Question about meat

[jennifer293]

Yesterday my power was out for over 18 hours due to Katrina (I was doing the happy dance at 1 am when it came back on), and I had a few pork chops, boneless chicken, pork roast, stew meat and bacon in the freezer. Although the freezer defrosted the meat was still hard and had frost on it. I know you are not supposed to freeze , thaw and refreeze but would you consider this thawed since it did not completely thaw?

Do you think it is OK left in the freezer or do I need to just throw it out?

Also the milk was even still cold so do you think it is OK?

TIA

 

[garydeb]

Jennifer,

If your meat is still a little frozen and has frost on it you can refreeze it.
If your milk is still cold you can use it but it will not last too long. Go by the smell in a day or two. Hope this helps....

Good Luck,
Debbie

 

[Cruz Family]

Was the meat still hard when you touched it? If it was hard it did not defrost, if it was soft even if it was just on the out side it started defrosting. Once it begins defrosting you should have moved it to the fridge so it could fininsh. If you refroze the meat after it started to thaw it really should be thrown out.
As long as the milk is still cold it is fine.

 

[Ellester]

You can refreeze food, even if it has thawed out but is still cold. It is a taste issue not a safety issue. I would visit the home extension website for your state. They usually have all kinds of info about safe temps. and how long you can keep food after the power goes out. Glad your power is back on now!

 

[mafibisha]

You can refreeze food, even if it has thawed out but is still cold. It is a taste issue not a safety issue. I would visit the home extension website for your state. They usually have all kinds of info about safe temps. and how long you can keep food after the power goes out. Glad your power is back on now!

Hmm, I'm not sure about that, I would be careful and err on the side of overly cautious. Especially if it's a *ground* meat, such as hamburger, ground chuck or sirloin as those are already MUCH more prone to contamination.

Good luck, and glad your power is back on!

 

[goofyforlife]

We had this issue when we had that hurricane come through MD two years ago..... I don't think you have to throw it out but I would cook everything.....

Call it a pre-labor day picnic....maybe share with neighbors who weren't as fortunate and did lose their food....

I'm guessing you could freeze the leftovers though once it's cooked....

 

[ceecee]

I agree cook it and refreeze. I have done that before. If it was still hard frozen you should be okay.

 

[mafibisha]

My motto: When in doubt, throw it out. It's not worth the consequences!

 

[jennifer293]

thanks I am gonna do some serious cooking and just freeze it again so we can just reheat in the microwave for future meals..

Thanks again

 

[seashoreCM]

Your freezer will have more meat in it at some times as opposed to other times. It is best if most of the empty space, preferably at the edges with the food moved towards the center, is filled with those blue ice packs. But add only a few of the packs each day since adding too many of them at once may cause the food to thaw momentarily. There should be gaps to let cold air circulate, and corrugated cardboard should separate the ice packs from the food until the packs have frozen.

Freezers and picnic coolers should be shaded from the sun.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[magnetgirl]

As long as the meat was solid it is fine.If the pork or chicken was soft at all I would cook it as soon as possible.