Refreezing Defrosted Prime Roast?

Here’s my scenario. I have a 6 lb. boneless prime strip roast that I froze originally after vacuum sealing it. It’s too big for just the 3 of us for dinner. So, I would like to defrost it (in cool water in the bag), cut it in half, then refreeze half of it for a later meal. How much damage will it do to the texture to go this route?

It shouldn’t be a big deal as long as you’re defrosting at refrigerator temperatures.

Why not just cut it frozen? You might have to get a hack saw or some other power tool but I think that would be better than freeze - thaw - freeze.

George

You could also cut it while frozen using a hacksaw.

Great minds…

Beat ya!!

George

I’ve thought about that, but I don’t have a clean (non-used) hack saw and didn’t want to go out and buy one. But, I’ve had this issue come up before, so I might grab one at some point.

Don’t defrost the roast. Cut it frozen.

Take it frozen to the local supermarket (better yet the place you bought it), and ask them nicely to cut it in half

Invite more people over for dinner!

Betty to the rescue!

Chris, I’ll PM you my phone #.

I was waiting on the suggestion to invite people over. But, my wife wasn’t in the mood for hosting guests.

After defrosting in a circulating SV bath for 3 hours at 47 degrees, it was soft enough to slice through without too much difficulty. Although, most of it was still semi frozen and you could hear the knife crunching through the soft ice. Vacuum sealed up half of it and back in the freezer. Hopefully, I’ll remember to report back when I cook that piece.

Not terribly germane to my original topic, but the half I cooked was tremendous. I expected it to be good, but it was even better. I pit it on indirect on my BGE at about 275 for about 1.5 hours until it came up to around 110 internal. Pulled it to rest for about 30 minutes while I removed my indirect set up. By the time I put it back on, the internal temp was close to 120. I seared it on a raised, direct set up around 450-500 for about 5-6 minutes flipping top to bottom every minute.

If the meat has not been at 40F or higher for a prolonged period, refreezing poses no incremental spoilage risk.

The problem arises when meat is defrosted at room temperature, regardless if subsequently refrozen or cooked.

What problem arises? Spoilage? Or a degradation of flavor and texture?

Bacteria growth enabling spoilage.

I would be concerned re texture change by the thaw-refreeze cycle.

Enjoyable texture means naught, if harboring bacterial food spoilage via multiple room-temperature thawings.