Cook it or trash it?

njl

Chicken breasts from Costco in the big multi-pack (2 boneless/skinless breasts per pouch) with a sell-by date of 3-7-13 have been in my freezer since bought.  That's about 20 months in the freezer.  I know they're supposed to still be "safe" to eat, but would you cook and eat them, or toss them buy some fresher meat?  It's 4 breasts.  Bonus points if you've eaten frozen chicken "older" than this and can say how it turned out.

theyolksonyou

We didnt eat it, but when we moved to our current house there was a 5 year old whole chicken in the freezer of our old house.

njl

According to the USDA, frozen, it's good indefinitely.  AFAIK, taste and texture begin to suffer at some point.

travisstrick

It would still be safe 100 years from now but may not taste so great. I'd trash it.

stemc33

Cook it up and if it tastes good, eat it. If it tastes freezer burnt, feed it to the dogs.

caliking

I've eaten 3+ yr old meatballs (cooked Indian style), that moved with me from Chicago to Iowa, because my mom had cooked them. They were already cooked, and Indian spices are not necessarily gentle. Tasted great.

If the breasts are vac packed you may stand a chance. If you really want to, grill em but don't put too much effort into it Have a back-up in case they don't taste decent.

Or just cook something else to begin with

njl

This is to be part of my food over the Christmas holiday, so I've chickened out.  If it's no good, finding back-up food may be problematic.  I have a section of a rack of pork I seasoned and foodsavered/froze just a few weeks ago.  I just moved that from the freezer to the fridge.

stemc33

Well, you can be the chicken or eat the chicken, Eat or be eaten, Be the bug or the windshield, if you're scared say your scared, etc, etc. just kidding. Better safe than sorry. )

GATABITES

Trash it. Chicken is relatively inexpensive. 

Fred19Flintstone

Wilma is not into eating experimental food.

Terrebandit

It will be just fine, assuming that they stayed frozen since 3/2013. Those bags are vac sealed so there should be no freezer burning.

Carolina Q

If it looks freezer burned, I would toss it, but with a good vac sealer or if cryovac'd, I have never seen freezer burn. If I get lazy and throw something in a zip bag "for a few days" and then forget about it, burn can happen. But if it looks good, it will be good. I usually don't even bother to date what goes into my freezer. 

Black_Badger

I agree with what's been said, but I think it's really interesting no one has asked HOW you're planning to cook this chicken?

Would I grill it? Probably not, I think there's a good chance it'll b tough.

Would I smoke/BBQ it? Again, probably not, I only really like to do this with fresh, never frozen chicken, which isn't terribly expensive relative to most meats.

Would I stew it, or use it in a soup? Hell yeah I would!

So, what's the plan here?

Cheers -
B_B

Lit

I stopped freezing chicken. Unless you are getting the free range special organic etc chicken breasts you can get 4 breasts for under $10 and not even have to wait for them to thaw.

njl

I was planning to sous vide it and then sear in cast iron.  I still might...I moved it back to the freezer, still frozen solid last night...so I can either toss it later or try cooking it.

Foghorn

I have definitely eaten the exact Costco chicken you are describing well past (at least a year) the "sell by" date.  It is fine.

If it appears to have freezer burn then I toss it.  But I've never had that happen without a breach (caused by me) in the packaging. 

The breasts that have been frozen a long time don't seem to be quite as good as the ones that were "fresher", but they are "fine".  At this point, I think the onus is on you to cook it up and tell us how it tasted. 

gdenby

Probably edible. If the wrapping is sealed, and you are not seeing a lot of ice crystals on the surface, they might still be enjoyable. If they look dessicated, roast 'em w. butter and vegs and then use for broth.

DieselkW

I hate to throw anything out - I'm not squeamish about "old" meat, but "if in doubt, throw it out" applies to anything that smells. If they have any odor at all, they go in a ziplock and then outside, not the kitchen garbage.

Thaw those breasts and give it a sniff test. If there is no odor, they're good enough for soup. If there is no odor and no freezer burn, they're good enough for sandwiches.  The whole reason we cook chicken to 165f is to kill any bacteria - so we eat dead bacteria all the time.

Dinner with friends - I never feed friends suspicious meat, but I'll cook and carefully taste old meat for myself. Once chicken is 165f, it's safe to eat - it may not be desireable to eat, but it's safe.

NPHuskerFL

As long as it was frozen and never defrosted then refrozen it is ok. I'd cook it, taste it and if good....cool ....if not the dog or wildlife will appreciate it.

Zmokin

If you don't want to trash it, I would tend to chop it up and use it in something like chicken tetrazini or chicken salad sandwiches.  If it is covered with ice crystals, that is the moisture that has worked it's way out of the meat and is the sign of freezer burn.  If it was vacu-sealed and still looks like fresh breast meat when thawed, then it should be grillable.

bboulier

Trash it.  Chicken is cheep, cheep, cheep.....

Doc_Eggerton

I wouldn't have grilled it, but stir fried and added to rice it would have been fine.

henapple

Chicken is cheap...