Refreezing already cooked meat

[abbarubin]

So, I thawed out some meat and cooked it. It was a lot and I froze half of it. A week later I thawed out the previously cooked meat, but something came up and I had to run out, so I refroze the cooked meat. This was a little over a week ago. So the thawed meat was cooked, frozen, and refrozen. Now if I thaw it out to use it,, what should I expect? Is it safe? Will it have lost quality? Will it be dried out? Is there anything special I should do to it? (like throwing it out?)

Thanks.

Abchick

[greygarious]

It's safe. The texture may suffer but that all depends on what the meat is and how you prepared it. Definitely usable, It's always best to freeze ANYTHING in the amount you'll need when defrosted, rather than repeatedly freezing and thawing the same package.

[abbarubin]

Thanks Greygarious. I try to defrost only what I need, but sometimes I have a large piece of frozen meat that I can't cut, so I thaw the whole thing, cook it, divide it into portions, and freeze what we don't eat that night. What else can a person do?
Abchick

[cookie monster]

I've done this, more than once (the perils of cooking for one and then changing one's dinner plans). The taste and texture may not be great, but it's still safe to eat assuming your freezing and thawing practices were otherwise safe (thawed in the fridge rather than on the counter, etc.). the USDA seems to agree: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/F...

[abbarubin]

Thank you Cookie Monster -- I guess I should ask you about my cookies. I guess I'll find out about the taste and texture on Monday.

Abchick