Can defrosting chicken make it slimy?
I bought chicken drumsticks on January 11th and froze them on the 11th. They had a best before date of January 13th. I put them in the fridge yesterday to defrost and am cooking them now but they were slimy. They didn't smell though. Does frozen chicken go slimy when defrosted? Safe to eat? Thanks!
Best Answer
Chicken naturally contains a lot of water, it also absorbs some more from the cleaning process (up to 8% reportedly). Some manufacturers also "tumble" the raw chicken with brine to increase flavour and, of course, weight and thus profit.
The freezing process will damage cells in the meat as the water expands, so when the chicken is defrosted some of this water/protein mixture will escape from these ruptured cells. When cooking you may see this as a white gunge forming in the pan.
It can feel quite slimy once defrosted, but this is just the raw "juices" coming out. I buy chicken in bulk and vacuum seal/freeze it into portion sizes. Good quality meat and drying the chicken before freezing can help. Flash freezing is preferred, but this is not practical at home.
I believe food safety is OT here, but it should not be an issue as long as you follow all the recommended guidelines for storage temperature and times.
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Quick Answer about "Can defrosting chicken make it slimy?"
When cooking you may see this as a white gunge forming in the pan. It can feel quite slimy once defrosted, but this is just the raw "juices" coming out. I buy chicken in bulk and vacuum seal/freeze it into portion sizes. Good quality meat and drying the chicken before freezing can help.Is it OK if chicken is a little slimy?
Raw chicken shouldn't be slimy, sticky, or tacky and should be glossy and somewhat soft. Cooked chicken that has gone bad will usually be slimy, sticky, and overly soft.What does it mean if chicken is slimy?
Raw chicken should always feel moist, and slimy meat means that is no longer good for eating. Even after washing it, if it feels kind of sticky, that chicken has gone bad.How do you know if thawed frozen chicken is bad?
If the frozen chicken has no unpleasant odor, rewrap and thaw it slowly in the refrigerator. If after thawing, you touch the chicken and it feels sticky or tacky\u2014run the chicken under cool water. If the sticky or tackiness remains or it still feels slimy, the chicken has gone bad. Do not cook with it, throw it away.Can chicken go bad while defrosting?
Can chicken go bad while defrosting? Yes, the chicken can go bad while defrosting without proper method. Always be careful when defrosting any chicken parts, especially when it comes to the defrosting temperature and time.Big Mistakes Everyone Makes When Thawing Chicken
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