By Cat, Apr 2010
Includes: 1. Refreezing chicken
Refreezing Chicken
I buy whole chickens (usually frozen Hutterite birds), cut them up, brine the breasts, then package legs & wings together, and wrap each breast separately to refreeze. Normally I cut up the bird while it still has a few ice crystals in it, to preserve moisture. But sometimes that’s not possible, so I checked food safety sites to see if it is safe to refreeze once fully thawed.
The answer: YES, but may lose some quality as thawing draws out moisture from the meat. This is why it’s best to refreeze while the meat still has some ice crystals.
When using re-frozen chicken, I recommend brining the bird – both white and dark meats – to restore lost moisture after thawing. See Brining Chicken and Brining Poultry for details.
See USDA, Safe Food Handling: Freezing and Food Safety for more
