I have a whole sheep leg- how to defrost? page

[DonJulio]

On hand I have a whole sheep leg. It's big.

The problem is, the whole thing is frozen in one piece. To defrost, I'd have to defrost the entire leg of course...and then I'd have to race to eat all of it since it's not good to re-freeze anything after being defrosted.

So you see, I'm going to have too much defrosted meat on my hands. I wouldn't be able to consume all of it before some of it starts going bad. I assume once defrosted, the meat will be good for 3-4 days.

Any ideas?

[Paleobird]

Do you know anyone who has a table saw? Cut it up while still frozen into smaller pieces.

[primalrob]

according to roald dahl, you can use it as a murder weapon then feed it to the police investigators...

Lamb to the Slaughter--Roald Dahl (1916-1990)
roald dahl is amazing.

[Sandra in BC]

After you cook it, you can freeze the cooked meat. Cook it whole, eat what you can. Refrigerate 2 or 3 days worth, and portion and freeze the rest for future 'heat & serve' meals.

[whitebear]

After you cook it, you can freeze the cooked meat. Cook it whole, eat what you can. Refrigerate 2 or 3 days worth, and portion and freeze the rest for future 'heat & serve' meals.

Yes! Once it is cooked it can be refrozen.

[Cryptocode]

If you don't have a table saw, take it to a local butcher frozen. Then wrap it in smaller packages.

[buremarey]

you can use it as a murder weapon then feed it to the police investigators

[Wafaa]

Do you have space for it in the fridge or can you clear some space out?
From the USDA

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking... Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F.

I used to do this all the time and never once had a problem whether with chicken or red meats. Once it's defrosted, should take around 1-2 days in the fridge depending how big the leg is, you have 2 hours in which you can divide it up into sections and send it back to the freezer. You probably want to prepare your storage containers or bags before you take it out of the fridge to work with to save time.

[Blueberry]

Ohh! I am just slow roasting a leg of lamb as I type (YUMMMMM!!!!) I doubt it will last two days but if I had a gigantic amount of meat and no family on hand to share, I would still cook it all and then portioned and froze cooked meat I did not think I could manage to eat in next 2-3 days.
I would defrost at room temperature for about 24 hours.
ENJOY!