Hum...

Hard to say.

Those prepackaged chickens have a longer shelf time than the individual pieces, but only if it is in the really heavy plastic shrinkwrap like a turkey.

My suggestion would be to open it and take a whiff.

Anything doesn't smell right and it should go.

But, even after 5 days, I'm thinking that the only way I'd use it would be to pressure cook it for broth/stock.

You bought it about three weeks ago and it's been frozen for all but five days, which were under refrigeration. Sounds fine to me. I would cook and serve it without any qualms.

Jim

I agree with Jim....but don't serve it "rare"...make sure it's cooked through.
I am figuring it would take certainly 2 1/2 days to thaw completely...it's fine!
Linda C

Did a search and it says refrigerated 1-2 days. Since you put in the refrigerator frozen, you have to consider that it takes about 2 days to defrost so I wouldn't go any longer than you already have. The smell will tell you! LOL

Here are two links that say 1-2 days.

http://www.pastrywiz.com/storage/refridgerated.htm

and the one below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pilgrim's Pride Chicken FAQ

IF --
-- it was packaged in the heavy plastic
-- it was in the coldest part of the fridge and there is no way it spent any time at or above 40 degrees
-- it smells ok and is not slimey or sticky to the touch
-- you cook it thoroughly
-- and eat it quickly (in other words, don't pull my mother's trick of thinking the clock restarts just because it's cooked)

I'd risk it. The sickest I've ever been in my life was food poisoning from chicken, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Still, as others have said, it took time to thaw (generally about a day per four pounds). I wouldn't wait another day, though.

Ok, so I read your explanation. Now am I allowed to say "When in doubt, throw it out"?

The experts say to thaw meat overnight in the fridge, not on the counter. The experts say to keep your fridge in the mid 30s, which is close to freezing. In my experience the two are fairly incompatible. That is why I consider grocery shopping something that, like flossing, is a nuisance that's required more than once a week.

Bobby, one of my earlier memories of you is how you wouldn't serve bread in tea towels because you use a public laundromat. So while I'm sure any above advice saying to use the chicken is sound, I recommend tossing it, if only for peace of mind. Just my opinion!

Fenworth, I have my own portable laundry processor (front load washer/ventless dryer combo unit) now so the public laundry is out out out (actually I do still use it when the washing builds up, but am not obligated to)! I've had it since December! Now I can serve all the bread/rolls that I want! Too bad I haven't baked bread since December! The issues I had with the bread were that it would have been touching that towel AFTER it was cooked. And, I was serving it to others. The chicken will be cooked, and I'll be the only one eating the chicken; unless the cats sneak some when I'm not looking. If they dare risk the spray bottle treatment.

I just remmebered that when I bought it, the chicken was in the refrigerated (not frozen) section. So, what I should probably do is check the expiration/sell by date. And smell it... I'm at work now, but I'll check when I get home and make a proper decision then.

Thanks for your input!

The sniff test is a fairly good indicator. You can also feel bacteria as a slime. My cat Tuna used to be an excellent judge of fridge finds. If she wouldn't eat it I gave it a toss. Tuna was never wrong about what was edible.

Even "fresh" chicken should be rinsed with cold running water to wash away processing residue.

I seldom buy freezer meat because it is so hard to defrost and cook. So much trouble to sometimes save a few pennies on something that is of lower quality then when it was fresh. For fridge chicken I wash it and put it in a ziplock bag with a good splash of burbon. The whiskey makes a nice marinade and the alcohol keeps those little bacteriums to drunk to multiply.

: )
lyra

Actually I believe the current recommendation is to NOT rinse chicken because the risk of cross contamination via splashing water outweighs the benefits of rinsing it.

I read that, Fenworth, but I still rinse it. I'm careful (obsessive?) about cleaning any surface the chicken-water may have touched.

Bobby, I think it would be safer if the chicken had been frozen commercially. Because you froze it yourself, it took longer; the chicken actually spent a day or two at refrigerator temps before it was really frozen.
So five days in the fridge (six now), but maybe two of them were thawing days. The two days to get frozen takes us back to five (six today). We're on the edge for chicken. It comes down to two things. How fresh was the chicken when you bought it? And (very important) how cold is your refrigerator? My son used to get sick a lot when he lived in a house with a very small undercounter fridge. I think it didn't keep food cold enough.
So tell us, how does it smell?

