— Londari Trice

And, uh, yes, absolutely you can. Um, I'd like to mention a precaution or two, and the, the main one is that the freeze thaw cycle itself will draw moisture out of food. Uh, not to mention that the longer an item stays in the freezer, the more it dries out. It, it, it's kind of a, a freeze drying effect over a period of time except not as good. Um, over a longer period of time, foods will, uh, take on these aspects of freezer burn, right? Where flavor, aroma, texture, and, and the, the visual, uh, characteristics will be negatively affected. So we certainly don't wanna keep things in the freezer that long, but, uh, in terms of chicken and, um, really any other meat, let's say, uh, if you were to cook that item, it, it really depends on how you want to handle this after the freeze thaw cycle. Uh, if, if the idea is to really, to have a convenience item that you can eat right away, then go ahead and cook that item to the full done state, but just barely as it, I mean, right. When it gets to that, um, that fully cooked state and then cool it and, or, you know, uh, you could put it in the freezer right away if it's, uh, something small especially, but, uh, you know, tightly rapid so that it's, um, as air tight as you can get it and then put it into the freezer, uh, miles recommend dating your products for sure. And then labeling items is also very helpful. Um, I have found, at least in my freezer, that over time when things accumulate, some things begin to look like other things, and I lose track of what's what. But, um, uh, so another way to handle something like chicken is if your intent is to finish cooking it after you thaw it, then at that first cooking stage, partially cook it, cook it to say, you know, 80% done, and then go through the steps of sealing it up and then freezing it, and then, uh, that'll maintain some of that moisture so that when you go to finish the cooking process, you're in a, in a better place to, uh, to, to control that the finished outcome for the, uh, for the chicken. Okay? But, but either path can be very effective. Okay? Um, another thing to keep in mind is that if the, uh, the chicken is bone in, then you've got a better chance of maintaining more moisture, okay? Um, during, especially during that initial cooking, um, phase. Uh, so these are just a few tips to keep in mind and hope you find some value in them.