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| Preparing Cooked Chicken Thighs for the Freezer... |
When I don’t want to can chicken, I usually
cook some and package it for the freezer.
I purchased a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs at
Costco, not quite 10 pounds worth, for $2.79 a pound. They are packaged together in 6 separate bags
you can cut apart. I put half the big
package in the freezer uncooked, and then I cooked the other half. I started with about 4 ¾ pounds of raw meat;
after cooking I ended up with 3 pounds of cooked chicken plus a half-pint of
chicken broth. I package mine in 4 ounce (1 cup diced chicken) portions for our 2-person household. I
got 12 packages of 4 ounces of chicken thigh meat for $1.09 for each meal-sized
package for 2 people.
My husband
was surprised at how little work was involved…we had coffee and relaxed while
the chicken was cooking and cooling. I like to have this on hand going into chicken salad summer.
There are some safety precautions you
should take when cooking raw chicken. The
advantage to cooking a larger amount of chicken at a time is reducing this
critical clean up to just one time for several meals.
- The chicken
should be cooked to 165° - it even was marked in large type on the
packages. An oven probe like mine that
beeps when the right temperature is set is great; otherwise use an instant read
thermometer to check before your chicken may be done to keep it from cooking
too long.
- I dispose of
all the packaging and paper, etc. that has come in contact with the raw chicken
in a plastic grocery bag I can put in the trash without contaminating my sink
or counters.
- Use a
plastic cutting mat for cutting the raw meat and put it in your dishwasher or
clean and sanitize right away after using, the same for your knife, kitchen
scissors or anything else that comes in contact with the raw chicken. While your chicken is baking, clean and
sanitize your sinks and counters.
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| Packaging Cooked Chicken for the Freezer |
Here’s the
method I use for preparing chicken thigh meat for the freezer.
Chicken Thighs for Cooked Chicken
Meals
3-5#
pounds chicken thighs, boneless,
skinless
Preheat oven
to 425°. Put racks on the slots above
and below the center slot in the oven.
Prepare oven meat thermometer. Place extra-wide aluminum foil on 2 half
sheets.
Cut thighs
in half so they lay flat. Sprinkle with
salt and pepper if desired. Place on
foil lined half sheets, not crowding.
Place the
probe in one of the thickest pieces of meat and set for 165°.
Place sheets
in the oven; connecting probe. Set one
timer for 10 minutes and another for 20 minutes.
After 10
minutes reverse pan locations and continue baking until thermometer registers
165°.
Total time
about 20 minutes, depending on how cold the chicken was at the beginning.
Let cool on
pans 10 minutes; then combine chicken on one pan, weighing the amount of
chicken so you can estimate how many quart freezer bags you will need.
Refrigerate
about 1 hour.
Label bags
while chicken is cooling; package chicken in 4 ounce portions, cutting to get
the right amount. Pieces can be left
whole as they can be cut for the recipe when needed.
Freeze up to
one year.
