Refrigerator time

[Papagena]

My husband and I processed 5 chickens last Sunday. Nine days ago. I let them rest in the fridge and then went out of town for the holidays-completely forgetting to freeze them before I left, so they're still in the fridge. Should we freeze them or throw them out?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

It really depends on how cold you keep your fridge. Open a bag and smell, a tainted odor is unmistakable. If it smells fine then freeze four and cook the other tonight.

If their odor offends you can boil them and feed back to the birds so they don't go to waste.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

In my fridge they'd be fine for that long. It's temperature dependent. When working with meats back in the day chicken came packed in ice and would be that way for weeks. Not frozen but darn cold. Your nose should tell you, a faint smell will taste fine but if rank you certainly wouldn't want to eat it as that odor will be the taste of the meat.

 

[donrae]

I agree to sniff them and go from there. If they smell fine, they're going to be fine to eat.