The ‘secret’ to storing your $12 roast chook from Woolies and Coles

The cost of living crisis has hit Aussies hard, with savvy shoppers constantly looking for ways to stretch the budget. Despite the price of a roast chook being raised to $12 at Woolies and Coles, it’s still a great option to feed a hungry family.

Plus, if the timing is right, customers can also grab a marked-down chicken from their local supermarket once the product is getting to the end of its shelf life.

Lydia Buchtmann, CEO of the Food Safety Information Council, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the “secret” to keeping your roast chook tasty is to get it home quickly and safely.

“The secret is to take it home as quickly as you can, and preferably [in] an insulated bag of some sort,” she says. She adds that it’s best to consume the chicken for dinner, but if you’ve found yourself with more chicken than you can eat, there are plenty of ways you can store your leftovers.

How long can you store roast chicken for?

For folks who aren’t going to eat the chicken straight away, Lydia says it can go into the fridge as soon as you get home – you don’t need to wait. Just make sure that your fridge is at a safe temperature of 5° Celsius or below and eat it within two to three days.

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“If you’re not going to use it within a couple of days, divide it into small bits, take the chicken off of it [and] put it in the freezer,” she adds. The frozen chicken should last for approximately three months before it loses quality.

Lydia recommends popping your chicken into snaplock bags and removing the air before you freeze it – with one other handy tip: “Get a texta and write [the date] on the outside, so you know how long it’s been in there. Use the [oldest] chicken first.”

Frozen chicken is perfect for making curries and soups, meals that are sure to be back on the menu now the weather is getting colder.

Shoppers share their roast chook storing hacks

Other shoppers shared some top hacks for storing roast chicken on a popular Reddit thread.

“I cut leftovers in pieces and make chicken sandwich filling (adding mayonnaise and green onions),” one user wrote. “I drop the bones and all non-used leftovers into water to get a broth. Nothing gets lost!”

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“I also pick apart the leftover chicken on the night I buy it or the next day. I prefer doing it when the chicken is cold, I find it easier to pick out the fat. I drop the carcass, skin and little bits of meat into the slow cooker for broth, and I usually stretch out the good meat by making it into a curry or a chicken pot pie,” another added.

“We shred it to bits, use what we need for dinner, then vacuum seal the rest and freeze for later. Super convenient if you store in portion sizes,” a third chimed in.

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