Frozen Chicken Question

[hka]

I was curious to see your opinions regarding frozen chicken. I've read before that if you have frozen chicken and you defrost it in the microwave, that you should cook it immediately. However, what if you want to marinate it first? Does anyone know if it's okay to defrost chicken in the micro and then marinate it before cooking it? Thanks in advance! :p

[Little Bit]

I can't really say about the microwave-it part of your question, but it seems likely to me that the more you do to that chicken, the unhappier you'll be with the quality of the end result. Do you really have to thaw the chicken in a hurry? I'm thinking it might be better to just put the frozen chicken in the marinade and put it in the icebox overnight. That way the bird can thaw and soak in the marinade for a while and you won't have to run the risk of cooking the chicken as you're attempting to defrost it.
This technique would only be possible if you took the chicken out of whatever wrapping it came in from the store before you froze it to begin with, so it might not suit your situation.

I routinely prepare whole birds so that I can pull them out of the freezer and put them straight in the oven. (Pull out the neck, gizzard, liver etc., fold the wings back on themselves, rinse the bird, put it in a ziploc bag and freeze.) When I do this I cook the bird fairly slowly so that the flavors of the seasonings I'm using have a chance to do their thing. Not exactly a marinade, but tasty.

Hope this helps!

:)

[Shirley Panek]

I usually have trouble with things that need to be marinated because by the time I think about dinner, I barely have time to defrost and cook it, let alone marinate it. ;)

However, that being said, I don't see why you couldn't marinate your chicken that was defrosted in the microwave. I mean, it's not like it's starting to cook, right? As long as you keep it in the fridge while marinating, I don't see what should be wrong with it.

Did the article you read say why you should cook it right away? Perhaps they were meaning don't wait several days?

Shirley

[vbak]

I do use the micro to start the thawing process,but never to completely thaw the chicken. I check the chicken during the process and when the meat just starts to become pliable I remove it from the micro and start separating the pieces. At this point, you could probably put it into a marinade. Too much time in the micro heats the chicken and sometimes the outer pieces start to cook. I think that is when dangerous bacteria might start to grow. Vicky PS I do use the micro to precook chicken{legs and thighs} before husband puts them on the grill.

[hka]

Thank you vbak, Shirley and Little Bit. I appreciate your input. I think you're right that what they meant wasn't to wait several days before cooking it. I just get really paranoid when it comes to chicken. It's a phobia of mine! :) I like the idea of partially defrosting it and then placing it in the marinade. I'll give that a whirl. Thank you all so much!:p