Most of us love fish. If you are reading this article, then there is a high chance that you do.
However, there are times when we cooked more fish than what we can consume at one time.
If you are in this situation, you might be wondering whether or not it is safe to refreeze cooked fish.
So, can you refreeze fish after cooking?
Yes, you can refreeze fish after cooking. In fact, this is the way to do before refreezing fish because cooking can kill the bacteria in the fish. However, refreezing fish after it has been cooked may have certain effects on its quality and taste.
If you refreeze fish after cooking, keep in mind that refrozen fish will not be as fresh as it was before refreezing.
In fact, refrozen fish could become mushy and will not taste or smell as good as fish refrozen without cooking.
How to refreeze cooked fish?
Refreezing cooked fish is simple. Just take the fish out of the refreezing container and put it in a freezer bag. Make sure you seal tightly and refreeze.
To refreeze fish, you should follow these guidelines:
- Ensure that the cooked fish is in a closed container. If you refreeze fish without putting it in a container, it will develop ice crystals which might cause unpleasant texture and taste.
- Place the closed container with refrozen fish in coldest part of your freezer up to refreezing.
- Never refreeze fish with ice crystals on its surface. This might cause unpleasant smell and taste when refreezing.
- When refreezing fish, make sure to refreeze it as soon as possible. Don’t refreeze leftover seafood more than two days. If you want to refreeze the leftover after two days, put it in a container and refreeze quickly without thawing it first.
- Never refreeze the same dish more than once.
If you do these things after cooking, refreezing fish should be simple and it should taste just fine.
What are the benefits of refreezing cooked fish?
Refreezing cooked fish has benefits and disadvantages.
Refreezing cooked fish preserves them for longer.Also, refreezing seafood after cooking reduces the chance of bacteria development which might cause food poisoning.
Another benefit of refreezing cooked fish is that it retains taste and flavor.
However, refreezing cooked fish has its disadvantages as well.
The refrozen food might have unacceptable changes in quality after refreezing it.
It can become mushy or lose some of its flavor after refreezing which is why many people prefer to freeze foods without refreezing them at all.
Refreezing cooked fish also refreezes the bacteria in seafood which might not be safe.
In fact, seafood cannot be refrozen more than once because refreezing causes changes in the proteins, fats and minerals in seafood which might leach out into refreezing water and refreezing the same dish more than once can cause bacterial buildup.
In my opinion though, it is safer to refreeze cooked fish than raw ones.
How many times can you refreeze cooked fish?
You can refreeze cooked fish 1 or 2 times. The more you refreeze after cooking, the more chances there are for bacteria to grow.
For instance, if you refreeze refrozen fish once, it should last for three months.
If you refreeze refrozen fish twice, then it should last for two months.
However, refreezing refrozen fish after cooking should never replace refreezing fresh fish.
You shouldn’t refreeze refrozen fish regularly. Only refreeze it when you have no other choice such as when you cooked more than what you can consume at one time or if your power went out during freezing and caused the seafood to refreeze.
When refreezing refrozen seafood after cooking, always remember that the quality will be different than refreezing fresh fish.
Can you refreeze vacuum sealed fish?
Yes, you can refreeze vacuum sealed fish after cooking. However, refreezing this type of frozen fish is different than refreezing fresh fish.
If you refreeze vacuum sealed fish right after cooking, it will last for 1 month or 2 months if refreezed immediately after cooking.
However, refreezing refrozen fish as soon as possible is the most important thing to remember.
In case you refreeze refrozen vacuum sealed fish, avoid refreezing it without cooking first.
You can refreeze refrozen vacuum fish after cooking by putting it in a freezer bag and refreezing immediately.
Can you refreeze canned fish?
You can refreeze cooked canned fish right away if it is in an airtight container or to prevent oxidation.
You should also make sure that the canned fish doesn’t contain any ice crystals.
If refreezing refrozen canned fish is your only option, make sure to do it right away.
If you are refreezing refrozen canned fish for more than once, avoid refreezing it without cooking first.
Final Thoughts
I hope that it is clear by now that you can always refreeze cooked fish.
However, if you refreeze refried fish after cooking, make sure to refreeze it right away and according to the type of seafood you are refreezing.
Remember that any food left at room temperature longer than two hours may not be safe to consume.
Always consider the safety of the food.
I hope you found this helpful. Feel free to visit my guide on freezing foods.
