skilletlicker
Head Chef
Now I remember why I keep stopping posting here.
Sorry, Charlie, it is certainly NOT safe to defrost and re-freeze anything without cooking it.
What a great idea! I'm always worried about meat spoiling after I've defrosted it... and hubby is notorious for changing his mind on dinner once I've defrosted something. I usually just give it the sniff test after a few days.I always count the time food spends defrosting in the fridge as "fresh days". If it already sat in the fridge for 3 days and it had a use by date giving 5 days, I would make sure to use it within 2 days of taking it out of the freezer.
On some fishing boats/ships, the fish are frozen before they return.
What a great idea! I'm always worried about meat spoiling after I've defrosted it... and hubby is notorious for changing his mind on dinner once I've defrosted something. I usually just give it the sniff test after a few days.
Hmmm... If I've defrosted and planned a meal, and my wife decides that isn't what she wants that evening, then she can cook her own dinner. I sometimes consult with her before I get something out of the freezer, but after that I'm locked in.
I will particularly ask her before I thaw any fish, because she goes through periods where any kind of fish actually makes her nauseated. It's all in her head and she knows it, but that doesn't help. Just like her acrophobia, she knows that there is no danger on the 3rd rung of a ladder, but that doesn't make it any less impossible for her to step up to the 4th one.
Just to be clear.
If a protein (fish, meat, poultry) has a safe life of three days refrigerated, that's the limit. If you freeze it then defrost it, the three day timer doesn't start over. Safety isn't an issue but texture will suffer. Freezing and defrosting damages cells causing them to release moisture. The cooked product will be drier and texture change could be noticeable.
However, freezing contaminated protein won't eliminate the contamination. You could safely defrost contaminated protein, cook and eat it and get sick even though you treated it safely. That could lead you to believe it was the defrosting and refrigeration was the cause of the illness.
Heh. If DH doesn't want what I'm cooking, particularily following consultation, he's on his own. There's Cheerios readily available. Have at it.