How to Tell if Frozen Chicken is Bad

There’s nothing worse than having a stash of frozen chicken saved for a future meal and then realizing that it might have gone bad.

In this post, you’ll learn how to tell if it’s bad when you look at it in the freezer and if it’s safe to eat after you thaw it out.

Can Chicken Go Bad in the Freezer?

Chicken can go bad in the freezer for a couple of reasons: it was frozen past its expiration date and extended freezer burn. 

Freezing expired chicken or chicken that sat in the fridge for too long after you brought it home from the store, on the brink (date) of expiration is never intentional, but it does happen.

Once frozen, it’s hard to tell because it can appear fine. For this reason, it’s important to check if your raw chicken is still good before you freeze it.

What to do: thaw your chicken as you normally would and give it a close color and smell inspection before you cook it. It should appear pinkish without any grey or brown-looking areas and without a funky smell.

The good news is that freezer-burned chicken doesn’t mean it’s gone bad. This is a result of improper sealing, packaging that’s too thin to protect the meat from the cold temperature, or simply being in the freezer for too long. 

If you have freezer-burned chicken, read this post.

What to do: once thawed, give the previously crystallized-looking chicken a smell test and make sure the color is pinkish and there are no brown or grey areas.

How to Know if Frozen Chicken Is Bad

The best way to detect the quality of frozen chicken is to asses it’s color, odor, and scent, the latter being done after you thaw it.

• Do the color test
  Look at the frozen chicken pieces and check for discoloration on all sides. Are there any greenish or gray patches? If so, the chicken is bad and it should be thrown out.
• Do a frozen smell test
  Sometimes, frozen chicken that’s gone bad, can emit a light smell. This is different than good frozen chicken because it typically omits no smell. This happens because the chicken was frozen after it expired or it already had significant amounts of bacteria in it. If it smells frozen, it’s bad.
• Thaw and inspect
  The best way to really know if frozen chicken went bad is by thawing it first, never on the counter, and then doing a close inspection for color and odor. If your thawed and still cold chicken has off-colored patches or smells funky, it’s bad.

It’s best to thaw it out first since freezing can mask the spoiled chicken scent. Chicken that’s good has very little smell.

Does Bad Frozen Chicken Look Different?

Frozen chicken past its prime will have a greenish or gray color; if you notice this, it’s time to toss it out! Yellow patches across the surface or on the fatty parts are another tale-tell sign it’s no longer safe to cook and eat.

How Long Does Chicken Stay Good in the Freezer

According to the USDA, a whole raw chicken will last in the freezer for up to 1 year and chicken pieces are good for up to 9 months. In comparison, cooked chicken will last up to 4 months. More details about how long you can freeze chicken here.

If you freeze chicken before its best-by date, you’ll be able to maximize how long it will stay good in the freezer. Think of freezing chicken as hitting pause on whatever state it’s in, so if it’s fresh, it will stay fresh. And if it’s no longer good, you’ll definitely notice it’s gone bad once it defrosts. 

Even when cooked, expired chicken will have a slimy consistency, often creating a not-so-pleasant odor that may smell soured or rotten. And if the smell and texture appear fine, but the color is green or gray, definitely toss it!