I was extremely remiss in not wishing everyone a Happy National Fried Chicken Day yesterday. Unfortunately the holiday got away from me. I wasn't even able to have my traditional holiday meal (fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes) until today.
I bought the chicken from a local place as I've never stove fried chicken before (I've done oven fried in the long distance past). Stove frying seems like a lot of work and mess for one person.
After I arrived home I kept the chicken warm in the oven while I was heating up the green beans. The following conundrum occurred to me.
Some people like eating leftover cold fried chicken from the refrigerator. But if you want to reheat the leftover fried chicken, the USDA says make sure it reaches a temperature of 165 F.
So the chicken is apparently safe to eat right out of the refrigerator for a few days. But if we want it warm, that same chicken that we just took out of the refrigerator and would have been fine to eat cold, has to reach 165 F????
Gman