My family is coming for a birthday dinner and since it's so hot, I'd like to grill chicken and then serve it at room temp along with other room temp/cold items. How do you do this safely? I'll grill early afternoon and then put everything in the refrig. I'm thinking I'd bring it out 30 minutes or so ahead of dinner time and let it lose the cold? Would this be enough time? And then how long can it then be left out during dinner? Our cottage is air-conditioned, so it wouldn't be sitting out in a hot room, but still... If anyone has done this and has any tips, I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks, everyone. It was good to hear that room temp chicken was not so appealing to some! We ended up grilling just before dinner and keeping foil over the platter until ready to serve. Unfortunately, it meant my husband spent the appetizer hour at the grill, but oh well, couldn't be helped...Thanks for the tips.
Room temp chicken kind of grosses me out. How about cold chicken slad or something like that?
I don't know, I like my chicken warm or cold (like if it's cubed chicken in a pasta salad or something.) I probably wouldn't go near room temp chicken. So, I guess it depends on how you are serving it.
According to this, perishable foods (like chicken) should not be left out more than 2 hours at room temperature (1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F).
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Keep_Food_Safe_Food_S...
How about if you grill it an hour prior to the party, and just wrap it in foil, and it can cool down that way. I have never specifically wanted 'room temp' chicken, but I know when I do grill chicken for a party, I wrap it up and it is always room temp or a bit warmer when we end up eating. I don't think it will hurt it to sit out a bit. But if you end up grilling early like you said, I think bringing it out at least 30 min from the fridge would do the trick too. Happy Partying!!
Could you let it sit in a crockpot for a little while? Not all day of course because it gets shreddy but enough to keep it warm. Just a thought.
If I were you, I'd warm up a roaster ahead of time and place your chicken in there on the rack so it isn't sitting on the bottom. Add a can of 7up to keep everything nice and moist and serve warm chicken instead. Just a thought...
