John Myers
I accidentally took a frozen large farmer chicken out of the freezer and refrozen it a few hours later. It was still frozen hard, but unfortunately the outer layer had thawed about 1 cm deep. Is it still safe for me to roast and eat this chicken?
Our answer depends on whether the chicken is thawed in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Poultry is one of the most perishable foods. Due to the risk of salmonella, strict attention should be paid to kitchen hygiene, especially here.
If the chicken has been at room temperature for several hours, we do not recommend refreezing it raw. Salmonella can easily multiply on the thawed meat at room temperatures. Refreezing them will not kill them. It will only slow down or stop their growth. The next time they thaw, they can multiply again and reach a level that is harmful to health. It would have been better here to prepare the meat and then refreeze it.
If you have stored the poultry meat in the refrigerator, you can use the slightly defrosted meat again. However, we recommend that you prepare the chicken as soon as possible and cook it through.
Tips for defrosting poultry meat:
- Chicken should not be stored in the freezer for more than 8-10 months.
- Poultry should be thawed in the refrigerator; the thawing time for a chicken is about 12 hours. Poultry can also be defrosted in the microwave using the defrost setting.
- Place the meat in a colander or inverted plate, then place in a large bowl. This allows the defrosting liquid to drain off easily.
- Discard the defrosting liquid! Salmonella danger!
- Prepare and cook the meat immediately after defrosting.
- Rinse all objects that have come into contact with the meat with hot washing-up liquid, including the sink.
- Portioned frozen poultry meat does not need to be thawed. It can be prepared directly.
