# Freeze-thaw-cook-freeze? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943 "2022-11-15T11:20:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/1 "2022-11-15T11:20:55Z")
Does thorough cooking give you a second life on refreezing previously frozen food? I have some turkeys that I bought in a frozen state (49 cents per pound!!) and I’m roasting both of them, but I know I’ll be sick of turkey long before it goes bad on me, so I want to freeze some turkey meat for when I’ll be able to look at it without groaning again. If it’s thoroughly cooked, way beyond any bacteria being able to live in it, it seems to me refreezing presents no health problem, but I’m also aware of the prohibition against refreezing previously frozen food. Is that an oversimplification that I may freely ignore, or is there something to it that I’m unaware of? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/2 "2022-11-15T11:31:52Z")
ive been told in the past few years that if you’re careful you can refreeze things but you might want to look it up for the details and if you can’t refreeze cooked food the stores have a lot to answer for … ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/3 "2022-11-15T11:34:08Z")
I do this all the time, have done for as long as I can recall. Never had a problem Just use your good judgement on the freshness and quality of the food at each stage and thaw properly, cook thoroughly, freeze properly, thaw properly, reheat thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/4 "2022-11-15T12:15:04Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > I have some turkeys that I bought in a frozen state (49 cents per pound!!)… Wow, turkeys are cheap in Alaska. I’m no expert, but I don’t think you have to worry about health concerns. The taste and texture of the bird may be affected, though (although I doubt even that). mmm ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/5 "2022-11-15T12:41:16Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > I want to freeze some turkey meat for when I’ll be able to look at it without groaning again. We do this all the time and have never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/6 "2022-11-15T12:47:15Z")
Repeated freezing and thawing have no impact on food safety. It’s purely a food quality thing as repeated cycles will turn the texture mushy. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/7 "2022-11-15T12:48:55Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I do this all the time, have done for as long as I can recall. Never had a problem > [@kayaker](#): > > We do this all the time and have never had a problem. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/8 "2022-11-15T13:00:28Z")
This is a question I’ve always meant to ask, too. I thaw out ground beef and make a big batch of spaghetti sauce or chili, and want to freeze the leftovers. So far I’ve avoided it, but now I’ll go ahead and re-freeze and not worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/9 "2022-11-15T13:25:50Z")
Yep, no problem with that whatsoever ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/10 "2022-11-15T13:34:59Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > now I’ll go ahead and re-freeze and not worry about it. It is pleasing to ask a question that serves oneself and discover that someone else has benefitted from the answers as well. Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/11 "2022-11-15T13:58:23Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I thaw out ground beef and make a big batch of spaghetti sauce or chili, and want to freeze the leftovers We do this quite often and there’s never been a problem. We vaccum seal the leftovers in ~1qt servings for freezing and then later when we want to heat it back up we plop the bag in a pan of simmering water and let it sit for half an hour or so. By then it’s no longer frozen solid and can be heated on the stove in just a few minutes. I’ve never frozen anything with rice or potatoes in it but everything else has worked out fine. Its also a good way to make homemade meals for camping. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/12 "2022-11-15T14:57:28Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > > > I do this all the time, have done for as long as I can recall. Never had a problem > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > We do this all the time and have never had a problem. > > Same here. Me too! When we’re sick of leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I freeze it and then make soup at some point. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/13 "2022-11-15T15:06:45Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Repeated freezing and thawing have no impact on food safety. It’s purely a food quality thing as repeated cycles will turn the texture mushy. I’ve heard that the mushiness is from the ice crystals cutting the cell walls in the food. The longer it takes to freeze, the larger the crystals and the more mushy the food will get. Freezing the food quickly will make smaller crystals which won’t cut the cells as much. If possible, put the food in the coldest part of your freezer so it freezes as fast as possible. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/14 "2022-11-15T15:29:09Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I do this all the time, have done for as long as I can recall. Never had a problem Ditto. It’s a routine part of my cooking, especially in winter, to make extra and freeze some of it; and most of the time the ingredients, especially in winter, came out of the freezer to start with. Proper cooking is a reset. > [@Lancia](#): > > I’ve never frozen anything with rice or potatoes in it Potatoes IME don’t freeze well. I don’t know how the commercial frozen potato people do it, but when I tried I got awful texture. Not dangerous, though. Some things with rice seem to freeze OK – soups, for instance. Rice pudding didn’t work, again texture problems. > [@filmore](#): > > If possible, put the food in the coldest part of your freezer so it freezes as fast as possible. And if possible, don’t freeze too much at once; and if there’s multiple packages, spread them around in the freezer until they’re frozen. I have two chest freezers and if there’s a lot of stuff I’ll divide it up between them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/15 "2022-11-15T15:45:12Z")
Refreezing cooked food that has had frozen ingredients in it is pretty standard. Nothing at all wrong with it. I do it all the time – never any issue. My usual routine is buy meat on sale – throw it in the freezer – make a stew one day – freeze any leftovers for a future lunch. I’ve even frozen and refrozen uncooked meat. I bought a giant pork loin at Costco a while back and forgot to cut it up into thirds or quarters to freeze separately. So I unthawed the whole thing in my fridge, portioned it out, and refroze it. (That I did look up to see if it would be okay, though I couldn’t see why not.) I’ve made chops and roasts since with the re-frozen meat, and I couldn’t tell any difference. Texture seemed perfectly fine. Flavor was normal. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/16 "2022-11-15T16:32:19Z")
What they said about refreezing. It’s significantly aesthetic concerns. Cooked turkey freezes really nicely if you slice it and immerse the slices in gravy. I often buy a big turkey at a post-Christmas reduced price, roast the whole bird, carve it, make gravy from the bones and giblets, then portion it out into containers and freeze. Really easy Sunday dinner when you only have to think about prepping the vegetables ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freeze-thaw-cook-freeze/974943/17 "2022-11-15T17:14:16Z")
The USDA agrees that it’s safe to refreeze thawed food, as long as it was thawed in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. [https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Is-it-safe-to-refreeze-food-that-has-thawed](https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Is-it-safe-to-refreeze-food-that-has-thawed)