If you’ve ever thawed meat only to come home and crave food from your favorite pizza joint or fast-food restaurant instead, then you’ve likely contemplated whether to toss the meat in the trash, cook it to use for leftovers or refreeze it. But is it safe to eat chicken that’s been refrozen? We’re putting an end to the rumors that say you can’t with one simple answer: yes.
It is safe to refreeze raw chicken, but just as there’s a certain way to prepare chicken, there’s also a specific way you should refreeze it.
First of all, you can only put chicken back in the freezer if it was defrosted in the fridge (or any area below 41 degrees). You also should only refreeze chicken if it was defrosted for less than 24 hours.
It’s important to only refreeze chicken that was thawed in the fridge because any bacteria that the meat accumulates when defrosted via other methods (in cold water or the microwave) will be stored when you refreeze it. The more bacteria that grows, the greater the health risk.
You should also store the chicken at the bottom of the fridge because it’s the coldest and ensures that any juice from the meat doesn’t leak onto other foods such as fruits and veggies. But whether you store your chicken in the fridge or freezer, it’s important that you know how long poultry lasts before it goes bad.
Once your chicken is safely defrosted, use it in an easy grilled chicken recipe or try out one of these 30 amazing wing recipes perfect for football season.
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