If you're a chicken lover - you know it's not easy to get your hands on fresh raw chicken. While local butcher shops sell freshly cut meat - it is not one of the most preferred options to buy chicken. Nowadays, we usually depend on supermarkets to buy our chicken. While it's definitely a simpler option - ensuring the freshness of store-bought chicken can be quite challenging as most of the chicken in supermarkets are processed, frozen or packed. Well, if you too blindly trust or struggle to figure out if your raw chicken is of good quality, then you're at the right place. Here, we have curated a list of five tips on how to check the freshness of raw chicken that'll come handy the next time you buy or cook it. Check out the tips below:
Also read: 9 Cooking Mistakes That May Spoil Your Chicken
Here Are 5 Tips To Tell If Raw Chicken Has Gone Bad:
1. Look For Change In Colour
A change in colour is one of the easiest ways to tell if raw chicken has gone bad. Freshly cut chicken pieces have a pink fleshy colour- whereas a dull greyish or pale colour indicates that it's not of the best quality. If the latter is the case, it's time to discard the meat.
2. Feel The Texture Of The Chicken
Store bought chicken leaves little room for inspection as they are mostly packaged or frozen. However, do give it a touch test before cooking it. The best way to do this is by washing it. Chicken naturally has a glossy and somewhat slimy feeling to it. But if it still feels unusually sticky and mushy after washing,, there is a good chance that the chicken is spoiled.
Also read: How To Make Chicken Tender And Juicy - Pro Tips And Tricks
3. Smell The Chicken
Fresh raw chicken has a very mild smell or no smell at all. Chicken that has gone bad has a strong potent odour. If your chicken has a sour or a sulphur-like smell similar to rotten eggs, throw it out! This foul smell is due to the development of pathogens in the chicken.
4. Look For An Ice Crust
Have you ever noticed an icy crust around store bought frozen chicken? This usually happens due to the loss of moisture in the freezer and can impact the quality of your chicken. However, if the chicken has an unusually thick layer of ice around it - it is no longer good.
5. Look For Spots
Another thing to keep in mind while buying or cooking chicken is to look for spots. Does it have any odd coloured spots? While it's normal for raw chicken to change its colour over time - white, red, yellow or any type of dark spots indicate spoilage and may not be safe for consumption.
So, remember these tips the next time you buy or cook raw chicken!