How to Choose Fresh Chicken: Check This Before You Buy

Choosing a chicken carcass is trickier than it looks, because chicken starts to look less fresh once the color of the meat changes. Chicken is an easy-to-find everyday food that can be cooked in many different ways. One of the most popular chicken dishes is fried chicken, enjoyed with rice and vegetables to complete a balanced meal, what Indonesians call "4 sehat 5 sempurna". This need to round out daily nutrition makes chicken an easy-to-find source of protein that's convenient to cook for everyday meals. Because it's cheaper than beef, chicken is also more popular, sold both as cooked dishes and as dressed chicken in carcass form. A chicken carcass is a bird that has been plucked, had its head and feet removed, and had its innards cleaned out. This is the bird that's usually cut into pieces and cooked into all kinds of dishes.

Choosing a Good Chicken Carcass

Before it's cooked into any dish, the chicken carcass you choose should be fresh so the nutrients in the meat stay intact and the meat is still fit to eat. A good chicken carcass must be safe, healthy and whole. A carcass that's safe to eat means the meat hasn't been exposed to chemicals that are harmful to health. The meat must also be healthy, so the nutrients it contains are intact and beneficial to the body. The meat must not be mixed with meat from other animals, and the carcass must be whole, without a single defect. If a chicken carcass doesn't meet all of these criteria, it's usually unfit to eat.

Also read 5 Strategies for Running a Successful Chicken Carcass Business

Signs of a Healthy Chicken Carcass

To get a chicken carcass that's safe, healthy and free of defects, it helps to know the signs of good carcass meat. A healthy carcass has clean, white, glossy skin; no bruises or visible blood vessels anywhere on the body; muscle fibers at the cut areas, such as the neck, that are widely stretched and uneven; and no pin feathers. You should also check where the carcass is sold to make sure its health is truly guaranteed. Chicken carcass sellers usually use refrigeration and covers, and we should make sure the stall is truly free of dirt. This ensures the carcass we eat is clean, healthy and not contaminated with bacteria or viruses that can carry dangerous diseases.

How Long Should a Chicken Carcass Be Stored?

How long a chicken carcass keeps usually depends on how the bird was processed at slaughter and on the storage temperature. Carcasses from traditional slaughter usually don't last as long as those slaughtered and processed with advanced technology and strict quality control. Top-quality slaughtering produces fresh carcasses that are good to eat. A traditionally slaughtered carcass usually lasts only 11 hours, while a carcass that was slaughtered and processed well can last 16 hours. And if that well-processed carcass is kept in the refrigerator or packed in ice, it can last up to 49 hours.

Also read What Is a Chicken Carcass? Definition and Signs It's Healthy