Dilema!! Should I freeze a perfect Wagyu a second time?
 

I have a Wagyu Brisket that came in frozen from SRF and went right into the BBQ Freezer. 14 days ago I moved it from freezer to my dedicated BBQ refridgerator for the slow defrost and about 25 days of aging before it is to be cooked at a contest. Every few days I open the fridge and turn the brisket over, check for gas bubbles etc.
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I have been on the road for business all week and this morning I was home and decided to turn it over as is my routine. Below the brisket on the bottom of the fridge is a small (4 or 5 tablespoons) puddle of blood/red juice. I inspect the cryo over and over. I can find no evidence of a leak but there is nothing else on the shelves thus the liquid must have come from the brisket. The brisket had been checked multiple times prior and was fully defrosted so its not from the outside of the cryo. Gas bubbles are not of a concerning size and the brisket inspections seems fine. Just aging away. Except this juice clearly came from the brisket.

I am not scheduled to trim this brisket until Thursday (6 days from now) and vac seal. In its current state It is too big to vac seal as is. I am cooking it next Saturday evening. It is a perfect size and shape and is definately nice and flexible...indicating it is aging nicely.

Here I sit on Friday evening with a dilema.
Do I put it back in the freezer? I have never frozen a Wagyu a second time.
Do I just leave it in the dedicated fridge as is and watch it even closer for gas bubbles or other indicators that the cryo has a problem?
Do I trim it now (8 days ahead), vac seal and put back in fridge?

What to do, What to do?

Any ideas??????

Change your plans and cook it now.

Cook it. You cannot safely referee. I am servsafe certified.

I assume you mean you cannot safely refreeze

I am serve safe as well and see no reason I couldn't refreeze as far as safety is concerned. He'll most meat and fish purchased in this country is frozen twice before it makes the retail market. My concern is maintaining comp quality. I'm leaning toward just trimming it now and vac sealing it.

I would trim it quickly, vac seal, then keep cold. Or just wrap (airtight) or vac seal. Stat. Keep cold. And trim later. But stop air from getting to it (assuming that the leak is allowing air in). Just my $0.02.

I would trim then vac seal and back in the fridge. I've done this up to 10 days befor comps. Never had a problem. I think you will be just fine.

Update: Opened the pkg and it had perfect scent and no signs of contamination or spoil. Damn its a great looking brisket. I gave it my normal agressive trim and a good vac seal then back into the dedicated 34 degree fridge.

Still on the fence as to whether it needs to be frozen to make it the week.

If it passed the scent and color test it should be ok in the fridge for another 5 days. You might also toss it in the freezer for a few hours and then back into the fridge. This way it would be super cold. I don't see anything wrong with this, but then again I'm not servsafe certified or anything.

Meat flavor and texture degrades a little each time you freeze it. (Kind of like erasing and recording again on a magnetic tape)

If you think it's showing signs of oxidation and impending spoilage, cook it. If not, I would vacuseal it and refridgerate as close to 33 degrees as I could get.

you are fine anyway you decide to do it

Can you get your fridge colder? If you are worried about it spoiling, if you can set it around 25-30 degrees, that should hold it long enough for you without freezing it.