Can you really grind frozen meat and refreeze it? If your priority is your meat preservation, since you don’t want to consume your meat immediately, and you aren’t concerned about the quality, taste, texture, and safety of your meat, then surely, you can go ahead and refreeze your ground frozen meat.
Otherwise, No. Do not refreeze your meat after previously freezing and grinding. You should only grind frozen meat when you are ready to consume it.
For you to grind any frozen meat, you’ll have to thaw the meat properly. The layer of the meat is already affected when frozen the first time, and when you thaw frozen meat to grind, the structure is affected, therefore, I will advise you to consume it right away.
Refreezing ground meat would also affect the layer and texture of the meat. Once frozen meat gets thawed and is ground, it must be consumed as soon as possible and not be refrozen in order to prevent decay and food poisoning.
Also, once it is thawed, some parts of the meat get exposed to bacteria because of their warm temperature. This bacterial infection does not only affect the health of humans; it also increases the chance of decay of the meat.
This is why it is advisable to consume all ground frozen meat and not refreeze them.
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What happens when you grind frozen meat and refreeze
Grinding frozen meat takes a whole lot of processes ranging from thawing to packaging the ground meat into vacuum bags.
The first thing I always ensure is to have my meat chilled in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Frozen meat helps the meat remain firm and enables it to pass through the grinding plate easily, but the ice crystals that form on the surface of the meat due to freezing also affects the texture of the meat.
The next thing I do is thaw the meat. I usually recommend immersing the meat in cold water.
When the meat is thawed at cooking temperature, it suffers a high risk of bacterial infection and exposure to germs that might be harmful to human health.
My grinding machine is always maintained at cool temperature, but to prevent a distasteful grinding job, I always ensure to cool my grinding plates in the freezer as well.
Depending on my appetite, I might add some considerable ratio of either pork or beef fat to the meat for additional flavor before I grind it.
Finally, I put the meat into my grinding machine and follow the instructions on the manual to get my meat ground.
After grinding, ensure to cook the meat immediately and eat it.
When you refreeze ground meat, you would affect and hurt the texture of the meat because when meat freezes, ice crystals tend to break down the structure of the meat.
Freezing is an effective method of preservation, but a fraction of water (bound water) never completely freezes in the meat which eventually results in a degree of chemical reactivity during freezing.
These chemical reactions adversely affect the texture and flavor of the meat. The more you refreeze your meat, the adverse the effects of these chemical reactions on the texture of the meat.
Meat grinders suitable for grinding frozen meat
Apart from grinding machines, other medieval and historical methods can be applied in grinding your frozen meat.
Whether you want a fine, medium, or coarse ground, there are several grinding machines that can effectively carry out the function to your taste and satisfaction, but to ensure a faster, easier, and finely ground frozen meat, the following grinding machines are the best for you to pick from.
CAMOCA Meat Grinder
This is 4 mm by 7 mm equipment that offers versatility and efficiency to the chef which is YOU. It works well with any kind of frozen meat you want to grind.
This machine is very versatile in its functions, it is not only used to grind different cuts of meat, but it can also be used to chop cold cuts and sausages.
For small-scale commercial purposes, the CAMOCA Meat Grinder is effective and relatively suitable. It is very easy to clean and manage, it is very easy to disassemble and manually clean.
The three stainless-steel blades help to grind tougher meats like lambs and turkeys and it also grinds the meat into either smooth, coarse, or fine grounds.
Compared to its price, it is adequately cheap for being an electric tool. I am a lover of meat and I love my sausage deliciously, so, I would choose the CAMOCA Meat Grinder over and over again because it is relatively easy to use and very easy to operate even while it presents the best quality.
MinJan Electric Meat Grinder
This is an appliance that also delivers a quality level of frozen ground meat JUST THE WAY YOU WANT IT.
If you need to grind large amounts of meat in a quick, efficient manner, then the MINJAN ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER is the best option for you.
The power of the MINJAN ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER is capable enough to easily grind 5 pounds of meat in a minute. When it comes to grinding frozen meat, this equipment would also do a perfect job.
So, if you own a sausage shop and you need a grinding machine that can carry out a heavy-duty grinding job for large frozen meat chunks, then the MINJAN ELECTRIC MEAT GRINDER is for you.
Just like the Camoca meat grinder, the Minjan Electric meat grinder also has multipurpose uses. It can be used for sausages, meatballs, etc.
However, I must say that I am recommending these two products to you based on my personal experience in using them.
There are several other grinding machines that would effectively grind your frozen meat to your satisfaction and taste.
FAQs: How many times can you thaw and refreeze meat?
It is important to store meat safely in the fridge to stop bacteria from spreading and to avoid food poisoning.
Thawing frozen meat is a very important aspect of ensuring your meat does not contact bacteria. You must ensure that you defrost the meat thoroughly before cooking.
