Fresh chicken is one of the least forgiving things in a home kitchen. Most of what goes wrong happens between the shop and the pan, and almost all of it is avoidable. Here is the practical version.
Get it home cold
Buy chicken last on a shopping trip and get it into a refrigerator quickly. In Jordan’s summer heat, a car boot can undo a properly chilled cold chain in twenty minutes. An insulated bag is worth keeping in the car.
Refrigerate at 4°C or below
Raw chicken keeps for one to two days in the refrigerator. Store it on the bottom shelf, covered, on a plate or in a container that will catch any drips — that single habit prevents most cross-contamination in a domestic fridge.
If you are not going to cook it within two days, freeze it on the day you buy it rather than at the end of its fridge life.
Freeze at -18°C
Frozen at -18°C or below, chicken stays safe indefinitely, though quality is best within a few months. Portion it before freezing so you can take out only what you need — refreezing thawed raw chicken is where quality and safety both suffer.
Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter
Thawing at room temperature lets the outer surface sit in the temperature range where bacteria multiply while the centre is still frozen. Move chicken to the refrigerator the night before instead. If you are short of time, a sealed bag under cold running water works; thawing in the microwave is fine only if you cook it immediately afterwards.
Do not wash raw chicken
Rinsing raw chicken does not make it safer. It splashes bacteria onto the sink, taps and nearby surfaces, spreading contamination rather than removing it. Cooking is what makes chicken safe. Pat it dry with paper towel if you want a better sear.
Cook to 74°C
Chicken is done at an internal temperature of 74°C, measured at the thickest part and away from the bone. Colour is not a reliable guide — meat can stay slightly pink at a safe temperature and can look done well before it is. A digital probe thermometer is inexpensive and removes the guesswork.
Keep raw and ready-to-eat apart
- Use a separate board and knife for raw chicken, or do the chicken last and wash up in between.
- Wash hands with soap after handling raw poultry, before touching anything else.
- Never put cooked chicken back on the plate that held it raw.
- Refrigerate leftovers within two hours, and within one hour in hot weather.
A note on what you are buying
Storage and handling protect the chicken you brought home. What kind of chicken that is was decided much earlier — every Al Tahooneh chicken is raised on a 100% vegetable and grain diet, with no animal by-products and no animal fats.
Read about what the birds are fed, browse the fresh and frozen range, or find your nearest branch.
