One day or three weeks? The time a Costco rotisserie chicken will last in the fridge might surprise you.
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00:00One day or three weeks, the time a Costco rotisserie chicken will last in the fridge
00:05might surprise you.
00:07When it comes to grocery store rotisserie chickens, shoppers know that Costco's $5 rotisserie
00:12chicken is at the top of the list. In addition to staying so cheap amid the 2022 food inflation
00:18crisis, Costco's rotisserie chicken is well-seasoned, easy to repurpose in other dishes, and downright
00:24addictive.
00:25The rotisserie seasonings include MSG, sugar, and salt, which together provoke the same
00:29cravings as potato chips.
00:31As delicious as Costco's rotisserie chickens are, they are not immune to the effects of
00:36time. So we've put together a few good tips for how you should be storing your Costco
00:40rotisserie chicken for optimal flavor and texture, and how long you can keep it around.
00:45Sometimes you're busy and you can't get around to eating everything in your fridge before
00:48it expires. However, while products like cheese, eggs, and certain juices can be kept past
00:53their expiration dates, meat should not.
00:56Generally speaking, you can keep a Costco rotisserie chicken in your fridge for up to
01:00four days. If you've stored your chicken properly, you can potentially keep it for a fifth day,
01:05but no longer. Proper storage involves airtight containers or tight sealing in foil or cling
01:10wrap.
01:11Another key piece of storing your rotisserie chicken is to keep it above raw meats in your
01:15refrigerator. Raw meat should always be stored in leak-proof containers on the bottom shelf
01:20so they don't drip onto other foods and cause foodborne illnesses.
01:23If raw meat juices drip onto your Costco rotisserie chicken, you should throw it out immediately,
01:28regardless of its expiration date.
01:31If you want to keep your Costco rotisserie chicken for a few days after you've bought
01:34it, it's important not to leave it out on your counter. Bacteria grow quickly on food
01:39left at room temperature, so if you leave your chicken out, it will become unsafe very
01:43quickly.
01:44Two hours is generally considered the length of time you can keep food out before it starts
01:48to get risky. If you want the chicken to stay warm, you can keep it in a warm oven
01:52about 200 degrees to maintain the temperature without making it unsafe or drying it out.
02:00Planning to bring your rotisserie chicken to a summer picnic? Then you'll need to dial
02:04that safe zone back an hour. Bacteria multiply especially fast when temperatures soar over
02:1090, so you'll need to eat fast.
02:12It's sad to see a beautiful rotisserie chicken's shelf life cut so tragically short, but there
02:17is no way around it. If you know from the get-go that you don't plan to eat your meat
02:21right away, your best bet is to put the chicken in the refrigerator right after you unpack
02:26your groceries. That way, the time in your Costco cart plus travel time still doesn't
02:30hit the two-hour mark.
02:32To really buy yourself some time with your rotisserie chicken, colder temperatures are
02:36your ally. Your fridge is perfect for short-term storage, but if you don't think you'll be
02:41consuming your chicken within the next few days or just don't want the pressure of knowing
02:45you must finish it in that time frame, you can simply freeze the chicken.
02:49Rotisserie chicken that's been frozen will last up to three months, so it's a great way
02:53of providing yourself with some backup dinner options.
02:56To freeze a rotisserie chicken, you'll want to be especially careful to use an airtight
03:00container, which both prevents freezer burn and preserves its juicy flavor.
03:05To minimize the amount of space the chicken takes up in your freezer, you can cut up or
03:09shred the chicken first, and store it in freezer Ziploc bags for convenience.
03:14Cutting up or shredding the chicken also makes it easy to use the chicken in other
03:17dishes, but it's totally fine to freeze the chicken whole if that's the way you want to
03:21eat it.
03:22To defrost frozen rotisserie chicken, simply leave it in the refrigerator overnight. If
03:26you'd like it hot, 30 minutes in an oven at about 350 degrees should do the trick for
03:32a whole chicken.