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How Long Can Cooked Chicken Stay Out Of The Fridge
Cooked chicken may stay out of the fridge for about several hours. If it is kept for a longer period of time, cooked chicken may go bad. You can place it in the fridge to preserve it for a longer period of time. Cooked chicken can be frozen to increase its shelf life.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you can safely keep cooked chicken out at room temperature for two hours. Any longer than that, and you are supposed to throw it away. You get a little more time, around nine hours, in winter, so you are better off throwing away cooked chicken that has been left out at room temperature for longer than two hours. The general rule is you should never let cooked chicken sit at room temperature for more than two hours, giving germs the opportunity to grow and get you sick. Following the general rule, you can keep cooked chicken for up to two hours at room temperature.
Knowing how long you can leave cooked chicken sitting out at room temperature is important, as allowing chicken to stay at room temperature longer than two hours could be hazardous. If your cooked chicken is in a sealed container, like Tupperware or Ziploc bags, then technically you can let it stay at room temperature for up to 2 hours, as long as you keep it under 90F, or for one hour, if you keep the temperature over 90F. It is dangerous to keep the chicken at room temperature for longer than two hours, or for an hour or less if your room temperature is 90degF (32.2degC) or warmer, because chickens can easily pick up bacteria, which could cause serious consequences.
Either of these methods would work, but you should never allow chicken to thaw at room temperature, as you run the risk of growing bacteria, and thus food poisoning. You should not place the warm chicken in your refrigerator, as this will increase the temperature in your cooler, causing bacteria growth.
| Storage Temperatures | Non-Storage Temperatures |
| 40 degF | 140 degF |
| 10 degC | 135 degF |
| 15 degC | 60 degF |
You may even want to return cooked chicken to the refrigerator 3 or 4 days before it goes bad. Thawed chicken needs to be cooked within a couple hours of being thawed, at most. Chicken that has been frozen in the fridge can stay frozen up to four days before needing to be cooked. Chicken that has been thawed in another manner cannot be re-frozen until after it has been completely cooked.
Chicken that has been cooked and left outside for four hours must not be eaten. In general, it is thought that chicken leftovers should not be eaten more than four days later. In fact, it is recommended not to eat leftover chicken any older than four days, as this is enough time to make it spoiled, regardless of the storage.
If you live in a warm climate, where temperatures are over 90 degrees F., or if your home is wet, chicken left outside longer than an hour is unsafe. If you live in milder climates or cooler weather, it is safe to leave the chicken outside for up to 2 hours. If it is warm or humid, you should not leave the chicken outside longer than one hour. If the kitchen or dining area in which you are keeping the chicken is extremely hot or damp, it should be eaten in under one hour.
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Raw chicken is safe to keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook, provided that you are cooking before its Best By Date. If you are planning on cooking a raw whole chicken at a later time, you are better off leaving a raw whole chicken in the freezer, where it will remain good for up to a year. The chicken will stay good for three or four days if left in the fridge. Raw chicken in the freezer The raw chicken, if left to sit in the fridge, needs to be cooked within one to two days.
For best quality, chicken roasted needs to be eaten within two hours after cooking. In general, cooked meat, especially chicken, should not be left more than 2 hours. In practice, however, you will want to defrost and eat any cooked leftovers for up to 4 months.
Cooked chicken should be safe for eating 5 days later, provided that you place it into a few sealed, airtight containers, and then put it into a refrigerator, making sure that it is never left outside of that for more than two hours during this entire process. For safe storage temperatures of cooked chicken in a freezer, you can put the chicken into airtight containers, or in plastic freezer bags, and store at 0degF (17.78degC) or lower for 3 to 4 months. This will keep bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli at bay as you enjoy your cooked chicken, and then put it into your refrigerator in an airtight container ASAP.
It is really important that once your cooked chicken has reached danger zone, you either want to eat it immediately or get it into the fridge within two hours to keep germs from infecting it. If you are cooking with chicken often, or baking with it, you will want to be sure you are not introducing bacteria from having it be raw, uncooked, or improperly cooked. While it is true you might not need to worry about the bacterial parts of a chicken (if it is cooked through), you will still have to be concerned with how much time it is been sitting around. If you think that your meal is still fine, and it is been sitting out just over two hours, you may want to take a bite out of the chicken and see if it is still tasty.
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It is safer to eat cold cooked chicken rather than waiting for it to get close to that danger zone. So, allow chicken out only two hours when it is 40degF (4.4degC) to 90degF (32.2degC), any chicken that is 90degF (32.2degC) or warmer should be left outside for just an hour or less. Since the USDA believes that sitting out more than two hours in temperatures between 40degF and 140degF is hazardous to any food, cooked chickens may sit out at something in between these two hours in 70degF. You can safely thaw frozen chicken in your fridge, in a cold-water bath, changing the water every 30 minutes, or in your microwave.
How long can cooked chicken be left unrefrigerated?
As a general rule, the cooked chicken shouldn’t be left out on your kitchen table or buffet for more than two hours unless it is kept warm, over 140°F. Any cooked chicken that has been at room temperature for more than two hours ought to be thrown aside.
Can you eat cooked chicken left out for 12 hours?
It is recommended to throw away cooked chicken that has been left out for more than two hours (or one hour above 90° F). This is because keeping cooked chicken between 40°F and 140°F promotes rapid bacterial growth. Try to put the cooked chicken in the fridge as soon as you can to avoid foodborne disease.
Can you leave raw chicken out for 3 hours?
When raw chicken is left at room temperature for longer than two hours, harmful germs frequently infect it. Only when raw chicken is refrigerated at 40° Fahrenheit or lower can it be kept fresh. For health reasons, you should avoid consuming raw chicken that has been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours.