marinading boneless chicken thighs and then freezing them for later?

Question

I plan on marinading boneless chicken thighs and then freezing them for later for throughout the week to eat for part of my protein diet. I was wondering if that will spoil the chicken or if there is a better way I should go about this?

Answer 1

I frequently buy large pkgs of chicken, beef and pork and then cut them up or separate them into individual servings. I place the raw meat, the marinade, seasonings, etc. in a freezer safe zip lock and then toss in the freezer.

This is a safe, healthy, economical way to watch portion size and cut out a step in cooking latter.

Be sure to label well what is the bags. In my freezer you can find bags labeled;

Chicken for stir fry - has ginger, soy, etc.
Jerk pork loin - loin chops with pineapple and jerk seasoning
Orange beef - beef chunks with orange zest and juice
Buffalo strips - chicken with all the traditional hot sauce stuff
Greek Chicken - oregano, olive oil, lemon juice

You get the idea - the possibilities are limitless - and yes the meat is raw - raw at purchase and then thrown in the freezer raw with seasonings. And I guarantee it will taste a whole lot better then those pre-seasoned frozen things you can buy in the supermarket.

Answer 2

Doing what you are planning to do should work out just fine. I do it all the time. Another thought, though, is to just go ahead and partially cook the chicken after marinading them, wrapping them in plastic or foil and then again in a freezer bag, and the advantage is that it will take even less time to cook after your get home. Package it (each portion) individually so you don't keep thawing out the entire amount because them the quality will deteriorate. Either way will work. good luck on your diet. I'm on one now too, and I just hate it!

Answer 3

Marinate for a day in the fridge then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze...marinade and all. When time to cook, thaw completely and cook. THROW OUT THE MARINADE. The coked chicken will keep for up to a week and if necessary can be refrozen now that it is cooked.

Answer 4

Marinating the chicken thighs is a good thing. When you freeze them do it in individual portions. That way you can use what you want as necessary, if you have friends over then use more portions.

What a GREAT idea, thanks for the heads-up. I get tired of eating the same thing day after day so this way I can freeze several different meats in portion sizes and fix them as I want, thanks! I just never thought of this before I'm so glad you asked this question.

Answer 5

I would cook the chicken all at once. Cooked chicken should last 3 or 4 days in your refrigerator. If you need 7 days of meals out of the chicken, I would cut your supply in half and repeat the process once during the week.

Answer 6

This works fine, as long as you cook them before eating.

You can marinade in a fridge for a day, and the meat won't spoil.

Answer 7

You can marinade and freeze. When you defrost them, don't put the bag in boiling water. I would put it in cold tap water and change the water every now and then.

You could also consider cooking all the portions at once, storing them in the fridge and microwaving them later.

Answer 8

if you freeze them, they will taste a little odd when you warm them back up again, but it should work ok if you don't mind the taste! If you do mind the taste, it doesn't take long to marinate chicken or to cook it. You could try just marinating and cooking it as you need it.

Answer 9

yes you could marinate the chicken beforehand and freeze it for later use.
however i would divide them into portions that i want for each use because if you take the entire amount out often, the chicken ll thaw everytime causing its texture and taste to deteriorate.
so after marination, divide into small portions and cover up using plastics wraps and them freeeze them.

Answer 10

freezing them is pretty much the only option to keep the chicken fresh. seal them in an air tight freezer bag. when defrosting, put the bag into a pot of boiling water.