Nancy Dooley wrote:

> zxcvbob > wrote in message >...
>
>>Nancy Dooley wrote:
>>
>>>swede > wrote in message >...
>>>
>>>>Help everyone!! I started to thaw my turkey by leaving it out of the frig
>>>>for several hours. Overnight, I placed it in the meat compartment of my frig
>>>>and this morning it was REFROZEN. I know that beef if not safe if refrozen.

Sorry. Anything can be refrozen without it being a safety issue.
Refreezing meats will damage the texture and likely cause cell wall
destruction so the meat will lose juices and be dry in the eating.
But it's not a safety question.

>>>>How about turkey: is it safe to rethaw?!
>>>
>>>How long did you leave it out? Two hours would be the max, in my
>>>opinion. Here's a clue: NEVER thaw a turkey by putting it out for
>>>"several" hours. Either dunk it in a vat of cold water (changing it
>>>often) and thaw it that way, or thaw it in the fridge.

This is wrong. Look at the papers cited at the end of the post.

>>>You can safely refreeze meat IF it has been thawed in the
>>>refrigerator. The texture/flavor may suffer, but it won't hurt you.
>>>Without knowing how "thawed" your turkey got, one can't really tell
>>>you if it's safe or not - I'd guess it is, but I don't know.
>>>
>>>N.
>>
>>Of course it is still safe -- it never really thawed. So it never got
>>above about 32 degrees F. (After leaving a raw bird out for a couple of
>>hours, I would recommend cooking it before eating...)
>>
>>Best regards,
>>Bob
>
> Ya think it oughtta be cooked? Damn! >;-)
>
> The OP said "several" hours - that, to me, could be anywhere from 2 to
> 5, and he said the turkey got "refrozen" in the refrigerator,
> indicating it wasn't frozen when he rescued it from the counter.

Too much guesswork and too much "everybody knows" here. Try some
science instead.

<http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Turkey-Thanks.html>
<http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Thaw-counter.html>
<http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Turkey.html>

Pastorio