Smoked, frozen, reheated, refreeze?

[jjdbike]

Hello friends,

Thawed a frozen smoked brisket. Re-warmed. Put what I knew wouldn’t get eaten right back into fridge. For service, I put in hot chafing pan. Shortly after everyone ate, beef went back into fridge.

We have more leftovers than we can eat over the next couple days. May I chop & refreeze to use in chili and or beans? I know I should probably make the chili & beans and freeze rather than freeze, thaw & recook.

Am I flirting with food illness? Do I need to discard what we don’t eat over the next couple of days?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[RonB]

I don't think you will have a safety issue refreezing it, but every freeze and thaw cycle degrades the quality just a bit. I'd plan on adding it to something else, but ya might try freezing a small amount separately for a few days and give it a taste test to see if it's still good enough to be the star of a meal.

[Ace]

+1 👍

[jjdbike]

I don't think you will have a safety issue refreezing it, but every freeze and thaw cycle degrades the quality just a bit. I'd plan on adding it to something else, but ya might try freezing a small amount separately for a few days and give it a taste test to see if it's still good enough to be the star of a meal.

Thanks RonB & Ace ,

Wasn't expecting it to be star of a meal, just adding to beans.

No matter, I decided to use the leftovers for Philly stye cheese steaks and share with the neighbors.

Cheers!
JD

[Hulagn1971]

If it happens again, I think it would be fine re-freezing and using for chili. I love brisket chili.

[jjdbike]

Thanks everyone for your contributions!

I've just gotta circle back. The smoked brisket flat Philly style cheese steaks were out of this world. I am from the Philly area & I love a good authentic Philly cheese steak. The smoked & seasoned brisket take them to another level. I followed Matt Pitmen's recipe & used a fresh baguette.

Highly recommended!

JD

[DaveD]

Awesome outcome!!