# gamey chicken **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827 "2015-10-07T16:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/1 "2015-10-07T16:34:45Z")
I bought some chicken breasts at the meat counter of my grocery store. Fresh chicken breasts, not packaged and nitrated. Took them home, put in fridge, left for about a week. I pulled them out, they smelled a little gamey. Not deeply rank, but a bit more than what I expected. I rinsed them well, rubbing under the water, then cut them up and roasted them in the oven. After that, they still smell a little gamey. Are they safe to eat? Is that just an aesthetic thing? Should I be worried? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/2 "2015-10-07T17:07:10Z")
Um, you can’t leave raw chicken in the fridge for a week. Don’t eat it. Cook it sooner next time. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/3 "2015-10-07T17:12:04Z")
Getting sick from gamey chicken is what you _would_ wish on your worst enemy. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/4 "2015-10-07T17:57:41Z")
yeah, cook it or freeze in in a day, maybe two. Especially if it is advertised as not having any preservatives. If it’s not preserved, it’s actively aging\* all the time. \*rotting, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/5 "2015-10-07T19:32:05Z")
If chicken smells off, it’s not safe to eat, period. You might get away with it, but given the possible consequences, I wouldn’t risk it. Freeze it or cook it sooner next time. COOKED chicken can hold up quite well in a refrigerator, but you’re gambling with salmonella or worse with raw chicken. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/6 "2015-10-07T19:59:29Z")
I’m pretty lax when it comes to food safety, but a week in the fridge for chicken would be past the point where I’d try to eat it for me. If it smells gamey and feels a bit smiley and tacky, dump it. Not worth the risk. I try to eat or freeze any raw chicken within three days. Maybe four if I feel like lady luck is shining upon me. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/7 "2015-10-08T22:21:28Z")
Thanks. I’ll pitch it. I noticed the smell was caught in the oven and stinking up the place. Had to air that out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/8 "2015-10-08T22:27:07Z")
What about the practice of hanging birds for days, outside? I remember a scene from _Shogun_ where the villagers cut down Richard Chamberlain’s bird because it smelled too bad. I assume people actually did that? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/9 "2015-10-08T22:38:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What about the practice of hanging birds for days, outside? That’s usually for gamier birds than domestic chickens, and nobody sensible is hanging their pheasants outside. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/10 "2015-10-08T23:04:44Z")
I’ll also note that [rinsing chicken](http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/08/31/216948010/dont-panic-your-questions-on-not-washing-raw-chickens) does no good and in fact can do harm because it potentially spreads contamination to other surfaces. Salmonella can’t be rinsed off. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/11 "2015-10-09T20:06:28Z")
One note: when I went to throw out the chicken, it smelled like fish. Um, yeah, not eating that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamey-chicken/733827/12 "2015-10-09T20:16:32Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > when I went to throw out the chicken, it smelled like fish. Um, yeah, not eating that. You don’t like Chicken of the Sea?