Chicken and Beef stored in the freezer not entirely frozen - safe?
Recently (four days ago), a friend gave me a large chicken leg and some beef chunks for me to use at some point to cook with. Both of them were raw, but totally frozen, when I received them.
I put them in the freezer of my small fridge (I am a college student studying in a foreign country) to keep until I decided to make something with them. However, I opened the small freezer door (it's one of those student fridges where the freezer is a small box at the top of the fridge - you have to open the main door to open the freezer) and realized that the meat was no longer totally frozen. The freezer itself is apparently still cold enough that there is still ice and frost on the walls and floor of the freezer, and most of the meat is still frozen as well. However, some of the edges are not frozen, and are actually quite thawed. They are still cold, though.
Is this meat safe to eat/cook with?
Best Answer
If it's not completely frozen, then it will last roughly as long as meat stored in the fridge. So if "recently" was within the last 4-5 days, it's fine. If "recently" is more than a week ago, it should not be eaten.
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Can partially thawed meat be refrozen?
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises: Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods.Can meat go bad in the freezer?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, any food held at a precise temperature of 0\xb0F is safe to eat eternally. Uncooked roasts, steaks, and chops should be thrown out after a year in the freezer, while uncooked ground beef should be thrown out after only four months.Can chicken go bad in the freezer?
Information. If kept frozen continuously, chicken will be safe indefinitely, so after freezing, it's not important if any package dates expire. For best quality, taste and texture, keep whole raw chicken in the freezer up to one year; parts, 9 months; and giblets or ground chicken, 3 to 4 months.How can you tell if frozen meat is bad?
Look for the following signs in your frozen foods to determine if they're still good.How to Safely Freeze Cooked Meats | 1 Minute Tips | DJ BBQ
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