How long is already cooked chicken good for

Eating cooked chicken after this point can result in foodborne illness — even at refrigerated temperatures, bacteria can still grow. This might leave you with the question: Can't you just zap it in the microwave? Because microwaves heat food from the outside in, and not the other way around, reheating week-old cooked chicken in the microwave will kill bacteria on the surface, but it won't eliminate toxins produced by the growing bacteria beneath the surface.

Here's the bottom line: If your chicken is on day five, it's not safe to eat anymore, even after reheating. Cooked chicken should be stored in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag and refrigerated within two hours of cooking. If kept at room temperature longer than two hours, chicken can reach what's known as the temperature danger zone , or the range between 40 degrees F and degrees F in which bacteria grows most rapidly.

If you're not sure how long your chicken has been in the fridge, there's a few tell-tale signs it's past its prime:. A word of caution: Never taste your chicken to determine whether or not it's gone bad.

Doing so could result in a few hours spent hugging the toilet. Do you have a black hole in the fridge? A vortex that hides leftovers and then makes them reappear just when you have doubts about how safe they are to eat?

If you eat a lot of chicken, then that vortex has probably claimed more than a few potential meals. It happens. According to the USDA, you should eat cooked chicken within 3 to 4 days. Pretty simple. Use your best judgement. There are exceptions to this 3 to 4 day rule, including chicken salad 5 days , chicken hot dogs 2 weeks unopened, 1 week after opening , and packaged chicken lunch meat 2 weeks unopened, 3 to 5 days after opening , and deli chicken lunchmeat 3 to 5 days.

Any change in the way it looks, tastes, or smells is suspect. Mold, of course, means pitch it. So does a slimy or slippery feel. If frozen properly, the chicken will be edible indefinitely, but the longer it sits in the freezer, the higher the chance that the flavor and texture will deteriorate. Defrost frozen chicken overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stovetop or in the oven as needed. You can also reheat the chicken in the microwave, but it may dry out the chicken and make it chewy, so microwave with care.

By Lisa Cericola. Save FB Tweet More.