Frozen chicken in the fridge, how long will it keep?

[D.E.S.K.Top668]

The title pretty much says it all; Last Wednesday I took a package of chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them in the fridge to defrost. I promptly forgot about them until yesterday. I tossed them but got curious. So, how long can frozen chicken breasts remain in the fridge before it would be unwise to cook them?
On a related note, how long can chicken be kept in the freezer before it should be tossed?

Thanks in advance - DESK

[Pullet]

I've found that it depends on my fridge. I've kept frozen chicken frozen for months on end without problem. Once I put them in the fridge to defrost, I've got about 3-4 days to cook them before they start to smell bad. I won't cook them once their funky. Even if you do kill the germs, they still smell weird.

YMMV.

[Si Amigo]

I'm not certain, but I think it may depend on how fresh they were when you froze them in the first place. I usally keep my meats in the fridge until the date on the sticker and if I hadn't consumed them by then I throw them in the freezer. I know that I do this so I never unthaw anything unless I am going to eat it that day.

On a side note, it may also depend on how cold your freezer was set at. I seem to recall from my HVAC class from college that it is recomeended that you keep it your freezer between 10 and -10 degees F in order for the cells in the food to form a strong bond. Any lower or higher and the food could come out mushy, even though it was technically "frozen".

Never eat smelly meat, that's just wrong.

[Miss Violaceous]

Also be careful to store them near the back of your freezer, and not in or near the door, if you're planning on keeping them a long time. That way they won't have any fluctuations in temperature when you open the door to get stuff. When you finally do get an informed estimate, it'l likely be a range of time they might be good for, and keeping them consistently cold will help you maximize that.

[Miss Violaceous]

Ah, you asked about fridge AND freezer. It still applies with the fridge, in fact more so because you open the fridge more!

I do it because Alton says so...