Restaurant meat suppliers tips for storing bulk poultry

D&D Poultry has been serving the local community as one of the best restaurant meat suppliers for over 25 years, and during that time we’ve developed a few tips for storing and dividing your bulk products at home or business. Most people know that poultry should be stored safely in the refrigerator or freezer before you cook it, and you can keep your kitchen well-stocked for days to months depending on your storage area.  

As many meat suppliers for restaurants would say, to ensure your poultry stays fresh, and that none goes to waste, there are some food safety factors to think about before dividing and storing in bulk. Let’s take a look at some of the most important steps below for safely dividing and storing your poultry. 

Dividing up your poultry for storage

In order to achieve a maximum yield and processing, poultry should be segmented by cutting through the soft natural joints of the bird. One of the terms used in the poultry industry is “8-cut chicken,” which is used to describe a chicken segmented into two drumsticks, two thighs, and both breasts split in half along the rib bone. With these pieces you can easily store them, for instance, in a gallon-sized storage bag for families and small businesses.

 Here’s how to portion poultry in storage bags to freeze for convenience later. 

• Each bag contains 4 large breasts
• Drumsticks have 6 
• Wings have 12
• Thighs have 8 

Fresh poultry

Whole pieces of fresh poultry can last one to two days in the refrigerator and up to one year in the freezer, so it can always be stored and then used as needed. If you have to segment the poultry parts into breasts, thighs, or drumsticks, those can also last one to two days in the refrigerator and about 9 months in the freezer. 

Cooked Poultry for leftovers

If you’re making something like fried chicken, it can last about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and up to 4 months in the freezer, just in case you want to save it for later. Other cook poultry dishes, like chicken cacciatore, can stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and about 4 to 6 months in the freezer. Many people don’t think cooked poultry dishes can last in the freezer, but they really can if you pack them well. If you have plain pieces of poultry without any sauces, these can last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and up to four months in the freezer, while pieces of poultry covered in broth or gravy can last the same time in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer. Items like chicken patties or nuggets have a shorter lifespan, about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and 1 to 3 months in the freezer. 

More about D&D Poultry

D&D Poultry has been in the wholesale restaurant meat suppliers business for a long time, and has been a proud supplier of delicious wholesale poultry to Ontario’s food industry and surrounding areas. Our website contains some delicious recipes that you can make with our products, including a chicken wings recipe and a mouthwatering homemade pesto recipe. 

Looking for chicken delivery for restaurants or chicken home delivery? Give us a call and our friendly staff will be able to give you a great price for your meat delivery to restaurant, business or right to the table!