One of the common ways to preserve chicken is to put it in the fridge.
But can you put hot chicken in the fridge?
Yes, you can refrigerate hot chicken but it is not recommended. This is because refrigerating it hot could change its texture and taste.
This is because refrigerating cooked chicken traps the moisture inside, making it soft and loose its taste.
The best thing you can do instead is to allow the chicken to cool a little bit before refrigerating it.
This is to make sure that you will not lose the flavor and texture of your chicken after refrigerating it.
How to cool cooked chicken faster?
If you are in a hurry, you might be wondering how you can cool down the cooked chicken fast.
To do this, you will have to put it in a shallow bowl and refrigerate it for around 20 minutes.
Another method is to place the cooked chicken on a plate, cover it with plastic food wrap and refrigerate it.
However, as mentioned, this is not the best cooling method as it potentially affects the overall quality of the cooked chicken.
Another method you can try is to put ice around the plastic to speed up the cooling process.
This should cool the chicken and refrigerate it at the same time.
How long should you wait before refrigerating chicken?
You should refrigerate the chicken only after it has reached room temperature.
Ideally, one hour is enough time to wait before refrigerating it.
As mentioned, the hot cooked chicken should not be refrigerated because the refrigeration process can potentially deteriorate the both texture and taste of the chicken.
This is why refrigerating hot chicken is not recommended. It should only be refrigerated after the chicken has cooled down a little bit.
How long can you refrigerate chicken?
You can refrigerate the cooked chicken for around three to four days maximum.
Any longer than this the chicken might have an unpleasant taste.
This is because refrigerating cooked chicken traps some of the moisture inside, making it soft and losing its taste.
The best thing to do is to refrigerate the chicken after cooling it for around an hour.
This allows the moisture to evaporate, keeping the texture and taste of the chicken intact.
However, refrigerating cooked chicken cannot prevent bacterial growth which should be prevented by proper refrigerating practices.
If you are planning to keep your chicken for future use, make sure that you store it properly.
Refrigerate or freeze it correctly.
What refrigerating chicken does to the taste and texture?
Refrigerating cooked chicken can affect its taste and texture.
When refrigerated, the moisture inside the chicken seeps out and is taken away by the surrounding air.
This causes it to lose its flavor after refrigerating it.
The protein cells inside the meat break down during refrigeration, making the chicken dry and lose its natural juices.
The moisture loss can be prevented by refrigerating it in shallow containers.
When refrigerated, the chicken is colder than the air which is why refrigerating it deeper will make these natural juices harder to preserve.
It can also affect the color of the chicken by making it pale.
Although refrigerating cooked chicken is still safe to eat, it might not be as good in quality depending on how long you refrigerate it.
How to refrigerate cooked chicken properly?
Before refrigerating cooked chicken, you will have to cool the meat down first.
You can use the techniques mentioned above to cool the cooked chicken before refrigerating.
It is important to refrigerate the chicken only after it is cooled down a little bit.
This is because refrigerating it with hot meat inside will result in moisture loss, changing its texture and taste.
You should refrigerate the chicken only after it has reached room temperature.
Ideally, one hour is enough time to wait before refrigerating it.
After the cooked chicken has reached room temperature, place it in an airtight container or any safe container and refrigerate.
If properly stored, cooked chicken can last longer in the refrigerator.
But it is important to note that refrigerating cooked foods does not guarantee that the food will last forever.
You need to check it regularly to make sure that it is safe and in good condition.
One of the best ways to monitor the safety of the food is to put a label on the container indicating when the cooked food was stored.
This will provide you with future references and also allow you to easily determine whether or not the meat is still safe to eat.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the hot chicken should not be refrigerated in the fridge.
It should only be refrigerated after the chicken has cooled down a little bit.
The best thing to do is to allow it to cool for around an hour.
This allows the moisture to evaporate, keeping the texture and taste of the chicken intact.
After the cooked chicken has reached room temperature, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
As long as you do it right, the cooked chicken should last for days.
But always make sure to check the quality of the chicken before consuming it.
This is because refrigerating does not guarantee that the chicken will last forever.
In fact, some bacteria can grow during the refrigeration process. So make sure that refrigerated cooked chicken is still safe to eat.
I hope this helps. Thank you for reading.
If you are interested in learning more about refrigerating foods, feel free to visit my related articles here.
