Would you eat this?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I bought a two-pack of whole Coleman chickens at Costco a few weeks ago (maybe 3-4 weeks?). I brought them straight home and put them right into the freezer. When I took one out to thaw it on Sunday, I noticed one end was a little puffy, so I've been keeping an eye on it. It's finally completely thawed today, and there's definitely puff in the vacuum packaging. It's not so puffy that the packaging is tight, but it's definitely more than it should be. 

 

WWYD? Would you eat it, or toss it? It's organic chicken, so not cheap :( I'm trying to control our food waste, but I also don't want to take a stupid risk for $15. 

 

Thanks.

[pink&bluemommy]

Costco will take anything back!

[Amy in NH]

I'd give it the sniff test. Could just be a pocket of air got trapped during the sealing process.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Well, the puff didn't get any worse, so we had it for dinner last night. Crossing our fingers that I didn't guess incorrectly!

[The Girls' Mom]

When you freeze them, sometimes the expansion will stretch the plastic, making it a little puffy when it thaws back out.  I've had it happen several times, with no ill effects.  

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

When you freeze them, sometimes the expansion will stretch the plastic, making it a little puffy when it thaws back out.  I've had it happen several times, with no ill effects.  

 

Thanks, this is what I was thinking as well. The little indentation where the plastic molded around the ends of the drumsticks was clearly still there, just an inch away from the actual chicken. And I was still able to squeeze and move the plastic around, so obviously no gases filled that space up. It did seem very much like stretched out plastic. And it smelled fine and looked fine, and wasn't slimy or icky in any way. 

 

It's so hard to gauge with thawing meat. I've been trying to eliminate most of our outside food spending, so I've been cooking at home a lot more. And I've been trying to cut down on grocery store trips, because I end up spending more than I planned whenever I go to the grocery store. But fewer store trips means more frozen stuff, and frozen meat/seafood really makes the variables go crazy.