Is it safe to defrost cooked meat and eat it (without reheating)
Say for example I had some marinated cooked chicken that I put in the freezer. Would it be safe to defrost this cooked chicken and put it in a sandwich without reheating it through first?
I know it's safe to eat cake out of the freezer, but I was wondering whether meat was different.
Best Answer
There is no mention on the fact sheet of needing to recook previously cooked, frozen chicken. However, be mindful of proper defrosting techniques, as not doing so may open the food up to contamination.
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Quick Answer about "Is it safe to defrost cooked meat and eat it (without reheating)"
More bacteria grows in the refrigerator than the freezer. Show activity on this post. You can eat it without any food safety concern with proper defrosting/thawing of course.How long after defrosting cooked meat can you eat it?
While foods are in the process of thawing in the refrigerator (40 \xb0F or less), they remain safe. After thawing, use ground meats, poultry, and fish within one or two additional days, and use beef, pork, lamb or veal (roasts, steaks, or chops) within three to five days.Can I put defrosted cooked meat back in the fridge?
If the meat is already cooked, you will lose a lot of the texture and flavor if you thaw and refreeze it again, so we do not recommend refreezing cooked meat. You should also not freeze (or refreeze) any meats that have been sitting at room temperature for longer than 2 hours or at a 90\u02da or higher for more than 1 hour.Do you have to eat defrosted food straight away?
If the food has been defrosted it must be cooked before being eaten to be safe. Once defrosted, foods should be consumed within 24 hours.Can you defrost meat and eat next day?
According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, ground meat, poultry and seafood need to be cooked within a day or two after thawing in the refrigerator. Pieces of red meat, like beef steaks, lamb chops and pork chops or roasts, should be cooked within three to five days of thawing.How to Safely Freeze Cooked Meats | 1 Minute Tips | DJ BBQ
More answers regarding is it safe to defrost cooked meat and eat it (without reheating)
Answer 2
Iceland sell frozen pre-cooked chicken drumsticks that you just defrost and eat and do NOT require cooking according to their instructions. They wouldn't be allowed to do that if it wasn't safe.
Answer 3
It's safer than eating cooked meat than has been stored in the refrigerator. More bacteria grows in the refrigerator than the freezer.
Answer 4
You can eat it without any food safety concern with proper defrosting/thawing of course.
Answer 5
I wouldn't. Freezing does not kill everything that lives on food and cooking food to a minimum internal temperature kills most microbes (but not all).
You're better off keeping raw chicken and marinade separate then combining as and when you require it.
Taken from US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service fact sheet:
Is Frozen Food Safe?
...Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage...
...Once thawed, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness.
Taken from FoodSafety.gov Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures:
Use this chart and a food thermometer to ensure that meat, poultry, seafood, and other cooked foods reach a safe minimum internal temperature.
Poultry: 165F / 74C
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