once you defrost meat, how long do you have before you have to cook it??

Question

once you defrost meat (or chicken) how long is it still safe to eat??
also
can you re-freeze it after it's been defrosted?

Answer 1

yes you can refreeze meat
.I checked the USDA website and they say it's fine to refreeze meat. It may compromise the quality of the meat, but only if it has been thawed in the refrigerator otherwise it need to be cooked before refrozen


http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Basics_for_Safe_Food_Handling.pdffety.

Answer 2

No more than 24 hours, and for chicken and ground beef it should be less than 12. For steak or such, put it in the marinade as soon as you take it out of the freezer, and it can absorb the marinade as it defrosts. No you cannot refreeze it unless it is still so cold it has ice crystals, and if it's ground beef I wouldn't do it even then, ground meat has such a high chance of having been contaminated along the way.

Answer 3

You should cook meat within a day or 2 days at the very most. Chicken should be cooked the day it's thawed. Keep it refrigerated between thawing and cooking.

NO, you cannot safely refreeze meat or chicken, or really any food, after it's thawed. Once it's cooked, however, you can freeze it again.

Answer 4

about 1 day
and never re-freeze