I've often been told by people that I shouldn't refreeze meat (particularly hamburger meat) once it has been thawed. However, this seems a little silly to me. I can't imagine how meat that hasn't been bought fresh and local could find its way to my kitchen with out thawing and being refrozen a couple of times. How much damage can one more thawing and refreezing really do? Can it really be that dangerous disease wise? Or is this just one of those urban myths?
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In theory you could thaw and refreeze as many times as you like, though the changes in temperature would definitely alter the quality of the meat's taste and texture. What matters most is how long the meat has been in the so-called "danger zone" speaking from a temperature perspective. The "danger zone" is defined as being between 41 to 135 °F (5 to 57 °C). Here is an excerpt from The Professional Chef, by the Culinary Institute of America:
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Frozen food should be consumed quickly after it is defrosted. Do this within 1 week after the first defrost and 24 hours after the second. Red meat is the fastest decaying food and it's already been frozen before getting into your freezer. |
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I take issue with those who say there is no danger. There is ... Leaving for a trip, I bought frozen foods - vegetables and sausages - and kept them in a freezer bag on the train journey, imaging they would not unfreeze ... Wrong - they did. On arrival, I immediately refroze the defrosted foods, then cooked them properly (and very thoroughly) the next day, straight from the freezer (the meat correctly thawed in a microwave) and ate them straight away ... I am lucky to be alive to tell the tale. I had very bad food poisoning, tingling at the extremiites, trembling, and other syptoms, but, unfortunately, was unable to retch and get rid of the food that way. I had to wait for it to pass. I spent a grisly few hours, and am convinced I survive because of an iron constitution : I am rarely ill, never suffer from food- poisoning, and eat all sorts of things which would flatten a mere mortal. Take it from me - whilst it may be possible to safely refreeze under certain conditions, don't risk it ... ever ! Better safe than sorry ! Ian |
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http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/2642/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-temperature-and-food-safety has more about food and temperature safety. |
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As the water in the muscle fibers freezes it expands and creates a mushy texture. The reason that commercially frozen meat has less degradation of texture is due to the speed at which they can freeze things. The quicker that freezing takes place the smaller the ice crystals will be. Home freezers are best at keeping frozen foods frozen but take much longer than commercial freezers to do the actual freezing. If the food was properly thawed, re-freezing once will probably have a minimal impact on texture but it's going to depend on the item. Ground meats such as ground beef probably won't be noticeable vs. a steak or other cut that normally has a fairly tight muscle structure. |
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It's not dangerous but it significantly impacts the quality of the meat. Most noticeably, it's ability to hold onto moisture. |
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The answer depends on how the meat was thawed. If you read any of the health and safety documentation it tends to stipulate that meat thawed in a refrigerator can be safety refrozen. Meat thawed by other methods, particularly if the temperature reaches 40°F–140°F (4°C–60°C) should be cooked before refreezing. |
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