Lots of liquid would come out as thaws, so it is advisable to stand it in a bowl to prevent the bacteria in the liquid from spreading.
Furthermore, when freezing your meat, you must ensure that the meat is properly wrapped in the freezer in order to prevent it from getting freezer burn which can make it tough and indelible.
After your frozen meat has been thawed, it is advisable to never refreeze raw meat. Frozen meat can be cooked and then refreeze, but this must also be done with caution. You should not refreeze cooked meat when it has not cooled down well enough.
To reduce wastage, defrost the meat into smaller portions before freezing and imply just refroze you need per time. This would reduce wastage and prevent the meat from decay and bacterial infection which could lead to food poisoning when eaten.
Conclusively, it is not an advisable option to refreeze thawed meat especially when it has been cooked.
FAQs: Can you grind frozen meat, cook, and refreeze?
Yes. Cooking defrosted foods and cutting them into smaller portions might be a good way of ensuring the meat is well preserved even if it would be frozen again.
Ensure you have divided the meat into small portions, ensure you wait till it has stopped steaming before you package it into containers or vacuum bags.
If you steam in a closed container, it would lead to condensation which can result in pools of water forming. This water combined with the meat nutrients creates the perfect environment for microbial growth.
This is why you must wait for the steam to properly cool off before refrigerating or freezing hot food.
If thawed ground beef has been in the refrigerator for only a short time, it is considerable enough to refreeze it. But, a constant continuous cycle of freezing, thawing, and refreezing causes the meet to lose moisture gradually and at each and every step and texture changes would begin to occur and get noticed.
Rather than refreezing all over again, it might also be considerable enough to reserve the meat for soups where texture is not as important unlike other dishes like sausages or burgers.
It is possible to grind frozen meat, cook, and refreeze once necessary actions are taken to prevent freezing hot or steaming meat.
FAQs: Can you refreeze cooked meat that was previously frozen?
Repeating the cycle of freezing and refreezing eventually affects the texture of the meat because of the ice crystals that form whenever you freeze them, however, it is considerable enough to refreeze cooked meat that was previously frozen.
When you freeze meat, ice crystals form on the surface of the meat and this is what causes the meat to toughen and become so firm. Freezing prevents oxygen and eventually prevents bacteria growth and spread on the meat.
When you cook frozen meat, it is absolutely okay to refreeze it.
However, certain things must be put in place in order to prevent bacteria growth and food poisoning. Before you refreeze cooked meat that was previously frozen, you must ensure that the cooked meat has cooled off before refreezing.
Always ensure that the steam from the previously frozen cooked meat has cooled off before refreezing.
To ensure the best quality, always ensure that you consume the refreeze cooked meat within the shortest possible time. I don’t allow it to stay in my refrigerator for more than 2 months.
FAQs: Can you eat defrosted chicken without reheating?
Yes, you can. Frozen chicken can be defrosted by using water, or using the refrigerator.
You should however note that it is safer to eat defrost cooked chicken by reheating it than to eat the one that was defrosted using the refrigerator as more bacteria grows in the refrigerator than in the freezer.
Proper handling of poultry meat would avoid the risk of foodborne illness for you or your customers (if you have a shop or restaurant).
Freezing cooked chicken reduces the activity of microbial organisms which can cause great damage to the human body, reheating it would simply cause bacteria to become active and eventually multiply.
However, if it becomes absolutely necessary to reheat it, reheat it to boiling point and not just room temperature. When defrosted meat is reheated to boiling point, the organisms and bacteria die as well.
Extremely hot temperature kills bacterial and microbes. It is not advisable to reheat a defrosted cooked chicken before eating it because it makes you vulnerable to foodborne illnesses.
Can you grind frozen meat and refreeze?: Conclusion
All over the world, the consumption of meat (pork, beef, venison, etc.) is high.
However, there are several ways meat can be processed for consumption even while it retains its quality, taste, and nutrients. Out of the several ways and methods of meat processing is Grinding.
Ground meat simply refers to pieces of meat that were finely chopped with either a chopping knife or meat grinder.
However, to ensure that grinding is done smoothly, the meat must be refrigerated in order to keep the meat firm enough for it to easily pass through the grinding plates for an easy cut.
Consuming meat is highly nutritious and beneficial to helping our body absorb the necessary nutrients and function properly. However, extra care and caution must be taken in order to prevent getting infected with foodborne illnesses.
Freezing and thawing meat is a cycle that must not be repeated consistently on a chunk of meat.
As an individual, it is safer to only thaw the meat you are sure to consume and leave the remaining frozen. Refreezing meat avoids the texture and quality of meat over time.
I don’t leave my meat in the freezer for long.
Yes, I know that freezing is a very effective food preservation method, but the longer the food stays, the lower the quality of the texture and taste.
I hope I have answered all your questions and dealt with your doubts on this topic. Let me know if you’ve got any more questions in the comment.
Eat safe.
