Chris, I am sorry to hear this, but at least you caught it quickly. I freeze everything when I get them just for peace of mind. I do at least 72 hours, but instead of moving to the fridge for a few hours, I wrap the freezer bag in a towel and set it in a ice chest for a day to allow them to return to temp very slowly. Troy aka @Trackmeyer recommended this method and it made good sense to me. They have smoked very well with only a couple of days after freezing.