Can You Refreeze Ground Beef That's Completely Thawed?

In most cases, it's safe to refreeze ground beef. However, there are some caveats to that depending on how you thawed your meat and how long it has been thawed for.

The USDA recommends three ways to defrost ground beef safely: thaw it in the fridge, place it into a sealable plastic bag and immerse it in cold water, or thaw it in the microwave.

If there's a chance you might want to refreeze the meat later, then be sure to thaw your meat in the fridge, as this is the only method that is considered safe for refreezing.

Once thawed in this way, the ground beef should be safe in the fridge for one to two days. After that, even if you thawed the meat in the fridge, it is not safe to refreeze raw.

If you thawed your ground beef in the microwave or in a bowl of water or it's been thawed too long, simply cook it to 160 degrees F before you refreeze it to kill bacteria.

Thawing and then refreezing ground beef in this way will have a negative effect on its texture and moistness, so consider that when picking a recipe.