Can Shrimp Be Refrozen After It's Been Thawed?

Even though shrimp is kind of pricey (although fairly cheap by shellfish standards), it's something I like to have on hand in the event I need to make a quick main dish. The reason why shrimp is so convenient is that it not only thaws quickly but cooks quickly, too. Plans sometimes change, though, and there have been times when I wound up with thawed shrimp and no time to use it. I refuse to let food go to waste, so I usually toss it back in the freezer, although I was never sure if this was okay to do. Anecdotally, no one ever got sick from eating the twice-thawed shrimp once I did get around to cooking it, but that's just one person's experience. For a more authoritative answer to the shrimp thawing question, The Takeout spoke with Kory Foltz, culinary director at Florida's Sunseeker Resort. As he told us, "Yes, you can refreeze raw shrimp if it was thawed safely in the fridge and hasn't spoiled." 

Foltz' advice is in line with USDA guidelines that also allow refreezing food (not just shrimp) as long as it's done before the food has had a chance to spoil. For shrimp, that's roughly one to two days in the refrigerator. Both the USDA and Foltz note, however, that there may be some drop-off in quality with refrozen food. As Foltz put it, "Repeated freezing can make shrimp tougher and drier when cooked."

While there are several ways to thaw shrimp, Kory Foltz noted, "It is best to plan ahead and thaw in the refrigerator for best results." Thawing shrimp in the refrigerator also gives you more wiggle room (shrimp wiggle room, as it were) if you do end up unable to cook it; According to the USDA, you have anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to return it to the freezer. If you're short on time, though, the best way to thaw your shrimp may be the fastest one, which involves immersing it in cold water. (You can also leave the cold water tap running over the shrimp, but this might waste a lot of water.)

Of course, you can always skip the thawing step and cook your frozen shrimp the fast and easy way. To do so, rinse off the ice, separate the individual pieces, and arrange them on a baking sheet. Five to eight minutes under a preheated broiler should both thaw and cook the shrimp. If you don't eat it all, Foltz notes that cooked shrimp can also be refrozen. Once again, he pointed out, "The texture may suffer slightly." Still, that's a small price to pay for extended storage.