Freezer defrosted

[autumncat]

I opened our upright freezer to discover that it had no power.
Has been without power since yesterday (maybe longer) - power blinked off and back on...can't remember when exactly. Tripped the gfi switch in the basement and we didn't realize.

Pretty much all the food is defrosted (just stocked up on frozen stuff, damnit). It's all still cold - just thawed. There was still ice in the freezer (maybe half defrosted).

Have chicken, Bubba burgers.

So, is it ok to re-freeze and use later (as long as it's all cooked thoroughly)?

I have googled and read both yes and no to this being safe. Quality may suffer - but safety is what I am concerned with.

Anyone know for sure?

Comments

[sunnidae]

I don't have any notion, but I can commiserate. We left on Friday, came home yesterday, and discovered we hadn't closed the freezer door tightly before we left. Nothing could be salvaged. :(

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

Ugh.
That stinks, too.

[surlywench.livejournal.com]

I think as long as there was still ice in the freezer, it's an okay indication that the temp didn't go too high. It's likely okay to re-freeze it all. If the the ice had melted completely and all, then i'd say chuck anything that isn't precooked already (most frozen pre-packaged stuff is already cooked anyway....).

you should be fine to freeze it up again :)

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback.

The freezer was in need of being defrosted (it's the kind that collects ice on the coils and we need to manually de-ice it.
When I opened it there was still ice on several shelves - though, not nearly as much. Had to mop up water on the bottom.

But I don't believe the freezer was opened at all until just now while it was off. It all still seemed cold.

I'm hoping we don't have to toss everything.

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

If the freezer wasn't opened, then you should be fine. If it's more than 24 hours (and the ice has completely melted off the shelves), then I would say no, but if it's less than 24 hours and there still seems to be ice on the shelves, then it should be fine.

I was always told 24 hours during a blackout.

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

Thanks. There was definitely ice on the shelves. It was only last night that the power went off.
So - hoping all is still well.
Thanks for the input!

[fireyirishangel.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can freeze thoroughly cooked food. Once it's cooked, however, allow it to cool to room temperature on its own first before cooling it/freezing it. Put it in a tupperware container with a lid to limit contact with yuckies, but lift the lid at the corner to allow the steam to escape.

[fireyirishangel.livejournal.com]

Oh, and if you have a vacuum sealer, I recommend cooling the food to room temperature, then cooling it to 'fridge temperature, the vacuum sealing it and putting it into the freezer. For the chicken maybe even slice it up to use for fajitas or somesuch where the change in taste won't be as easily recognizable.

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm more concerned with re-freezing raw meat that has thawed or partially thawed.
We had burgers, chicken, beef, etc in there.

[fireyirishangel.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I misunderstood!

The only time I re-freeze thawed or partially thawed meat is if it's in a vacuum sealed container. I buy chicken breasts from BJs that are broken up into their on vacuum sealed storage from the maker. We vacuum seal ground beef and meatloaf mix when we bring it home, so I feel comfortable re-freezing. I can't tell you for certain if this is a widely acceptable practice, but I'd imagine that in safe food handling standards, it probably is not. I feel comfortable doing it, personally, regardless of standards, but I think it ultimately depends upon your own comfort levels.

[capi.livejournal.com]

*nod* Been there, done that.

It's true: re-freezing will lower nutritional value, but it's still do-able. I've done it with no consequences.

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I just don't want to dump the whole freezer.

[capi.livejournal.com]

Give the meat a snif. If it smells the least bit IFFY, chuck it. If it just smells like meat, it's ok.

[autumncat.livejournal.com]

There is frozen packaged stuff - like lean pockets and frozen pizza.

However, there is also uncooked raw chicken, burgers, beef. I wanted to know if these items could be re-frozen before cooking them. I understand quality may be affected but I'm more concerned with safety.