and then let it thaw gradually.

If frozen chicken is thawed in the refrigerator, the defrosted chicken can last in the fridge for an additional days before cooking. Planning to cook your frozen chicken sooner rather than later? Eating cooked chicken that's past its prime is a recipe for intestinal disaster.

Whether it's grilled , fried , baked , or any other form of cooked chicken, here's how long cooked chicken will last in the fridge. Plus, get tips on how to properly store it and how to tell when it's gone bad. According to the USDA , cooked chicken will last three to four days in the refrigerator , and two to three months in the freezer. Eating cooked chicken after this point can result in foodborne illness — even at refrigerated temperatures, bacteria can still grow.

This might leave you with the question: Can't you just zap it in the microwave? Because microwaves heat food from the outside in, and not the other way around, reheating week-old cooked chicken in the microwave will kill bacteria on the surface, but it won't eliminate toxins produced by the growing bacteria beneath the surface. Keep scrolling, there's more! Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items. Use right arrow key to move into submenus. Use escape to exit the menu.

Use up and down arrow keys to explore. The tests for raw vs. Catchy, I know! Always remember -- no matter how delicious a cooked dish was when it was freshly made -- if its gone bad, it will probably get you sick.

Be merciless. When in doubt, throw it out. Eric Vilas-Boas is a writer and editor at Thrillist constantly asking himself questions like these. Skip to main content Eat Seo Longtail. You've probably taken chicken leftovers from a restaurant or saved some after making one of these delicious recipes at home, which leads us to the burning question: How long can you keep chicken in the fridge?

How to tell if chicken is bad -- whether it's cooked or raw. Smell: Does it reek?