Can you freeze cooked chicken?

[jp1]

We had a roast chicken for christmas dinner since it was just the two of us. Now we're leaving town for a week and won't be able to eat the leftovers. Can I freeze them or will they end up yucky?

[sweetana3]

I even freeze the skin and bones for stock if I cannot get to it. Wrap well and use as soon as possible so it does not get freezer burned.

[bunnys]

You can freeze cooked chicken.

I have found that in freezing foods, pretty much everything works with the exception of vegetables (and fruit.) With these two items, the water expands as the ice crystals form to the point that eventually they rupture the plant cell walls. So when the veggie is defrosted, it's mush.

I no longer eat animal products but I know if you freeze milk you just have to shake it before using, cheese kills the bacteria but will still melt nicely and I've never known of any meat product that was changed, cooked or uncooked.

Baked goods freeze well, too.

[razz]

We usually make a point of cooking extra and freezing in sutiable portions so that the chicken can be easily defrosted and eaten in stirfries, chicken salad, tomato sauce versions and added to soups. Highly recommend freezing excess chicken.

[treehugger]

Highly recommend freezing excess chicken.

I agree with this. Now that you know that you can freeze chicken, I suggest planning to freeze chicken regularly in the future. I find it to be a very helpful cook-at-home-on-a-budget strategy. Having already cooked meat in the freezer jump starts dinner on busy days, eliminating the need to order out. I always cook two chickens at once (same amount of time, energy, and mess as cooking one) and shred and freeze the extra meat in meal-size portions.

Kara

[Gregg]

If you don't have a vacuum sealer it will freezer burn fairly quickly so you need to use it up, but not much is handier than having a few packs of cooked chicken on hand if you're scrambling for dinner ideas.

[Blackdog Lin]

Oh yes, planning and cooking-ahead chicken to freeze is a wonderful thrifty-living thing to do.

This week in our local grocery store sale ad they have quarters for $.58/lb. in 10-lb. bags. We always buy at least one when they go on sale. On Saturday or Sunday plop the whole bag (I rinse it lightly first) in your largest stockpot, cover with water, bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 2-4 hours (it's pretty forgiving). Adding some veggies like celery carrots and onions will make your broth a little tastier, but I usually don't bother with it. Let the pieces cool - and save the broth! - and then clean all the meat off the bones. I HATE cleaning chicken, but DH helps when we do this, so it doesn't take very long. We get 3-5 meal-sized bags of cleaned chicken off a 10-lb. bag, and I freeze the broth in a container too for making soup or noodles later.

Gregg is right, vacuum-sealing it is best, but the last batch we did we just put in those freezer-type quart ziplocks and the last one I used was 6 weeks old and it was fine - though I wouldn't go much longer than that without vacuum-sealing.

[lhamo]

Tip for freezing if you don't want to invest in a fancy sealer thingy:

Fill a regular ziplock type freezer bag about 2/3 to 3/4 full. (I prefer the ones with the actual zippers -- find the others hard to close/guarantee the seal).

Use a straw to suck out the excess air and quickly pull out straw, close the zipper.

[jp1]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I just put the leftovers in a ziplock bag and squished it as flat as I could while sealing. It should be enough to make one of SO's favorites, buffalo chicken sandwiches, our first night back next week when we get home!

[Wildflower]

It is so convenient to come home and pull out of the freezer all ready cooked and shredded chicken. So handy to use in a variety of recipes...