# My Freezer Was Shut Off! I need Advice Quick!!



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Well in the course of the last day or two my 2 Year old shout our giant chest freezer off. Luckily its still cool in there but some things are thawed. Right now we are cooking our butts off hehe. My question is this. I have a bunch of peporoni sticks. Some are soft to the touch but cold. Can these be refrozen? If not I can still keep them in my fridge since they are still cold. I would guess the Freezer temp is about 38 to 40. There is still ice in there. Also have some goose that is partially thawed. Can this be refrozen or does it have to be cooked today???

Any advice I will appreciate


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

If the meat remained cold most of it can be refrozen. On waterfowl I tend to look at the amount of time the meat was left before it was frozen initially. The sticks should be OK simply because of the salt in them.

The other thing to do is set your freezer to the coldest setting for a week then bring it back to normal. Most bacteria will not survive the extreme cold for more than 48 to 72 hours from what I have read.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

PC...I have refrozen meat all the time with no problem...an example would be poultry you buy in a grocery store.It arrives at the store frozen,then thaws out in the meat case and then refrozen when I get home.

Sticks are definitly easy to refreeze since they are already cooked.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Thanks Ron! I usually keep the freezer on the highest setting anyway so maybe most of the bacteria was/is dead.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Thanks Ken! We have already started to cook a bunch of the stuff up. The stove is going full throttle. At least now I know it does not have to be an all day affair!

I don't know when she could have done it. Definitely an honest mistake though. Got to love the little ones! :lol: Kids are always full of surprises!


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

I made a homemade sheetmetal strap that covers the outlet that the freezer is plugged into in the garage so it can not be accidently unplugged, the strap has to be unscrewed from the wall to unplug the freezer and the garage fridge that holds the beer. Put alot of time into hunting and processing the meat, it would make a grown man cry to loose it all. I hate the idea of drinking a warm beer cleaning out the mess.


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

Have a big feast


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

Chop - Put the freezer out in the garage! It's cold enough these days to keep food frozen! That's what my folks do. They only lose food in the SUMMER 

If the pepperoni sticks are true pepperoni, and have been cured as such, I think they can survive in even warm temperatures, it all depends on how the meat was processed and preserved.

I took a meat class at the University of Florida as one of my electives...it was delicious...I mean informative...and delicious


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## jamartinmg2 (Oct 7, 2004)

Wild Game Feast at Pork Chops house! I'll bring the beer! On the other hand, that would be a pretty long drive from Maple Grove.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

I would really be careful about those sticks, I think you should send them all to me and I will inspect them for you!!! :wink:


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## dleier (Aug 28, 2002)

If you did lose some meat make an insurance claim. My freezer died one summer and even grammas kuchen was paid to the tune of $5 each.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Oh my God, the funeral I was at this weekend, one of my cousins brought 12 Kuchens!! I love that stuff. I also had a patient bring me a rasberry Kuchen yesterday from the Ashley store yesterday, man is that good!!!!!! Nothing better than Rasberry Kuchen!!


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

If the sticks were smoked, there should have been a salt brine that was mixed in and they should be OK. 
Anything you smoke, ring sausage, turkey, summer sausage, etc. should be brined.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

MossyMO....you mean cured not brined right?

brine is a liquid solution.

Cures are potasium nitrate which does not allow bacteria to grow in an oxygen free enrionment like a smoker.


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

KEN W

You are correct.

Brine is for soaking, as in brining a turkey.
Cure is for mixing, as in adding cure to the mixture of spices for making sausage.

Thanks for catching my mistake.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Thanks guys for all the help. No meat was lost. We did a lot of cooking but a lot of the stuff on the bottom was still frozen.



> I would really be careful about those sticks, I think you should send them all to me and I will inspect them for you!!!


I will be rolling through Fargo probably in Feb. Each stick is about 2.5 pounds. If you would like to try one shoot me a PM.


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## rap (Mar 26, 2002)

i came back to my room yesterday from a month long absence and found six mallard breasts rotting in my fridge/freezer that i apparently unplugged just before i left. wow, it smelled great in here. I'm refreezing them now, will tell you how they turn out...

jk on that last part, they went straight to the dumpster of course


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