Well Turkey day has come and gone, and families are returning back to their normal routines of every day life. Now comes the million dollar question…how long can you keep those leftovers?! Growing up in a black household with my grandparents, our Thanksgiving meal quickly became the dinner for the entire next week, and even beyond that, some items were frozen for Christmas dinner! My grandmothers’ deep freezing techniques were obviously top tier.  I never questioned it or even thought about it because it was all I ever knew. I never thought it was abnormal to have a cooked turkey or ham for 7 days straight, and actually looked forward to it. No one could stretch a meal like Estella George. But we live in a different era today, with more accessibility to information than ever before. Food handling becomes one of the bigger topics, almost at the top of every conversation piece after the holiday. So, how long are your leftover cooked meats really good?

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According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cooked turkey can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but can be placed in the freezer for 2-5 months. On the other hand, your ham has about 3-5 days in the refrigerator, but only 1-2 months In the freezer. Ouch! With food cost on the rise along with everything else, you hope to get as much out of those leftovers as possible. But why is food safety important to you? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one out of every six people get food poisoning each year. Food poisoning often results in increases in hospitalizations and even death. Who wants to spend the night in the hospital over a turkey sandwich right. The key is proper food handling and storage.

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It only takes a matter of minutes for food borne illness to become a problem for you and your family. