If you handle meat safely and thaw it properly, you can safely refreeze thawed meat. While you can thaw meat in cold water or in the microwave oven, meat thawed either way is not safe to refreeze unless you cook the meat thoroughly first. If you thawed the meat in the colder temperatures of your refrigerator, you can safely refreeze the meat.
Refrigerator
If you thawed meat in the refrigerator in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, you can safely refreeze the meat within one day. The cold temperatures of the refrigerator ensure that no bacteria develops, but in warmer temperatures, bacteria develop quickly. If you thawed the meat using any other method, refreezing isn't safe and the meat must be cooked. Once bacteria develops on the meat, freezing does not kill it.
Cold Water or Microwave
Thawing meat in cold water is a safe method if you plan to refrigerate or cook the meat immediately. Thawing in a microwave oven is safe only if you plan to cook the meat immediately. Immediate cooking of meat thawed in the microwave is critical, as meat may thaw unevenly and some areas may be warm enough to allow bacteria to thrive. Cooking is the only way to ensure that microwave-thawed meat is safe to eat.
Cooked Meat
Never allow cooked meat to sit at room temperature for more than two hours and never refreeze the meat after this time. Limit the time meat remains at room temperature to one hour on days when the temperature is above 90 degrees. If cooked meat is placed in the refrigerator within that time, it is safe to use within three to four days. If you don't plan to use the meat in that time, freeze it. If packaged safely, frozen, cooked meat keeps indefinitely. Quality may be compromised after long storage, but no bacteria develop and the meat is safe to eat. For freezing, package cooked meat securely in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag.
Safety Tips
Discard meat exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees for more than two hours. This applies to both thawed and cooked meats because bacteria develops rapidly in temperatures out of the refrigerator. Never attempt to shortcut thawing by placing meat in warm water, because bacteria grows quickly on warm meat. For the same reason, never allow meat to thaw at room temperature. Safe thawing and refreezing rules apply to poultry and fish, as well.
References
- University of Illinois Extension: Thawing Meat
- Purdue University Animal Sciences: Thawing Frozen Meat
- Washington State University Extension; When to Save and When to Throw it Out; Sandra Brown
- University of Nebraska Extension; Is It Safe to Refreeze Raw Meat and Poultry that Has Thawed?; Alice Henneman
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