The Perdue Chicken Cookbook

When freezing is necessary, seal chicken or other poultry in an airtight

container, heavy plastic bag, plastic wrap, foil or freezer paper.

Try to have the wrapping tight against the chicken because any place where

it isn't, small ice crystals will form. That means moisture has been drawn

from the meat, and where that's happened, the meat will be tough and

breading won't stick.

Frozen uncooked chicken can be stored up to six months; frozen cooked

chicken should be used within three months. (Personally I try to avoid

freezing chicken since I know that freezing makes the chicken less tender

and less juicy. Still, in spite of good intentions, I sometimes end up doing

it. I've learned to make it a point to have a wax marking pencil and freezer

tape handy, so I can label the package with the date and contents. I wonder

if you've found, as I have, that it's unbelievably easy to lose track of how

long things have been in there.)

Do not stuff poultry before freezing, and freeze cooked birds and stuffing

separately.

Can frozen chicken be thawed and frozen again?

Each time you freeze chicken, you sacrifice quality. If carefully handled,

however, it is safe to defrost uncooked chicken and to freeze it again after

cooking. If frozen after cooking, do not thaw and freeze again.

Why is chicken sometimes implicated in illness?

In a warm, moist environment, illness-causing bacteria can grow in

high-protein, low-acid foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk.

But there is no reason to become ill from eating or serving these foods, if

they are cooked thoroughly and served or refrigerated immediately. To

prevent transferring bacteria from one food to another, use warm water and

soap to wash hands, utensils and work surfaces before and after use.

What makes chicken tender -- or tough?

Frank does his best to make Perdue chickens as tender as possible, but

there's also a lot you can do.

Don't let chicken dry out in the refrigerator; dry chicken is tough

chicken. Keep it wrapped in the package it comes in until you use it.

Avoid freezing it. When the juices inside the cells freeze, they act like

little spears and they'll rupture some of the cell walls. When you defrost

the chicken, you'll lose some of the juice and the chicken will be less

tender.

Cook chicken to the proper temperature, using a meat thermometer or pop-up

guide. Cook bone-in chicken to 180 degrees and boneless chicken to 170

degrees. Undercooked chicken will be tough and rubbery because it takes a

fairly high internal temperature to soften the proteins in the muscles and

make them tender. But don't overcook chicken either, because moisture will

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