I have done some research on this and get a range of answers from two days to one week.
I had a pork loin frozen solid. I took it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator on Friday afternoon. Due to some unexpected schedule changes I was not able to smoke it yet. I am thinking that it was not thawed until sometime late Saturday at a minimum. I took it out and rubbed it down last night and it smelled fine. Now my wife informs me that we have plans tonight again.
question1 - How long is this good for in the refrigerator? Can I wait until tomorrow?
question2 - If I smoke it today and refrigerate, what is the best way to reheat without drying it out?
While I'm at it, I have this same question for all meats. After pulling from the freezer and into the fridge, how long is safe to leave it there before cooking?
So I did a little more research and found the FDA site with the following quote.
"It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. After thawing raw pork by this method, it will be safe in the refrigerator 3 to 5 days before cooking. During this time, if you decide not to use the pork, you can safely refreeze it without cooking it first."
The first thing is "after thawing" you have 3 - 5 days. So when does the clock start? I would guess it would take a day to thaw then start the clock.
The second part I found interesting was that it says you can safely refreeze without cooking it first. I thought once it was thawed you could not refreeze.
I always thought refreezing was a no no as well. Many times I have thawed out packs of venison that were to big, I always just cooked the extra or made the rest up the next day. I'm curious to see what others have done
I think you are okay to refreeze as long as it has been refrigerated the whole time. It is when you leave it out for a few hours that refreezing becomes an issue.
The point here is that it was thawed "IN THE REFRIGERATOR" not in a microwave or water. Thus the cooler temp which should have inhibited the formation and growth of any bacteria on the meat.