chicken

[swindontony]

I have just taken some tenderised chicken breasts fillets out of my freezer and on the packet it says cook from frozen, I was always under the impression that chicken had to be thawed thoroughly before cooking. Can anyone explain the reason why my chicken can be cooked from frozen. Thanks in advance.

[chaff]

I believe the problem with a whole chicken is the bones.I am told that that is where any disease arises if chicken is not properly prethawed and cooked-a problem which doesn't arise with fillets.

[lindoc]

I think whole chickens have to be thawed because there could be bacteria in the body cavity (salmonella, etc).  If you cooked a whole frozen chicken the outside would be cooked but not the inside, providing ideal conditions for the bacteria to multiply.

[Gef]

It's to do with size. Chicken fillets are quite thin and so the centre will cook before the outside burns. With whole chicken there is the danger that the centre will still be uncooked even when the outside is starting to burn.