Tips for caring for your chicken
TIPS FOR CARING FOR YOUR CHICKEN
Correct handling, storage and cooking are all equally important when cooking chicken
1.HANDLING
- Do not wash fresh or frozen chicken.
- Wash hands and equipment thoroughly in hot soapy water after handling raw poultry.
- Do not place cooked product on plates used for raw chicken.
- Use separate boards for chopping raw poultry and other foods.
2.STORAGE
- Always cover raw chicken and store it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator below all other foods.
- Thaw frozen chicken completely in a refrigerator or defrost in a microwave prior to cooking.
- Do not thaw chicken on a bench or under running water.
- Once thawed, cook within 24 hours.
- Do not refreeze after thawing.
- Always cover raw chicken.
- Best practice – If refrigerating cooked chicken for later use, do so as soon as possible after initial cooking.
- COOKING
- Chicken must be cooked thoroughly before eating.
- The internal temperature for bone-in chicken should be 82°C.
- The internal temperature for all other chicken should be 76°C.
- Best practice – Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- A useful guide is to cook until the juices run clear. This does not remove the need to use a meat thermometer.
For additional information refer to https://pianz.org.nz/cooking-poultry/