can you refreeze chicken?

stokefan

i have done a chicken stew for tonight using chicken breasts that i froze a few weeks ago, my question is will it be safe to freeze the stew with contains the chicken to eat at a later date?

Swan_2

yes, it's ok to re-freeze previously frozen produce provided it's been cooked

so you'll be fine

BitterAndTwisted

Personally, I wouldn't risk it even if the chicken has been thoroughly cooked after defrosting.

nibs

Yes I always freeze my leftovers, (so long as it was raw the first time you froze it)

stokefan

yeah it was raw the first time i froze it, so do you think there is no risk at all then??

thanks for all your help everyone

Swan_2

stokefan wrote: »

yeah it was raw the first time i froze it, so do you think there is no risk at all then??

thanks for all your help everyone

it'll be fine

I should have mentioned as long as it was raw before it was frozen in the first place (as nibs pointed out) then cooked before freezing again it's ok

I'm sure there was a discussion about this some time ago, but I can't find the thread now, maybe someone else can point you to it?

zippychick

can't find the exact one but here is "how long does cooked chicken keep for"

Once it has frozen raw, desfrosted and cooked again it is ok to freeze as it's changed states (as explained). I do it all the time. Food standards also say this is ok here

tandraig

its fine to defrost frozen raw chicken then cook it and refreeze it - just ensure it is piping hot all the way through! do this all the time and not killed anyway or even caused tummy upset!

anotherginger

usually with chicken, the problems associated with re-freezing it are to do with quality rather than safety.

there was a study done where chicken was continously frozen and defrosted and the microbiological standards were still being met, even though it looked like it would kill someone!