All of our Browsey Acres Wagyu beef is shipped frozen in dry ice, which maintains that status—and the meat’s freshness—during the one to two days it takes to ship our boxes.

In terms of thawing and refreezing, the meat can be thawed and frozen again up to three times without affecting the quality and taste. Of course, the technique for thawing does matter in order to maintain quality. For example, if you use warm water to thaw the meat or the thaw the meat out in the open, on a kitchen counter, that will ultimately affect the taste if you choose to refreeze it. Both methods will bring in outside bacteria to the meat, and with warm water, that will also essentially start to cook the meat, as Wagyu fat melts at a lower temperature.

Our Browsey Acres recommendation for thawing your meat—especially if you plan to refreeze it—is to do so in a refrigerator, in an empty bowl.

The USDA also has its own advisory about thawing and refreezing meat:

“Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly, according to USDA.

DO NOT thaw meat at room temperature, such as on the kitchen counter.

Safety will depend on whether the raw product was handled properly before it was frozen, refrozen shortly after it was thawed, cooked to a safe temperature when it is eaten and handled safely if there are any leftovers.”