I'm happy to report that I survived! :) And, no, Jessy, there were no, um, "dire" consequences. DH liked it, too, and, with his current dental problems, I think he appreciated the soft, moist texture. Lou, you have the right idea, and I'd love to take you along with me when I go to the Customer Service desk--anywhere! Come to think of it, I very rarely bother with returning foods to the store; it's not worth standing in line with all the lottery ticket customers to get a few cents back on something I tried but didn't like. But once, many years ago, I bought a turkey that was definitely spoiled; I could tell by the smell as soon as I removed the wrapper. And it was well within the expiration date. So I did return it and got a refund. Jessy, a lot depends on the packaging (as well as the processing/handling, of course). I can now get vacuum-packed ground beef that is good for more than a week, whereas the same kind of meat, in the usual cellophane wrapper, has to be used by the next day. And you can buy crabmeat that can be kept in the fridge for a year! Sue

Well the whole thing sounds fishy!! From the best I can tell from some Internet research, the fish are frozen in container ships, shipped to CHINA for processing, which probably means thawing at least a little bit, and then refreezing. Then shipped to the US. So they are hardly "fresh fish." But they are cheap! Odd, when you consider how many people in the fishing industry are out of work here in the US and in Iceland, (and in Great Britain for that matter), which is a whole lot more direct route!! There are companies in the US that buy Icelandic haddock direct and proccess it here in the US, but I doubt that's going to be the cheapie haddock like I got at Wegmans. And then there's US Haddock, which comes from the Atlantic coast right near me. But we just don't appreciate our water out here, and these fisheries are pollution contaminated, habitat degraded and overfished, and I don't see people waking up and suddenly deciding to make clean water and fish habitat a priority. In fact, I see the opposite trend, more degradation and waste, reversing decades of progress. So eat up folks, while you still can!

The big problem is that when you defrost meat, it wakes up any bacteria that may be in it, and they start reproducing. If you cook the meat at that point, it kills the bacteria. If you refreeze the meat, the next time you defrost it, there will a much higher level of bacteria. So besides losing a great deal of quality, you are running the risk of creating a health hazard for your family. Yes, if you cook the meat thoroughly, you will kill any live bacteria, but cooking doesn't destroy the toxins they may leave behind. Why not cook up the entire piece, using the method you had in mind, then just freeze the prepared meat in meal-sized portions. You WILL appreciate it one rushed evening!

But not as excellent as fresh......if you can get it :-) Just a mater of opinion. Sushi grade fish is flash-frozen at extremely low temps asap out of the water/processed. Kills all present parasites that fresh caught are present in the flesh. 12 hours caught is no longer fresh. Great but no longer sushi grade. The exact temperatures and times can be found on the FDA website, but suffice it to say that those temperatures, reaching as low as -31°F, are well below what a home freezer can reliably produce and maintain, which is why it isn't advisable to try this at home. Sushi restaurants and fish markets use what's called a "super freezer," which is exactly what it sounds like: a freezer that maintains super-cold temperatures. (Osakana's super freezer, for example, maintains a temperature of -60°F.) "It's a paradox: The FDA will not deem a fish free from parasite hazards, and thus safe to eat raw without freezing, unless that fish is eaten raw, without being frozen, frequently enough to present sufficient evidence of its safety. To Luke Davin, the general manager of Osakana, this standard means that "deviating from [the FDA's] 'freeze it all' approach puts the burden of testing and proof on the processor." He says that most, if not all, fish markets lack the resources to exhaustively test the fish they receive for parasite hazards. The easiest solution, then, is simply to freeze everything." Obviously cooking your fresh caught well done is not an issue...cooking will kill all parasites. You just need to trust your market. Cleaned properly and not dock sitting in warm temps. I prefer flash frozen shrimp over fresh/traveled long distances. Those land-locked need to know flash frozen is equally as good as a market in a warmer climate fish market purchased. Flash-frozen sushi grade is often safer/better than dock caught. I grew up coastal. I know fresh. View from my living room window. We fish fresh caught, DH with neighbors filleting fish on the dock. Not arguing. Just need those confused that properly frozen can be an excellent product not needing to be considered inferior to 'off the dock' fresh.