Hellobee Boards

My mother always taught me that once you thaw you either have to cook it or toss it. She said that refreezing thawed meat was unhealthy.

I'm not sure if it is true or not but I have never risked it.

Yep same rules were taught to me too.

I can't respond from a food safety perspective, but from a quality perspective, you almost never want to thaw and refreeze food. Freezing forms ice crystals which damage the tissues in the food. Thawing melts those crystals into mini pools of water. Refreezing then results in even larger ice crystals than in the first freezing. Larger crystals lead to even more tissue damage...which is why your food looks off after the second defrost.