Going through the freezer. Found some packs of wings and whole (skin and bone) thighs, all vacuum sealed from the store, with use-or-freeze-by dates of 08/16/2018.
Eh. I’d be okay with beef. But chicken? It might be safe, but would it be good?
+1 on the advice to toss it and avoid the risk. Don't know about your area but cut/packaged thighs and drumsticks (not wings) up here is around $0.90/pound. Whole chicken is even less. Won't cost much to replace yours with chicken you can trust.
My first thought, why did they stay in the freezer that long?! Second thought is cook to a high enough temp should kill any pathogens. How many pathogens will form in a frozen state?
For a long-term option, you can freeze your chicken while preserving its taste if you use a freezer safe container. If frozen in this way raw chicken can be stored for up to 2 years without losing any quality in taste or texture. See eatbydate.com
When thawed, you should be able to smell any spoilage.
Disclaimer, better safe than sorry. Use your best judgement. I am not a food safety expert.
My opinion is it's been vac packed so no freezer burn, and has been stored properly in the freezer so it's going to be sanitary. It might not have quite the savor or texture of fresher chicken, so I'd use it in a dish where the chicken is well cooked, diced or shredded, and mixed with other flavorful ingredients -- for example a chicken-veggie-dumpling soup or a chicken pot pie.
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