Defrosting and Refreezing Shrimp

Keep frozen shrimp in the freezer, and when it's time to defrost, use one of these techniques:

1. Thaw frozen shrimp overnight in the refrigerator in a covered bowl.
   

2. For a quicker thaw, place them in a colander under cold running water; they will be ready in a few minutes.

Thoroughly dry the shrimp before cooking.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as long as the shrimp were thawed properly in the refrigerator or in cold water, it is safe to refreeze and rethaw them. The maximum time they can be held at room temperature is 2 hours total, over the course of thawing and refreezing. The danger of thawing frozen shrimp at room temperature is that they may sit in the “danger zone” of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the optimum environment for bacteria growth.

Note that safe shrimp and good shrimp may be two different things. When shrimp are frozen, the liquid within their cells expands, which can damage the cell walls. When frozen shrimp are thawed, this liquid seeps out, compromising the quality of the shrimp. To find out how greatly the texture and flavor of the shrimp are affected, we prepared sautéed shrimp and shrimp burgers using frozen shrimp that we thawed in the refrigerator and frozen shrimp that we thawed, refroze, and thawed again. In the sautéed shrimp, tasters noted a stark difference, commenting on the mealy and dry texture and off-flavor of the twice-frozen shrimp.

The bottom line: If you’re eating the shrimp whole, don’t freeze them a second time. However, if you’re using them in chopped or minced applications, like shrimp burgers or potstickers, feel free to refreeze the frozen-and-thawed shrimp. And always thaw shrimp in cold water or in the refrigerator.