Ask a cook: Chilling a roast chicken

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Q: I roasted a chicken the other night. I usually pull the meat from the carcass after we finish dinner, but that night I was tired, so I covered the entire bird and pan with foil and put it in the refrigerator. Is some food safety rule that directs one to remove the meat from the bird immediately after cooking?

A: For the future, though, the rule on things like chickens is that since they are rather large and dense (dense meat-wise, although chickens aren't exactly smart, either), they cool rather slowly. That can allow bacteria to grow before the interior gets thoroughly chilled.

Any time you have a large, dense object that you want to cool quickly, it's best to break it down into smaller pieces.

However, if you let it cool to room temperature first, you can put it in the refrigerator whole with less problem.

That sounds counterintuitive, but the problem is in the contrasts. If the interior is hot and the exterior is cold, they meet in the middle and you can end up with lukewarm. Lukewarm with food is the danger zone, where bacteria thrive.

___

(Kathleen Purvis answers questions in her Ask a Cook Q&A at www.charlotteobserver.com/food. Or contact her: 704-358-5236; kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com)

___

© 2008, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).