Staking up different cuts of chicken in your freezer is a relief. It is very convenient as you don’t need to rush to the market every night you cook dinner or have unexpected visitors.
But it can be frustrating if you forget to take the frozen chicken out of the freezer to defrost before preparing your dinner. And you don’t want the weird white look that the microwave imparts.
Plus, frying or cooking a frozen chicken cut can be intimidating to ensure the perfect internal cook on your piece. You can’t master the perfect cook on your chicken when it is frozen.
So, if the question of “Can you fry frozen chicken?” just went through your mind, let us tell you. Yes, frozen chicken can be fried. However, go through this post for guidance on “How to perfectly fry frozen chicken.”
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What Happens When You Fry Frozen Chicken?
Well, you can fry chicken like ordinary chicken. Just grab the packet, remove the covering, and put it in hot oil, but most health experts are against the idea. Frying frozen chicken brings many health concerns; you should think twice before frying it.
Health Hazards
Frozen chicken has many water molecules trapped within it, which causes a lot of moisture. If the meat is allowed to thaw, a lot of water evaporates, leaving less moisture in the chicken.
But if we fry frozen chicken with a considerable amount of moisture. In that case, all the ice crystals quickly melt together, causing excess water to be released. This instantly creates an irregular surface temperature. This increases the possibility of bacterial presence in the uncooked parts of the chicken, resulting in severe food poisoning.
Safety Hazards
There is another safety concern, due to which you are not allowed to fry frozen chicken. Let’s go back to the simple rules of high school science. An explosion is expected if you put frozen chicken in hot boiling oil. Just like the one if we accidentally throw some water droplets in boiling water and they splash back towards us. Throwing a big bowl of frozen chicken will obviously cause an accident, and you might get severe burn injuries.
The fire extinguisher units have even used this experiment to show people the dangers of deep frying frozen chicken. The bottom line is that you can deep fry frozen chicken, but it’s dangerous.
However, true to start, we have discovered a way to fudge the system and safely cook frozen chicken! The method you decide on depends on many factors we will cover.
According to USDA, the rule of thumb for frozen chicken is that it will take at least 50% longer than regular thawed chicken.
But according to us, the frozen chicken should be cooked double time. For example, if your unfrozen chicken wings take 5-8 mins to cook, your frozen chicken wings will take around 10-16 mins.
Choosing a Cooking Method
As stated earlier frozen chicken can be fried. It is merely a matter of choosing the best method for your specific cut and cooking it for a bit longer.
It would help if you always chose a way that cooks your chicken nicely and gives it the crispy golden texture on the outside.
Frozen chicken is available in different shapes, sizes, and forms, all of which will determine how you will cook them from frozen.
Chicken Cuts
There are plenty of different cuts of chicken that can be cooked, from breasts to thighs, drumsticks, and even a whole chicken.
The first thing you should consider is the size of the cut. Fitting a whole chicken in an air fryer is way too tricky than frying drumsticks.
Also, think about the precise method used to cook the piece of chicken. That method would function best to fry its frozen counterpart as well.
Drumsticks are almost always deep-fried in a pan. At the same time, chicken fillets are often fried in a pan.
Chicken Size
Different chicken cuts have different sizes.
The larger the piece of chicken, takes longer to be cooked. The same goes for frozen pieces.
Use the general cooking times guideline, and use your instinct if you can clearly see that the piece is bigger.
Can We Season Frozen Chicken?
The answer is a Yes! Chicken can be seasoned even if it is half or entirely frozen. However, the marination or the seasoning won’t impart a significant flavor to that pound of frozen chicken compared with its thawed counterpart.
A life-saving trick can be to always season or marinate your chicken once you purchase them and throw them in your freezer. This will enhance and impart a significant amount of flavor to your chicken.
How Do You Know If the Frozen Chicken Has Been Fully Cooked?
The methods to know if your frozen chicken has been thoroughly cooked are the same to tell if your fresh chicken is fully cooked.
- Using a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer in that part of the chicken piece, which is thick, and at another part of the chicken to ensure it is evenly cooked everywhere. The internal temperature of thoroughly cooked chicken should be around 165°F.
- Check the color of the meat. Chicken should be white if it has been thoroughly cooked. Any pink or transparent parts mean that it is undercooked.
- Press the chicken and observe the color of the juices. Pinkish or reddish juices mean that the meat hasn’t been thoroughly cooked. Cooked chicken always has clear juices.
- Follow cooking times. Do not increase the temperatures and for reducing cooking times. A higher temperature won’t cook the item quicker. Only cook the outside more.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the answer to frying a frozen chicken is Yes, frozen chicken can always be fried, but it has consequences. The health and other safety hazards make it a tough decision to take. But if caught in a situation, you should always follow the tips and tricks mentioned in the post. You can easily avoid accidents and have your favorite fried chicken dish at the dinner table.
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