How To Store Raw Chicken In The Fridge
To store raw chicken in the fridge, place the chicken in a plastic bag or airtight container and put it in the fridge. Before putting it in the refrigerator make sure to remove any liquid from the chicken to prevent from bacterial growth in the chicken.
Unless you are planning on cooking the raw chicken, you should keep the raw chicken on the lower shelves of the fridge, or in a freezer. In a sealed container, raw chicken can be stored for several days if you want to keep using a cooler. If you would like to keep a whole chicken for the next 24 hours, you can brine a whole chicken and then store in a cooler following the steps mentioned above. To freeze a whole chicken (including ground chicken), just follow the same steps listed above to keep the raw chicken in the fridge, but place it in a freezer.
You can keep chicken a bit longer if you are sure to wrap raw meat in a tight-fitting bag. To store your chicken in the refrigerator, put it in a sealed ziploc bag or wrap in plastic wrap, and then put it in a sealed container. Remember, you will want to clean the container or box that you are going to use for the chicken storage, and seal it tight.
Remove the chicken from its original packaging and tightly wrap again using plastic wrap, foil, or freezer paper. If any raw juices are leaching out of the original package, they must be removed, and cooked chicken placed into a bowl and covered with wax paper, foil, or wrapped tightly in plastic before placing it in the fridge. If you are keeping the raw chicken in the original package or anything else that was wrapped around it when thawed, put it into a pallet or trough that can catch any liquid dripping off of it.
When processing raw chicken, you want to be sure not to let germs grow on it, and you do not want any of its liquids, which may contain bacteria, to contaminate your kitchen surfaces, your cooking tools, or your other foods. When storing raw chicken in a cooler, we need to ensure that it stays too cool to grow bacteria, does not contaminate other foods with its smells or soak up smells from other foods, and does not contaminate other foods with its liquids, which may contain harmful bacteria.
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Make sure that the containers that you are using for storing your raw chicken in your fridge are clean and sealed correctly, and that they have no liquids on their bodies, as you do not want any liquids dripping into your cooler and spoiling it with bacterial growth. You also need to ensure you keep chicken breasts separated from all raw items in your refrigerator, as cooked meat is particularly susceptible to bacteria.
Another big reason to cover the chicken is because if you open your chicken, it will readily pick up any smells in your fridge, which will ruin your flavor. Just in case you needed one more reason to cover the chicken, exposed chickens can absorb odors from the fridge. Uncovered chicken may come into direct contact with other foods stored in your fridge, spreading germs. Uncovered chicken also absorbs the smells of the refrigerator, which may cause the raw chicken to have an odd flavor when cooked.
Do not store stuffed chickens in the fridge as germs may grow in the filling, even at low temperatures they cannot be killed. Bacteria can begin to flourish in temperatures over 40 degrees, so keep chicken under this temperature to extend its shelf life. You can still extend the shelf life of your cooked chicken one to three months by placing it in the fridge with temperatures below 0 degrees F. When cooking chicken (or even chicken marinated, grilled, or chicken stock), temperatures above 167 degrees F (inner temperature) will kill off harmful bacteria, like salmonella.
If you are defrosting chicken frozen in the refrigerator, the defrosted chicken may keep for another 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator before cooking. If you need to store the thawed chicken that is left over, you can only do so safely when it is been outside of the refrigerator for less than 2 hours, and even that depends on ambient temperature.
| Conditions | Can be safe Up To |
| Inside the Refrigerator | For 1-2 days |
| Outside the Refrigerator | for 2 hours |
Ideally, you are best off buying raw frozen or chilled chicken, getting it home before it is thawed out or gets past 40F, and storing it in the fridge once you get home. Raw chicken will keep for 1 or 2 days in the fridge, provided that it is kept at or below 40deg F. In extremely hot weather, or in a very old or crowded freezer running with poor efficiency, chicken will not keep that long. The length of time raw or cooked chicken can remain refrigerated will vary depending on how fresh the meat was at purchase, how much heat exposure was experienced during transportation from store to home refrigeration, and what kind of packing was used. Fresh chicken needs to be used within two days of the package date, and if it is not going to be used in this time, it needs to be frozen.
Once you open your chicken from the packaging, according to the USDA, you should keep it in your fridge no longer than two days. If you are unable to, you can keep the chicken in its original, sealed package, or you can repackage it into plastic wrap or ziplock bags, making sure you vent any air before sealing the bags. Leftover stuffing needs to be removed from the chicken ASAP to minimize bacterial growth, and then stored in an enclosed container in the fridge.
I would NOT recommend storing any uncooked meats (in this case, chicken) because there is such a high likelihood of contamination, as well as the total loss of flavour. When you scrape up ground chicken and put it into a fridge/freezer, the chances are very good that water drops stored in the ground meat will turn into ice. You should also wash your hands and remove any remaining chicken juices — because this is one of the parts of chicken where germs easily multiply.
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Refrigerated raw chicken or cooked chicken can safely last in a freezer for a few days at 40F or lower. Whole chickens stored in a freezer can safely last for up to one year, while pieces of chicken can last for up to nine months.
How long can I keep the raw chicken in the fridge?
Interestingly or not, the Cold Food Storage Chart from FoodSafety.gov, one of the official consumer tools for food safety, states that raw chicken, whether it is whole or cut into parts (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings), lasts in the refrigerator for one to two days.
How do you store raw chicken after opening?
You should put your raw chicken in an airtight container before carefully placing it at the back of the fridge for one to two days. To further maximize the preservation, you should double-wrap the chicken in plastic wrap or foil and place it in the freezer.
Can I store raw chicken in Tupperware in the fridge?
You can safely store raw meat or chicken in your Tupperware containers, ensuring that the meat that you place in your Tupperware isn’t hot. Whether you want to store raw chicken or ground beef, Tupperware containers are best for retaining the meat’s quality and freshness and preventing freezer burn.