frozen after cooking, do not thaw and freeze again.
Why is chicken sometimes implicated in illness?
In a warm, moist environment, illness-causing bacteria
can grow in high-protein, low-acid foods such as meat,
fish, poultry, eggs and milk. But there is no reason to
become ill from eating or serving these foods, if they are
cooked thoroughly and served or refrigerated immediately.
To prevent transferring bacteria from one food to another,
use warm water and soap to wash hands, utensils and work
surfaces before and after use.
What makes chicken tender -- or tough?
Frank does his best to make Perdue chickens as tender
as possible, but there's also a lot you can do.
_Don't let chicken dry out in the refrigerator; dry
chicken is tough chicken. Keep it wrapped in the package it
comes in until you use it.
_Avoid freezing it. When the juices inside the cells
freeze, they act like little spears and they'll rupture
some of the cell walls. When you defrost the chicken,
you'll lose some of the juice and the chicken will be less
tender.
_Cook chicken to the proper temperature, using a meat
thermometer or pop-up guide. Cook bone-in chicken to 180
degrees and boneless chicken to 170 degrees. Undercooked
chicken will be tough and rubbery because it takes a fairly
high internal temperature to soften the proteins in the
muscles and make them tender. But don't overcook chicken
either, because moisture will start to steam off, and the
more chicken dries out, the tougher it gets.
_Keep the skin on chicken during cooking. The skin