Is It Safe To Refreeze Ground Beef That's Already Been Thawed?

We've all planned to cook one night, pulled some meat out of the freezer, and then found that life has other plans for us. When you have to mix up your meal plan or grab some emergency takeout, that doesn't change the fact that you just thawed out a hunk of ground beef. Unless you know you're definitely going to cook that beef up very soon, despite the change of plans, the immediate impulse might be to toss it right back in the freezer.

But how safe is it to refreeze ground beef that has already been thawed? In most cases, it's safe to refreeze ground beef. However, it's worth noting that there are some caveats to that depending on how you thawed your meat and how long it has been thawed for. Additionally, while it's safe to do so, thawing and then refreezing ground beef will have a negative effect on its quality. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notes that "there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing." So while it's safe to refreeze and cook with it later, you might want to make sure that you're cooking a meal where the texture and moistness of the meat isn't going to be a focal point.

The USDA recommends three possible ways to defrost ground beef safely. Either leave the ground beef in the refrigerator until it is thawed, place the meat into a sealable plastic bag and immerse it in cold water, or thaw it in the microwave. If you think there's a chance you might want to refreeze the meat later, then be sure to thaw your meat in the refrigerator as this is the only method that is considered safe for refreezing. The other options will bring the meat up to a temperature at which bacterial growth can become a concern if you are not cooking the ground beef promptly. Once thawed in this way, the ground beef should be safe in the fridge for one to two days. After that time has passed, even if you thawed the meat in the refrigerator, the meat is not safe to refreeze.

How long the ground beef has originally been in the freezer doesn't need to be a concern. Like most foods, ground beef is safe to freeze indefinitely. However, most recommendations suggest that after three to four months you'll notice a decrease in quality so it's better to use it sooner rather than later. But even if the ground beef has been in the freezer longer than four months, it shouldn't have any effect on whether you can refreeze it after it has been thawed.

Planning ahead to make sure you thaw your meat over a couple of days in the refrigerator is a reasonable idea. Making sure that ground beef doesn't sit for a day or two before going back in the freezer if it needs to is all well and good, but if plans were that reliable and it were easy to keep on top of everything, then you wouldn't need to worry about refreezing the meat in the first place. So what do you do if you thawed your meat in water or the microwave or in a bowl of water or it's been thawed for too long?

Fortunately, the answer is relatively simple: cook the ground beef before you refreeze it. Bringing the beef up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any bacteria (including E.coli). It is then safe to refreeze the beef and use it in a later meal. This poses a culinary problem, however, as ground beef that has been cooked plain, frozen, and then thawed again isn't going to be as nice texturally and will likely not have been cooked with the appropriate seasonings for whatever future dish you plan to make. Cooking the beef before refreezing avoids contributing to food waste, but it's probably best to use that ground beef in a chili or Bolognese where those negative properties won't be quite so apparent.