If you want to make the decision easier, leave the chicken in the fridge a few more days until you are certain it is unsafe. Then throw it out. It works every time.

Jim

LOL, Jimster, that's a lot like my current procedure. Sometimes I cook it first, THEN let it sit until I'm sure I should throw it out.

Like many other posters, I think it depends on how fresh it was when you bought it, but I'd use the sniff test and go from there. Chicken past its prime will definitely fail the sniff test.

Annie

"don't rinse because cross contamination from splashing water..."

Good lord.

Pretty soon it's going to be "dont' buy chicken at all!"

And if it's going to be a few days before your trash gets picked up, freeze it again so it doesn't smell up your garage!

No lie - I honestly did this once with a piece of fish. It wasn't smelling yet, but I just didn't trust it and knew that if I put it in the trash can on a Thursday in August, when the trash wasn't scheduled to be picked up until Monday, it would smell to high heaven. So - I froze it and put the frozen fish in the trash on Monday morning. Just make sure you mark it.

I freeze stuff all the time to keep it until trash day.

Virginia, I do the freezer thing too..with raw meat bits especially in the summer...peeeeeeeuuuuuuuu...lol

All this chicken talk, talked me into chicken..I've got a simple S&P one in the oven now..Oh but the cavity has 1/2 a lemon, onion, garlic, snipped from the garden rosemary and 3 thymes...

My smoke alarm just went off...lol....

Freezing garbage. Now THAT's a new one to me! But then again, I've never stored my garbage cans in the garage. My raw meat scraps all go into plastic produce bags that I save for the purpose. And just to be sure it doesn't smell enticing to the racoons, smelly garbage bags get a splash of bleach.

I avoided this Post but I was curious to see if there was more to it ,than the Title.
Will you Throw it out, for crying out loud !!!!!
What are you losing $3 ???
Is not worth all this, your health is more important.
If it isn't, than cook and eat it.
Lou

fenworth, I've never frozen garbage, but I did freeze my daughter's pet rabbit, which died in February, and finally got a thaw in April that allowed me to give it a decent burial. (grin)

Never know what (or who) you might find in my freezer.....

Annie

AKA Annie Dahmer

LOL

Duane

p.s. Are you sure Elery knows what he is getting himself into?

p.s.s. Sorry for the off-topic remark.

p.s.s.s.

Bobby ...throw that $#*#9 chicken away!

Hey Annie I still have my kid's rat in my freezer and I don't have frozen ground...just a case of the lazies

Bobby what did you end up doing? Had I seen this sooner I would have advised you to throw it out.

Lou, where I live, it would have been more like $10.00 to $12.00 for a small chicken, not $3.00. I would have hated having to toss it but that is what I would do if it had been in the fridge for 5 days.

Ann

fenworth~my trash cans are outside. stink is stink...sitting in the sun all day..or sitting in the house..LOL

uh oh...

Where's Bobby? Did he eat the chicken?

I'm getting concerned. No posts from Bobby since Sunday. Must have eaten that chicken.

Bobby, you need a laptop and a wireless router so you can post from the bathroom!

LOL Denise - we had the same idea

I just threw it away. I didn't even try to smell it. Better safe than sorry does seem to apply. It was about four dollars for the chicken, but I throw leftovers away all the time so this time I just threw it away before it became leftovers!

Thanks for the healthful advice!

I've never frozen garbage btw! Maybe the next time I finish a carton of eggs, I 'll freeze the empty carton just to see what it feels like!

smart arse! ROFL

in my house those become garden compost..

Bobbie: I'm glad you tossed it. I don't care how much you paid for it.
A funeral would cost you a lot more. I'm a morbid sucker !
Ann:
Why are you telling me how much you paid for you Chicken?
I know ! you are hinting , because you want me to Sponser you, to become a US Citizen.
So you can get everything cheaper. You can't fool me !
LOU

Lou, I'm just envious that you can buy chicken and turkey, etc . so much cheaper than in Canada.

I lived in the US a couple of times and know how much cheaper your grocery prices are.

And I might not be a US citzen but my son is. Matthew was born when we lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan so he has dual citizenship.

I'm glad you didnt eat that old chicken too. Not worth it to get sick.