What To Know Before Refreezing Thawed Steak

Sometimes, even the best-laid dinner plans don't work out, and that steak you thawed earlier has to go back into the freezer. But can you safely refreeze a steak that's already been thawed? Yes, but it depends on how it was thawed. According to the USDA, it is 100% safe to refreeze meat that has been thawed — if it was thawed in the refrigerator. 

This is because thawing meat in the fridge ensures it is kept at a safe temperature and out of the danger zone. The danger zone is any temperature between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, where bacteria can thrive and multiply, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses. If you're not thawing your steaks in the fridge and instead are leaving them on the counter for more than two hours (or one hour at temperatures 90 degrees or above), bacteria can begin multiplying. While refreezing the steak will render microbes inactive, they will come back to life the next time your steak is thawed. 

Additionally, refreezing a thawed steak can cause the quality to deteriorate, especially if it's thawed and refrozen multiple times. This is caused by moisture loss during the thawing process, which can dry out your steak over time. Refreezing the best cuts of steak is definitely something you should try to avoid if possible. That said, sometimes it's unavoidable, and so long as your steak was thawed properly, there are ways to refreeze it so it maintains as much quality as possible.

Refreezing a thawed steak is a lot like freezing any piece of meat for the first time; only time is a bit more important because you want to preserve the quality. While the process is always going to result in a bit more dryness than otherwise, the faster you're able to freeze your steak completely, the less moisture you'll lose.

While it is technically safe to refreeze meat within three to four days of thawing, so long as it's been in the fridge, it's best not to let it wait around if you can help it. When refreezing, you have a couple of options. Vacuum sealing is one way to preserve freshness, but not everyone has that equipment in their kitchen. Instead, you can quickly freeze steaks unwrapped on a baking sheet after patting them down with a paper towel.

The goal of this method is to speed up the freezing process to create smaller ice crystals that result in less moisture loss. When steaks are wrapped prior to freezing, it can take longer for them to freeze all the way through, allowing larger ice crystals to form that can damage the meat or cause freezer burn. However, steaks should only be left uncovered until they're frozen; after that, they should be moved to a freezer-safe storage container. This can be a freezer bag or plastic wrap and butcher paper, so moisture can't escape and dry air doesn't dry out your meat.