CHICKEN is a delicious and healthy staple of many people's diets.
But is it safe to reheat cooked chicken? Here's everything you need to know.
Can you reheat cooked chicken?
In short, yes, you can, which is great news for those who hate waste.
However, when re-heating any type of poultry you need to be careful that you don't undercook it.
You must ensure that the reheated meat reaches a temperature of at least 75°C in the middle.
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But take care, as overcooking chicken can dry it out and make it inedible.
There is a fine line, but checking your food throughout the reheating process should make sure your leftovers are cooked to perfection.
Also, you should be aware of how long it's been standing in the fridge for — anything longer than three days and you should throw it out!
How many times can you reheat chicken?
Lydia Buchtmann from the Food Safety Information Council told SBS.com that you can actually re-heat chicken as much as you want.
The most important thing is that it should be piping hot all the way through.
Chicken must reach 75°C in the middle, according to the Food Standards Agency.
The only accurate way to measure this is with a cooking thermometer.
How to reheat cooked chicken?
Depending on the tools available to you and how you cooked the chicken in the first place, you can reheat your meal a number of ways.
Oven
A crucial step to keeping your chicken delicious is to pre-heat your oven before cooking.
Blot the chicken you want to eat before adding some oil to crisp up the skin.
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Food should be heated until it maintains the 75C or above temperature for two minutes.
Make sure it is piping hot all the way through before serving.
Microwave
Microwaves do not always heat food evenly throughout, so this requires a bit more attention than the oven.
Take your food out halfway through cooking and give it a stir to ensure your food is evenly heated.
Cook on full power for at least three minutes, and then let the dish sit for two minutes before serving.
The best way to make sure your food's ready to eat is by cutting the chicken up into smaller parts.
This ensures that the meat is properly heated all the way through and prevents the centre from being cold, which can happen if it's a big chunk of chicken.
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Add oil or butter to the hot pan before adding the chicken, and then cover if you want to maintain moisture.
Heat for around five minutes, flipping halfway to ensure the meat is thoroughly heated through.
If the meat has been separated into smaller pieces, make sure they aren't overlapping or touching each other.
Also, adding a few drops of water or chicken stock can ensure that it doesn't dry out.
Can you reheat defrosted chicken?
If the chicken was raw when frozen, and you fully defrosted and cooked it, then yes — you can freeze the leftovers after cooking.
For good food safety, do not thaw raw chicken — or any meat — and then refreeze without cooking it.
The best case is that you only have to worry about the quality being affected or freezer burn.
But in the worst case there could be bacteria that can make you unwell.
The Food Standards Agency says: "Reheating means cooking again, not just warming up.
"Always reheat food until it is steaming hot all the way through (you should only do this once)."
You can safely store and reheat your leftovers, while avoiding food poisoning, just make sure everything is cooked before storing.
