Refreezing

I shot a deer two weeks ago and labeled and froze some chunks for sausage. We thawed them out and ground it up. Can I refreeze it now? I always heard it was bad to refreeze meat.
Thanks for the help
True

 

How long was it thawed for?

 

Came of the bone the day I shot him and into the freezer from the fridge the next day. Took 3 days to thaw, as I just packed a bunch of meat into a 1 gallon bag and sucked the air out with a straw. Stayed thawed for 1 more day.

 

i wouldnt

 

I'd say it's fine. Most of the meat that people bring into our local grocery stores are frozen. They have to thaw it, process it and re-freeze it.

In the end, freezing doesn't kill any bacteria, just makes them inactive. So the total thawed time is what is important. So I would cook it right away once you thaw it again.

It's also help to freeze & thaw it as fast as possible. But the real danger zone for any meat is the 40*-140* range. this is where bacteria thrives.

 

I am no expert on this subject but as for me, once it has been frozen and thawed, I would not freeze it again.

 

I freeze large bags of scrap and thaw it out for a few days and grind it up. I then package it right after grinding and freeze it.

There's times when I thaw out a loin and leave it in the fridge for 5-6 days before cooking it. It's great.

People are too paranoid about their meat. Yours will be absolutely fine.

 

Are you talking about hunters bringing wild game in to be processed or meat that the stores bring in to resell?

 

To be processed. No one locally will butcher whole deer. But both grocery stores will process de-boned meat.

 

Gotcha. When I first read it I thought you were talking about meat like beef to resell. I was going to correct you.

 

Are you worried about the texture of the meat, or the safety? Safety wise it will be fine as long as you cook it to an internal temp of 160*. You can also look up the time/temp tables online if you wanted to cook at a lower temp (but for a longer time).

Texture wise, unless you can flash freeze the meat, it's best to not re-freeze. The meat will thaw out, then when you freeze it again, the ice crystals will disrupt the sarcomeres in the muscle and change the texture. Being ground though, it won't make much difference either way

 

Agreed! The food saftey measures that everyone hears are (rightfully so) over-cautious and meant for the meat coming out of the industrial food machine where animals spend the last weeks of their life wading through their own feces.

Your venison, especially if you are the one butchering it, is one of the healthiest and safest meats in our country to eat. Even if you freeze & thaw it a few times

 

All I can say is

 

Get a vaccum sealer.
Once I get a deer I quater it asap.
Take the quarters and bag them in large garbage bags. I let those sit in an extra fridge for 2 or 3 days.
After that I de-bone them. make cuts and vaccum seal those and freeze them.
later if I want to make sausage I thaw it grind it make the sausage and then freeze that.
I will thaw meat in ice water though It seems to thaw faster and be safer than in the fridge or on the counter.

 

I do the same and agree about the paranoid with one caveat: If it is meat you have processed then yes, but if it is meat that has been processed elswhere then I am one of the paranoid folks. No one will take as much care about your food as you (anyone) do.