# How long to leave chicken to cool before putting it in the fridge?



## Robbie789

I cook for 3 days at a time and just do my chicken under the grill for 15-20 minutes on a medium heat, but was wondering how long you guys leave it to cool down before putting it in the fridge?

Also, how long do you reheat in the microwave when you wanna eat it?


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## Galaxy

Leave it cool down till its cold and heat it till its warm!!


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## ws0158

im lazy and put it in as soon as its tubbed up lol, got a big fridge so shouldnt be a problem, it will be cool in ten mins in fridge


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## Kamwe kuacha

I find leaving it until it's cold does the job! :laugh:


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## 2004mark

Just a few minutes, but don't cover it fully until it's cooled... hate all the condensation you get in the Tupperware.

Just reheat until it's hot... different depending on what I'm heating i.e. chicken by itself, curry and rice etc

Always find heating chicken on it's own will go dry no matter what as you're basically cooking it twice. The best chicken in the microware is to cook it from raw, I kid you not. Open the breast out with a knife so it's even thickness, drizzle a bit of EVOO over it, season and cook covered for about 3-4 minutes on full. Just cut it at it's thickest part to make sure it's cooked through. I don't do it often as don't really like taking raw chicken to the office, but it's much tastier!


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## Bull Terrier

Remember one thing carefully - the quicker you can cool down your chicken and stick it in the fridge the better it will be conserved, i.e. there will be less bacterial growth. It is the bacterial growth which leads to food spoilage.

Restaurants use blast chillers to cool down cooked food quickly, and the fridges are normally set from 2-4°C. At lower temperatures bacteria doesn't grow and propogate well.

Lesson is simple - cool your chicken down quickly and then stick it into a cold fridge. Since I doubt you'll have a blast chiller (just a wild guess  ), try putting the cooked chicken into a container which you then put into cold water to cool it down quicker. Once it gets down to approximately room temperature, place it into the bottom of the fridge. The bottom of the fridge is always colder.


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## Robbie789

Galaxy said:


> Leave it cool down till its cold and heat it till its warm!!





ShaunH101 said:


> I find leaving it until it's cold does the job! :laugh:




:blowme:
​
:001_tt2:


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## Robbie789

Bull Terrier said:


> Remember one thing carefully - the quicker you can cool down your chicken and stick it in the fridge the better it will be conserved, i.e. there will be less bacterial growth. It is the bacterial growth which leads to food spoilage.
> 
> Restaurants use blast chillers to cool down cooked food quickly, and the fridges are normally set from 2-4°C. At lower temperatures bacteria doesn't grow and propogate well.
> 
> Lesson is simple - cool your chicken down quickly and then stick it into a cold fridge. Since I doubt you'll have a blast chiller (just a wild guess  ), try putting the cooked chicken into a container which you then put into cold water to cool it down quicker. Once it gets down to approximately room temperature, place it into the bottom of the fridge. The bottom of the fridge is always colder.


 :thumbup1:


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## Kamwe kuacha

Haha! Ok on a serious note, I don't always let it totally cool down! Normally leave it for about 10-15 mins then throw it in the fridge! Been doing that for 2 years and not had a problem yet!


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## Bull Terrier

ShaunH101 said:


> Haha! Ok on a serious note, I don't always let it totally cool down! Normally leave it for about 10-15 mins then throw it in the fridge! Been doing that for 2 years and not had a problem yet!


Not really the best idea normally, especially for a bigger batch of cooked food.

When you put warm food into a fridge, it cools down from contact with air. Well, air has poor thermal conductivity as compared to a liquid such as water. Thus if you put the food into a metal container and then put the container into cold water it will cool down much quicker as compared to putting it into the fridge.

This reason - i.e. high thermal conductivity of water - is the reason for which champagne is served in restaurants in ice buckets.


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## Kamwe kuacha

Bull Terrier said:


> Not really the best idea normally, especially for a bigger batch of cooked food.
> 
> When you put warm food into a fridge, it cools down from contact with air. Well, air has poor thermal conductivity as compared to a liquid such as water. Thus if you put the food into a metal container and then put the container into cold water it will cool down much quicker as compared to putting it into the fridge.
> 
> This reason - i.e. high thermal conductivity of water - is the reason for which champagne is served in restaurants in ice buckets.


I know about that mate... After about 10-15 mins in a plastic container, it's cold... But I do cut my chicken it to tiny blocks, so that's why it cools so fast... Of course if you cook the breast whole, it'll take a little while longer to completely cool!


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## Gotista

how long can it be safely kept in the fridge?


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## Beats

was thinking of buying frozen cooked chicken strips If i micro them in the morning chuck in tupperware and leave on my desk till lunchtime will they be ok to eat? got no microwave or fridge at work


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