Is Reheating Chicken Dangerous?
By earner
Reheating Cooked Chicken Safely
Reheating chicken in itself isn't dangerous, but you do need to understand FULLY what you're doing and where the chicken's come from and where it's been.
Just follow these simple rules and reheating your chicken won't make you ill:
- Starting with the chicken the first time round, make sure you don't leave it out - chill the chicken as soon as possible, keeping it covered.
- Ideally split down the cooked chicken as soon as you can and get it into the fridge. Even though it's still warm, it'll be OK to put it into the fridge so long as it's not close to anything else that it could warm up - so give it a lot of space until it's fully chilled. Usually I would cover the chicken straight after it's been served (possibly with some foil), then I'd ensure the leftovers were in the fridge and chilling within an hour, officially you have 1½ hours from cooking it to chilling it, but I like to play double safe.
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- Do not allow the cooked chicken to become contaminated by any uncooked/raw meat you also have in your fridge. Cooked meats should always be stored separately from raw meats, so ensure anything in your fridge is always covered well and wipe any splashes down immediately. If possible, keep raw meats on a shelf lower than cooked meats - this is because cooking will kill any bacteria present in raw meat, so if cooked meat drips onto raw meat it doesn't matter as the raw meat will be cooked, but if it's the other way round then you could be directly contaminating the cooked meat. If you always store meats in a covered container this lessens any risk.
- Ensure you reheat the chicken thoroughly. When reheating chicken it should be piping hot throughout. Piping hot means at least 75°C/165°F all the way through. So I'd make sure it had been reheated at this temperature for at least two minutes.
- Only re-heat the chicken once. Once your chicken has been cooked once, you should only re-heat it once more and eat it straight away. If you've bought a ready-cooked chicken and already heated it up, then this is where you start to stray into the unknown territory. If you bought the chicken raw, or frozen/raw, and have cooked it yourself once, then it's safe to keep and reheat the leftovers.
Reheating Chicken Summary:
So, the essential things to remember when reheating chicken are:
- Chill it quickly, get it into the fridge soonest
- Reheat it THOROUGHLY
- Only ever reheat chicken ONCE
Reheating cooked chicken can be safe, but you must be meticulous about where it's been and what you do with it next.
Follow these simple rules when reheating cooked chicken and you're completely safe.
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Comments
My pleasure stricktlydating
I enjoyed writing about reheating chicken, I've never been ill after I've reheated chicken - and I've done it hundreds of times.
it's just basic food hygiene, common sense and not being lazy. A lot of people are lazy and can't be bothered to pop the chicken into the fridge after they've eaten their meal. They sit down and get distracted, then 6-8 hours later (or the next morning) it's still sat out in the kitchen.
When chicken is left out at room temperature the bacteria starts to multiply. If it's been left out for a long time then the ONLY place for it is the bin.
Thank you for a well written hub and good advise.
As someone who now cooks alot more than they used to, I found this very useful hub to read. I don't like wasting food and now I won't need to! x
Remember, reheating chicken is exactly the same as reheating turkey. So is reheating turkey dangerous? The answer is the same for reheating turkey as it is for reheating chicken.
Be careful when reheating your Christmas turkey too. Simply do the right thing and reheating a Xmas turkey is safe. Enjoy your Turkey leftovers!
Thank you earner for your advice. Very useful info.
is reheating chicken after its been reheated 10 minutes prior counted as reheating?
Wonder if this applies to deep fried and then cold chicken eaten? I like to buy a bucket of Chicken from Kentucky Fried and I love the cold chicken right out of the Fridge. Maybe the chicken being Deep Fried makes a difference. Have done this all my life with no problems.
Good advice, thanks
Hi, thanks for the info. Just eating some chicken now and was wondering when will i know if i'm going to get sick. I have had chicken poisoning from KFC when i was a small boy so i know it's painful, i just can't remember it unfolding. Also, what should one do if poisoning does occur?
Thanks again,
nedlear
Remember, reheating chicken is exactly the same as reheating owl.
so i made a home made pizza 2 days ago with chicken on it is it okay to reheat in the microwve without getting ill?
good advice on chicken and really helpfull
I was cooking a roast chicken when my oven broke down. The chicken was warm but no where near cooked. My oven has since been repaired but the whole chicken has been in the fridge for 2 days. Should i just throw it out?
I'd certainly not eat that..... it's been part cooked and then kept in a refrigerator. It might be OK, but it's not worth the risk.
Thanks for clear well written instructions
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Food Poisoning in the News
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- Fines May Not Be Enough To Clean Restaurants - WFTV Orlando
Fines May Not Be Enough To Clean Restaurants WFTV Orlando Twelve hours after eating a fast food chicken sandwich, Deborah Jones was in a hospital emergency room. Doctors blamed undercooked chicken for her food poisoning. Jones said she doesn't think the state does enough to keep restaurant kitchens safe. and more » - 3 days ago
- Boy, 2, 'may have died of food poisoning' - The National
Boy, 2, 'may have died of food poisoning' The National ... suspected food poisoning in Sharjah on Saturday morning will be taken to India in a day or two, his family has said. Kevin Jinesh Mavara and his father, Jinesh Abraham Mavara, fell sick on Thursday evening shortly after a meal of chicken and rice. - 26 hours ago
Images by:Roast Chicken: Herman_Saksono
stricktlydating 2 years ago
Hi earner, thankyou for providing these details about re-heating chicken. It's very useful.
Best wishes.