Cooked chicken how long is fresh

patchwork_cat

Hi
I wonder if you can tell me how long you keep the remains of a cooked chicken in the fridge for?

I usually say 48 hrs, but maybe in modern fridges it is longer - what does everyone else think?

donner_kebab

Hi Patchwork Cat!

I ususally leave it for 2 days but checked a Chef website and they said -

A whole cooked chicken can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days; cut-up cooked chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days

Hope this helps!

Luv Donner_Kebab!

katglasgow

emmm I think nothing of using Sundays left over chicken on wednesday or thrusday (I hope thats OK!). If I am going to freeze it I would do so within first day or so. Anything left in fridge beyond thursday goes into cats bowl.
I always make sure reheating chicken is absolutely piping hot all the way through.
Not sure if this is good advice or not, but my family are still alive and no-one has every been sick!

lewt

I't 3 days for most stuff as long as its cooled and wrapped properly..

i think chicken would be ok on wends, thurs would be pushing it a bit but if it aint made u ill............

missk_ensington

Does it not depend on how long you'd had the chicken when you cooked it or does it make no difference? (ie just bought it fresh, or cooked it on its use by date) x

lewt

missk_ensington wrote:

Does it not depend on how long you'd had the chicken when you cooked it or does it make no difference? (ie just bought it fresh, or cooked it on its use by date) x

not really as long as it wasnt off when its cooked but use your disgresion

bonnie_2

i cooked chicken on fri, had it again on sun and tues am still alive and kicking.

missk_ensington

I had food poisoning a few years bck after a holiday i Egypt and I can honestly say it was most dreadful, painful experience in my life (and thats after 48 hours of labour with an emergency ceasarean in the end!). Not sure if Id risk it again for a £2 chicken!

ladygrey_2

I've got one in the fridge bought on monday only a leg left but looks and smells fine

clockley_2

Aha, my area of expertise!

Legal requirements for a restaurant are that you keep cooked food for no more than 3 days. The Use By date should be stuck to regardless so if you cook it on the day of expiry, you should use it immediately. Of course, use by dates are there to cover the manufacturer, so in the home you can probably safely add another 24 hours, providing its been kept wrapped and refrigerated.

Hope this helps

Craig

snax

General rule is 3 days from when it was 1st cooked [provided it was cooked properly].
So if you had it for tea on sunday then use it by tea-time on Wednesday, having had it refridgerated for the whole 3 days.

Reheat quickly, thoroughly and to a high enough temp to kill any bacteria present [there are always some] .... so aim for a MAX of 30 min, to reach a MIN temperature of 82°C, for a period of not Less than 10 min, and then consume immediately.
Slice cooked meat as this allows the heat to penetrate quicker.

These are general catering guidelines but are well worth adopting in the home, but having said that, provided you have cooled and refridgerated any cooked foods quickly after mealtimes and kept them covered and in the fridge [at the correct temperature ... <8°C - see p.s. below] then you could extent the 3 days by a day [or two at the most] without any large increase in risk.


p.s. I prefer <6°C ,any lower and spreads become too hard and salad vegetables are at risk of being over chilled due to high water content.

* remember your nose is a fantastic tool in telling you what is and is not - don't be scared to poke a spoon in the middle of something and have a big sniff - you'll soon get to know the difference between stuff thats gone past it's best and foods that have a fully developed flavour.

Regards
S.