You can put hot chicken in the fridge, as long as you have waited a while for it to cool down so that it is not too hot.
The way that you store your food once it has been cooked is incredibly important to ensure that it stays safe to eat.
This includes the fact that you can and should store hot chicken in your fridge once it has been cooked and when it has had some time to cool down, so that it is not too hot.
The importance of storing your food in the fridge
The way that you store your food is just as important as the way that it is handled and prepared before it arrives at you house or when you make it.
The fact that a refrigerator keeps the environment so cold reduces the rate at which bacteria and other microorganisms can grow in your food.
This helps you store your food properly and safely, which can avoid diseases such as food poisoning and will allow you to extend the shelf-life of produce, as well as raw and cooked food items.
Can you put hot chicken in the fridge?
It is imperative to be careful when you are storing different kinds of food to ensure that it remains safe to eat and that it does not spoil faster than it should. However, it is not always clear what the safest way to store sensitive foods, like chicken, is.
The reality is that it is actually best to store your chicken in the fridge where bacteria and microorganism growth is slowed, while it is still hot. However, it is crucial that you make the distinction between “hot” chicken and “scalding” chicken.
While it is safe to put hot chicken in the fridge after it has been prepared, it is not good to put searing chicken in the fridge.
This means that if your chicken is so hot that it cannot be handled or it burns your finger when you touch it, it can increase the ambient temperature of your fridge too much if you store it immediately without waiting for it to cool down, and this can cause the other food in your fridge to spoil faster than it should.
In more exact terms, generally, chicken that has an internal temperature of above 95 degrees Fahrenheit is too hot to be placed in the fridge.
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The next vital question then becomes how long should you wait for it to cool down before placing it in the fridge and how long will it last when it is stored in the fridge?
It is also crucial that you know how to store hot chicken in the fridge properly, aside from just how hot it should be before it can be placed in the fridge.
How long should you wait before putting chicken in the fridge?
Since you now know that you can put hot, but not extremely hot chicken in the fridge to store it, the next logical question is how long do you need to wait for the chicken to cool down before you can put it in your fridge?
In most cases, waiting about 15 minutes to 60 minutes gives the chicken enough time to cool down before you can place it in the fridge.
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Holding to this timeframe will allow you to not raise the ambient temperature of your fridge too much, but also to avoid the “danger-zone” for food items between 60 degrees and 5 degrees, at which food will be the most susceptible to contamination from bacteria and other microorganisms.
How long can you keep chicken in the fridge?
If you have waited an adequate amount of time for your chicken to cool, so that it is hot, but not scalding when you place it in the fridge, you also need to know how long this chicken will now be safe to eat.
Hot chicken that was placed in the fridge at the right time and temperature will last for about two to three days. After this, the chicken may start developing a strange texture and taste and will be generally unpleasant to eat.
How to properly store hot chicken in the fridge
Although the temperature at which you store hot chicken in your fridge is imperative to ensure that it is safe to eat for a while afterward, it is also important to store the chicken the right way once it has reached the desired temperature.
This includes removing any foil or covering from around the chicken, so that it can soak up any of the juices and air out if it has to and placing the chicken in an airtight container to prevent any possible unnecessary contamination.