Would you re-freeze this?

[goldilocks]

I bought 2 bags of frozen cooked shrimp at trader joe's to serve on mother's day. i defrosted them, but have some left over. after 2 days of shrimp louie salads, i am shrimped out! i just have a bit left and thought to refreeze it for a later date. would it be okay? it was cooked and frozen to begin with, then defrosted.

[DmOrtega]

I've always been told that once meat has thawed it cannot be refrozen. That would include any dish with meat in it. I would treat seafood & shellfish similarily. I think this applies to raw meat. If it is cooked then frozen it should be ok.
Each time it thaws bacteria grows. When it is cooked the bacteria is killed. I have no idea how many time you can do this, but I'd rather not risk it.

[This message has been edited by DmOrtega (edited 05-15-2001).]

[emilycat]

I've read the same thing numerous times -- any kind of meat shouldn't ever be refrozen. Maybe a shrimp scampi or shrimp creole would be different enough to suffice?

[MelissaAS]

On a similar note, how long does cooked meat (like chicken) stay good in the fridge? For example, I defrosted chicken breasts on Saturday thinking I'd make enchiladas that night. We ended up going out so I baked all of the chicken on Sunday and used about 1/2 of it in enchiladas last night. How long do I have until the rest goes bad? I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow night to use it, but that would be 4 days since defrosting and 3 days since baking. Thoughts?

[goldilocks]

I have heard the same, but thought that applied to raw meat items. For example, I wouldn't thaw a raw chicken breast then refreeze it. But if I cooked it, I could refreeze it. Since this is cooked already, it has me stumped. Better to be on the safe side here, consume or dump.

[DmOrtega]

Here's a link to check out regarding refreezing. www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html (http://www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html)

[This message has been edited by DmOrtega (edited 05-15-2001).]

[Julie O]

The FDA guidelines are, I believe, two days refrigerated uncooked, two days refrigerated cooked.

[KValley]

Originally posted by DmOrtega:
Here's a link to check out regarding refreezing. www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html (http://www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html)

[This message has been edited by DmOrtega (edited 05-15-2001).]

Here's a link to check out regarding refreezing. www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html (http://www.recipes.co.nz/cookingtips/thaw.html)

[This message has been edited by DmOrtega (edited 05-15-2001).]

DMOrtega,

Thank you so much for posting this! I bought a huge package of chicken thighs last week and in a rush, I stuck them in the freezer without dividing them into meal-sized packages (DOH). Yesterday I partially thawed the thighs to be able to split them up, divided them into freezer bags, and refroze them.

After reading these posts, I was set to dump the whole lot. Now I know that the meat will indeed be safe, although the quality may suffer. You just saved me about $15!

Lesson learned- DIVIDE then conquer!!