# Is the chicken any good?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 8, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061 "2003-07-08T19:10:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061/1 "2003-07-08T19:10:09Z")

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Ok so my mom wants me to cook some chicken for dinner. I happen to know it’s been in the freezer for at least 2 months. There’s ice crystals formed on it, but otherwise it looks fine. Is it alright to go ahead and cook it? or should I be scared?

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**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061/2 "2003-07-08T19:25:02Z")

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It’s probably fine. Ice crystals mean little.

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**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061/3 "2003-07-08T19:30:29Z")

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Well, cooking it properly gets you off the hook with any bacteria, but that doesn’t guarantee taste.

Actually, my family freezes chicken for months on end, and none of us had a problem.

Defrost properly and cook well, and you’re fine.

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**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061/4 "2003-07-09T00:43:57Z")

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It will not poison you. It may not taste much better than similarly prepared cardboard, but it will not poison you.

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**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-chicken-any-good/187061/5 "2003-07-09T01:25:58Z")

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It’s good to cook, but you might find that it releases a lot more water when it cooks.