Best time to cook chicken, to keep it from going off
Assuming no use of freezer, or desire to salt-cure/pickle/etc.
From how I was brought up, if I notice a piece of meat in my fridge is going to go off in the next ~24 hours; I'll always try to cook it so I can hold it for a couple more days (refrigerated again).
Intuitively, this makes sense - cooking the meat kills most of the bacteria and so gives more time before they build up the dangerous levels again. However, I am also aware that the bacteria cause toxins to build up - and those will make me sick at some point - so it is not as simple as just "resetting" the storage time by cooking the food.
I'm trying to figure out; when is the best time to cook meat that I know I won't be able to use in time - in order to keep it the longest?
To be clear - I'm looking to prolong the time I can keep the meat in total, without putting myself at serious risk of food poisoning.
Example:
- I have some raw chicken.
- It has a use-by date, of 4 days from now (and for this, we trust that is a reliable date - as it has proven to be for me in past experience)
- General consensus is that cooked food will be safe for 4 days in the fridge. See stack answer
Can I keep the raw chicken until day 4 (the day it says it will go off), and then cook it to get another 4 days cooked-storage time, giving 8 days total?
Or, does the initial storage time affect the cooked time; meaning that I should only store it for say, 2 days, and then cook it - giving me 6 days?
Noting that at the extreme end; if I cooked it immediately, I would have 0 days raw storage, and then only 4 days cooked time - giving me just 4 days total. Which is clearly not ideal (no advantage to cooking).
Compared to existing questions and answers:
There are a lot of really detailed answers on SE already about how long food can be kept in the fridge, or kept once cooked. There are also good answers on how you cannot cook food that's already gone-off, to save it, due to the toxins built up already (and that not all bacteria is killed).
However, the part I am struggling to do - is combine this information to know: "If I have a piece of raw chicken, that will go off in 4 days - and from USDA I know a cooked piece of chicken will last 4 days - when is the best time to cook it, to give me the longest total lifespan?"
Best Answer
The best time to cook is "now" as it gives germs less time to multiply.
If you have a slow cooker, sous-vide set-up, you can keep the cooked meat for up to 21 days in the fridge (for months in the freezer).
I must direct you to this previous question for more info on food safety.
Edit: If your goal is, as stated, to maximize the time you have chicken in your fridge without getting sick, 3 days + 4 days will give you seven days. However, from a food quality point of view, cooking "now" will give you more satisfaction.
Something else... you don't know how long the chicken has been dead already. I've seen some nasty looking chicken at butchers. If the skin looks dry, it has been dead for some time already.
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How do you keep chicken from spoiling?
To prevent food spoilage, foods should be stored at safe temperatures. For meat and poultry that means storing it in the refrigerator at 40 \xb0 F (4.4\xb0 C) . Foods will be safe indefinitely in the freezer, but if kept more than a few days in the refrigerator, spoilage will occur.How many days can I keep chicken in the fridge before cooking?
A raw whole chicken will last 1\u20132 days in the fridge. If you plan to cook it later, it's better to leave the raw whole chicken in the freezer where it will stay good for up to one year. Ground Chicken: Unlike other cuts of chicken, cooked ground chicken will last three to four months in the freezer.Can you partially cook chicken and finish it later?
Information. No, never brown or partially cook chicken to refrigerate and finish cooking later because any bacteria present would not have been destroyed. It is safe to partially pre-cook or microwave chicken immediately before transferring it to the hot grill to finish cooking.How do you keep chicken for 3 days?
Cooked, cut-up chicken is best when refrigerated for two days or less; whole, cooked chicken for three days or less. Store fresh, uncooked chicken on a low shelf of the refrigerator so it does not drip onto other items. For convenience and to prevent freezer burn, wrap separate pieces in foil or plastic bags.6 mistakes to avoid when cooking chicken!
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Nicole Michalou, Klaus Nielsen, Klaus Nielsen