jmac33

i was over my hunting buddies house the other day and got into a "discussion" that if you thaw venision out you cant refreeze it and eat it at a later date becuase the meat is bad now. I have done it countless times and told him that it is a crock because im living proof. but my hunting buddies insist that once thawed out you cant refreeze. is there anybody on my side or am i just crazy and going to get very ill of years of doing this!! somebody give me some feedback please [8D]

scmtnhnter

i have never thawer out any deer meat then refroze i always wind up eatin it . my mom has always hollered u cant refreeze meat so i dont know that one .

Rebel Hog

Can I refreeze fish or meat once it is thawed?

“A good question and the answer is - it depends!” Thawing and refreezing anything will affect the quality of the food. Ice crystals damage cell structure and freezing may remove moisture from the food. In terms of safety, if the food has been in the refrigerator while thawing and is still partially frozen then it can be refrozen. However, if the food was thawed out of the fridge or in the microwave, then do not refreeze. Parts of the surface or interior of the food will have been exposed to temperatures above 4ºC for a period of time. If the food has been thawed, the safest thing to do is cook the fish or meat before refreezing. Never thaw food on the counter. Foods thawed in a mircrowave need to be cooked immediately.

Rebel Hog

Dear Waldo,

There are two concerns with refreezing meat. The first is safety. If the meat has thawed in a refrigerator, then it’s okay to refreeze. In terms of other methods, make sure it doesn’t sit in the “danger zone”—40°F–140°F (4°C–60°C)—for more than two hours. And if it’s been thawed by other methods, cook it before refreezing. This is the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s position. If you do refreeze, the sooner you do it, the better.








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The second concern is about the meat’s quality. When you think of how meat fibers change on a cellular level, freezing not only affects the solids in meat cells but also turns the liquid within the cells into frozen crystals. As you can imagine, these sharp, angular crystals can shear a delicate cell wall rather quickly. Then as the meat thaws, the contents of the cells seep out, creating that familiar puddle of juices. This leaves the thawed meat fibers more prone to drying out as they cook.

Freezing food as fast as possible minimizes the loss of liquid, because when ice crystals form quickly, they remain very tiny. If the process of freezing and thawing is repeated, however, greater moisture losses occur and the quality of the meat lessens.

Thanks for an excellent question.

Best regards,
Anne & Sue

Serioushunter1

I would not eat any meat that I have known to be thawed and refrozen. Stuff like bacterial contamination, Ecoli, Samonella frighten me. I do not like to vomit or sit on a toliet for hours.

longrifle1000

Good posts Reb. I personally never refreeze meats once thawed. Mainly because it detracts from the quality greatly, and it increases the chance of freezer burn.

trailer

I always thaw my meat in the fridge and have refroze a couple of packages because of unforeseen circumstance but normally cook the meat within a day or so...

kevin1

I've refrozen it before after thawing by various methods including room temp , water bath , and fridge , other than a loss of quality I've suffered no ill effects .

mistahmojoryan

I usually get the haunches deboned at the processor and freeze it when I get home. Then when I have the time, I thaw it partiallyand cut it into jerky strips and stir fry. I use what I need and refreeze the rest. Never had a problem and the quality remains very good...to my taste anyway.

The biggest concern for me is proper handling and clean up after it's partially thawed out.

bigcountry

I have never worried about it much either. I used to take risks like dethawing in running hot water, refreezing meat. Used to tell everyone it won't hurt ya.

Then one day, I got deathly ill on some moose from Newfoundland, half Thawed on the plane ride, froze again until I could cut it up,half thawed (mostly frozen) to cutup, refroze and thawed to consume. Did it many times over theyears but Ieven had to take off work one day. It only takes once to learn ya. sooner or later it will happen. But until then, I figure, you going to always do it the way your doing it, so no use telling you not too. go for it.

I have froze and dethawed and refroze hundreds of times in my life, but only took one day and night on the pot, for me to know why those guidelines are there in teh first place.