Don't throw away that chicken with freezer burn. Learn how easy it is to salvage it. A simple braising fluid of chicken broth and pantry ingredients can moisturize and flavor the dehydrated burned chicken. Then, add other flavors to use in almost any shredded chicken recipe.
In the example, I'm using chicken for some Mexican dishes, like enchiladas and burritos, so I use tomato sauce and spices for the final step in the rescue.
🐓Ingredients
Freezer burn chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
Onions and garlic
Chicken broth
Spices—salt, cumin (optional)
OPTIONAL FOR SHREDDED MEXICAN
Tomato sauce
Pantry Ingredients—chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐓Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Cook Freezer Burnt Chicken—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 🤔What does freezer burn look like?
- ⚕️Is it safe to eat freezer-burned chicken or other foods?
- 👨🍳What can be done with freezer-burned chicken
- ♨️How to use rescued freezer-burnt chicken
- 🤔What causes freezer burn?
- 👍How to prevent freezer burn
- ❓FAQs
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Featured Comment by Ed:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Thanks! I managed to freezer burn a 5 pound bag of already frozen chicken breasts. The results were way beyond what I was expecting, hence the 5 stars."
Is it safe to eat freezer-burnt chicken? What does freezer burn look like? What caused it? What can you do with it? And how to prevent it? Let's get those answers and more.
The first step in salvaging freezer-burnt chicken breasts is to rehydrate them with braising fluid of chicken broth, onion, garlic, and spices. Next, we will add more spicing for flavors to match your planned usage.
In this example, I'm making Mexican food, so I added tomato sauce and spices. However, rescued freezer-burnt chicken can be used in most flavorful recipes that use shredded chicken. I suggest Mexican food, chili, or soups.
👨🍳How to Cook Freezer Burnt Chicken—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Part one—rehydration and adding some flavor
1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Chop onions. Also, you can trim off the worst of the freezer burn.
3. Add onion, chicken broth, garlic, and salt to a Dutch oven, boil, cover, and move to the oven for 1 hour.
4. Remove the breasts, and when cooled, hand shred them. Reserve part of the liquid for later use.
Part two—adding lots of flavors
5. Add the chicken and seasonings you want for your final use to the Dutch oven. I'm adding tomato sauce, spices, and some of the reserved fluid.
6. Simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until the moisture looks good. Remove from heat and use in burritos, enchiladas, etc.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
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🤔What does freezer burn look like?
Freezer-burned chicken or other meat or foods will have a covering of ice crystals that looks like icy snow. As the burn becomes worse, the color will change to grayish-white.
⚕️Is it safe to eat freezer-burned chicken or other foods?
Yes, it is safe to eat freezer-burned food. It is dehydrated, not spoiled. However, the texture and flavor rapidly deteriorate as the water leaves the cells. If cooked with attention to the damage, the results will be leathery and lacking most of its flavor.
👨🍳What can be done with freezer-burned chicken
If the freezer burn is minor, cutting it off may be acceptable. However, the damage is usually deeper, and most cooking methods will pull water out of the cells. So, cooking normally rarely yields good results.
Brining the chicken can help rehydrate the meat, and you can add some flavors to compensate for the lack of flavor and occasional "off" taste. However, brining is passive, so it won't do much if you have more than a little problem.
The severely damaged meat should be discarded, but we can save most of it by braising it. If you are unfamiliar with braising, it involves heating the meat slowly in liquid in a sealed container to prevent evaporation. It's similar to simmering but covered.
♨️How to use rescued freezer-burnt chicken
Although the texture and taste may be slightly off, most people won't notice, especially if the dish is covered with cheese, sauces, and flavors—a great way to hide any shortfalls.
Look for recipes that allow precooked shredded or rotisserie chicken to be added late in cooking, have a robust and flavorful sauce, and cheese are big pluses. They will never know it was freezer-burnt chicken. So, Mexican, chili, or flavorful soups are good choices.
I prefer to use it for Mexican food, where the spices and cheese cover any "off flavors." Check out these recipes: Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, or Traditional Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
🤔What causes freezer burn?
Freezer burn is just dehydration of meat or other foods. In meat, it is caused by the moisture in the meat cells freezing and forming ice crystals that damage the cells. The water molecules can then escape the cells. With the water escaping, the taste and texture also change. If the package is intact, you will probably see ice crystals.
But even foods without cells, like ice cream, get some ice crystals for the same effect. It may or may not be due to poor storage.
No-frost freezers tend to have more of an issue with freezer burn due to the small temperature changes, which is how they are "no-frost." And the longer the time in the freeze, the more likely to have freezer burn.
👍How to prevent freezer burn
You can not always prevent freezer burn, but here are some things to help.
- Set your freezer to 0°F and use a freezer thermometer.
- Never put hot food in the freezer.
- Use freezer-grade materials and containers. Use freezer paper, plastic wrap, and buy freezer zip-lock bags, not the cheap, thinner ones.
- Thicker food, like casseroles, should be protected by several layers. I use complete plastic wrap and two aluminum foil or freezer paper layers.
- Keep as much air as possible out of the storage containers—flatten that zip-lock bag.
- Leave room for air circulation around packages and use smaller packages.
- Keep track of how long things have been frozen.
❓FAQs
No, this is not a good idea. The cells are severely damaged, and they will not freeze well.
Sure, make enough braising fluid to cover the chicken you are using in an oven-safe pan with a lid. Cooking time remains the same. Adjust the part two ingredients amounts, and you can also change them to what you need.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Freezer Burnt Chicken Rescue—Shredded Mexican
Ingredients
- 4-5 thawed freezer burnt skinless boneless chicken breast
- 28 oz chicken broth
- 2 onions - chopped medium
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic - 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
- 1 cup broth - from step one
- onion - most of the onion from step one
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Chop onions. You can also trim off the worst of the freezer burn.
- Add onion, 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 tablespoon crushed garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt to a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Mix well, add chicken, and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and move to the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the breasts from the oven and transfer them to a plate to cool for 15 minutes. Discard the liquid except for 1 cup (or more), then shred them by hand.
- Add the chicken and all the ingredients from part two back to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes until most of the fluid has evaporated.
- Remove from heat and use in burritos, enchiladas, etc.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- It is OK to trim back the worst parts.
- Do as many breasts as you want as long as they are covered by broth.
- Once rehydrated, you can change the spices and use another way.
- Be sure to hand shred so you can sort out any parts with bad texture.
- OK to refrigerate for 2-3 days, but do not refreeze.
- Some breasts are just too far gone for this to work well.
- Limit your usage to recipes that use rotisserie chicken and have flavorful sauces.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally published July 19, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Katherine says
Hi there! I found your recipe when researching freezer burned chicken. We had 3 breasts that unfortunately got FB'ed and wanted to use them for a sort of Italian thingamajig. We rehydrated like you mentioned, adding onions and instead of cumin, Italian herbs and some bay leaves. I made a homemade sauce and added the shredded chicken to it and it was pretty good! Thanks for the awesome and quite sciencey idea!