
Many of us are looking to get the most bang for our buck when it comes to grocery shopping budgets. Often, this involves freezing bulk-bought items to help them last after snagging that deal. But if you freeze too much and need to thaw, can you refreeze what you don’t use?
While it might surprise you, thawed meat can be refrozen, but you have to thaw it correctly in order to be able to do so.
Whether you bulk-bought beef or chicken, you likely tossed it into your freezer as soon as you were home. When it comes time to cook, though, you might not eat it all at once. That means you’ll need to thaw all of it to use just a portion. Of course, you’d want to preserve and refreeze what you don’t use, and that means you have to thaw it in the fridge.
While it’s not the most expedient option, thawing frozen meat in the fridge is the only way you’ll be able to refreeze it. Typically, thawing meat in the fridge will take at least 24 hours, so you need to think ahead for this to work. The USDA, however, does caution that if you refreeze the meat, you could experience lower quality due to moisture loss.
Ultimately, you can refreeze your meat if it’s thawed correctly, but the best way to go is to portion out your bulk buys before freezing.