You certainly can, but understand that you will be losing quality. Refreezing meat is discouraged not because of health issues, but because every time you freeze & thaw, you lose more of the meat juices.

I would call the butcher and see if he would be willing to use his band saw to cut the meat while still frozen into smaller chunks for you.

I agree, beef can be re-frozen (I've done it) but there is a quality issue. And Rachelellen has a good idea, get the guy who cut it the first time to cut it again, while frozen, then just repackage.

Annie

Repeating what the others have said....but find someone with a Sawzall....and a new blade and have them cut that frozen roast into smaller pieces.
Even a table saw will do in a pinch....just wipe the blade with Vodka!
Linda C

I don't know Linda, I'd have to like someone pretty much to use my table saw on meat. Cleaning the blade ain't nuttin' compared to what my garage would smell like after a few warm days affected the tiny and inevitable scraps of meat that got flung around my work area. Is a Sawzall portable...like, to the back yard!? Come to think of it, I suppose I could use my chain saw outside...a bit wasteful though. :D

A sawzall goes anywhere a power cord goes. The guy who did a remodel for me took down walls and pipes and plaster with one...I have had people use it for cutting trees...I am sure it would be great for meat!
A Skill saw would probably work too....

Here is a link that might be useful: Sawzall

Just make sure that sawzall blade doesn't have a painted coating on it - which comes off during use - like the common brand Lennox does!

Actually, if we're going to talk power tools here, I think a band saw works best but again, you have the miniscule bits thrown around.

Nope, I'd call the butcher...

Annie

Power tools, eh? LOL I agree with foodona, too many blades have various coatings on them. Not to mention I'd have to kill somebody if meat got sucked into the vents on the tool.

I used to get 60# chucks and cut them down. What I do is let the large meat thaw some, in the fridge of course, then when the outside three or four inches have thawed but the big core is still quite frozen, I cut it in two or three pieces. It's much easier when some of the meat has thawed. You can get some purchase on the meat with the knife and it still goes through the frozen part. A good big knife works best. I use my 14" chefs knife, but any chefs knife you have should do a good job. Holding the meat with a clean kitchen towel helps too. If you want to try a power tool to help, perhaps the electric knife.

I do agree that asking the butcher who did the job originally would be the easiest. Also in future letting him know nothing bigger than ten pounds, five pounds or whatever your preference is, would be appreciated.

I've cut many frozen pieces of meat with a bow saw over the years. Makes short work of them. Not so good for bone, though.

Even a hacksaw would work.

No matter what you use, just be sure to use a NEW blade with coarse teeth, and make sure you wash well it BEFORE you use it for the first time.

They even sell hacksaws that are made specially for food.

Hacksaws (new blade) are great for cutting overlarge blocks of stock and just about anything else.

It's very hard to freeze anything at home the way they do with cryovac. My new freezer goes down to -22°F, but I'd still hesitate to freeze meat at home.

Refreezing will definitely affect the texture because it breaks down the proteins. The commercial freezers flash freeze the meat so that it's frozen before the proteins know what's happening.

If the butcher isn't far, I agree with packing up the roast so it won't thaw and taking there. Not only does he have the right tools, but he probably has a cold room to do it in, and it's probably easier to transport it without thawing than to cut it without thawing.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. My husband was a carpenter so we have many power tools in the house. I do like the suggestion of contacting the place the processed the beef originally. I think they would have more sanitary conditions for the job & know better than we do how to cut it. They are close enough a pint of ice-cream wouldn't melt by the time we got it home.

My next challenge will be finding out how to make that much jerky! ;-D