How to Figure Out If a Whole Chicken Is Safe to Cook

Let me add my two cents. I would go ahead and eat it. I am not a super risk taker, but I have done this type of thing a fair amount of times in my married life. We have never gotten sick from doing it. But, like someone else said, I would be more concerned if the weather was warm/hot outside. Go ahead and eat it.

T.

If you had to think this much about that chicken...and take the time to ask...honestly, I would just toss the chicken and get another. It's worth your piece of mind..and cheaper than a co pay!.. We've all been there!!!

I probably wouldn't - just not worth it. But for what it's worth - my Mom thawed chickens and turkeys - always in the sink, always overnight. We never got sick. But for me, I get kind of paranoid.

Not a silly question.
M.

Hi M.-

My rule of thumb is if I'm spending this much time thinking about it, it's probably not worth it! If the family got sick you'd feel terrible, and if you had to go to the Dr., the co-pay would be more then the chicken was.

That said...A previous mom wrote that their mom left meat in the sink overnight and she never got sick. We had the same experience. My mom worked and left the meat to defrost in the sink the entire day, and we never got sick either!

Not a silly question at all.
Have a good dinner!!

The "experts" are going to say no, you should throw it out, and maybe you should, but confession time: I have done this more than once and we've been just fine.
Good Luck

Hi M.,
its probably okay but I wouldn't risk it. Make it a pizza night? ;0)
C.

It's not a silly question, that's why we're here, right?

I hope people don't think I'm crazy, but I do that all the time and it's always just fine. As long as it wasn't like 90 degrees last night where you live, it should be alright!

I always err on the side of caution. I'd throw it out. Just think if your family got sick. Eeks, that would be terrible and not worth $8.99! :)

You have already received alot of responses like mine but in case you're still on the fence, Go ahead and use it! I thaw my whole chickens exactly like you did.

Hi M.!

The most important thing for keeping food safe is to keep it out of the temperature danger zone. If any food sits between 40 and 140 degrees ferenheit for more than 2 hours it is potentially hazardous. On order to reduce the chances of the chicken giving your family food poisioning the chicken must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees farenheit. The temp must hold for a minimum of 15 seconds. It is never advisable to defrost anything in an uncontroled environment (like the countertop). The best four methods are 1. to put in in the fridge. 2. under cold running water at or below 70 degrees F. 3. microwave. 4. as part of the cooking process. This doesn't mean that the chicken is unsafe. It just potentially is (so helpful right). I teach a food saftey class for a large corporation so that is how I know all this. Do I always follow all of this in my own kitchen? I try but I know that is isn't always that easy. yeah I do this kind of stuff sometimes too. So if you consider all of the info I've given hopefully it will point you to the right answer. Good Luck.

That's how I always defrost our dinners. I take it out of the freezer in the morning & we eat it that night. No sickies here! Did I mention that I ALWAYS do this?

I think it is fine. I do this and have never had a problem. I usually go by smell & color. If it smells funny at all or looks discolored I would toss it. Hope this helps. Good luck