Question about freezing and unfreezing chicken

[Anonymous]

I just cooked a dish for my toddler which I made with some chicken that had been in the freezer. There is quite a bit left over, which I'd like to freeze. Does anyone know if it's OK to freeze cooked chicken, even if it was frozen before? I know that freezing and unfreezing chicken can cause really bad food poisoning, so just wanted to check before I put the left overs in the freezer. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear, the raw chicken was in the freezer. You defrosted it and cooked it. Now you want to re-freeze it. If that is what you are suggesting, no problem at all.

[Anonymous]

I've done it many times without any food poisoning. You should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I cooked the uncooked chicken which had been frozen, and now want to put the cooked chicken back into the freezer. Thanks for the advice!

[Anonymous]

Defrosting raw chicken and freezing cooked chicken is fine, AS IS defrosting and refreezing RAW chicken , as long as you defrost it correctly.

[Anonymous]

how do you defrost it correctly? incorrectly? how do you get food poisoning from defrosted and refrozen raw chicken?

[Anonymous]

You're supposed to defrost meat in the refrigerator overnight or in an ice bath, but it needs to maintain a certain low temperature. If you leave meat out at room temperature to defrost, it can grow bacteria.

Or something like that. Should be able to google it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:how do you defrost it correctly? incorrectly? how do you get food poisoning from defrosted and refrozen raw chicken?

All I know is that my mom got terrible food poisoning from eating chicken that had been prepared this way, and she had to be hospitalized. I'm generally very wary about the way chicken and pork have been prepared.

[Anonymous]

I'm interested in this thread because I thaw out meat in hot water almost every night. I cook it immediately, and we eat most of it. I never refreeze the cooked meat, although sometimes I refreeze the chicken livers from a whole chicken.

Should I throw out all those frozen chicken livers? I was saving them to make pate. I never refreeze raw, thawed meat otherwise.

We've never gotten sick from our thawed out in hot water meats, but I don't leave them on the counter for hours either. I dont' see how they'd have enough time to grow bacteria between the time I thaw them and cook them.

[Anonymous]

As a previous poster noted, you should defrost meat in the refrigerator or cold water. You can safely refreeze raw meat (except fish) so long as it was properly defrosted.

[Anonymous]

Fact sheet from USDA:


Safe Defrosting
Never defrost foods in a garage, basement, car, dishwasher or plastic garbage bag; out on the kitchen counter, outdoors or on the porch. These methods can leave your foods unsafe to eat.

There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Small items may defrost overnight; most foods require a day or two. And large items like turkeys may take longer, approximately one day for each 5 pounds of weight.

For faster defrosting, place food in a leak proof plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. (If the bag leaks, bacteria from the air or surrounding environment could be introduced into the food. Tissues can also absorb water like a sponge, resulting in a watery product.) Check the water frequently to be sure it stays cold. Change the water every 30 minutes. After thawing, cook immediately.

When microwave-defrosting food, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during microwaving.

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Refreezing
Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.

[Anonymous]

By the way - the meat you buy at the grocery store has probably already been frozen before it is placed our for puchase. Too many times I have gone to purchase meat and noticed that it has ice crystals on it or evn still frozen solid! So you could be re-freezing meat 3x!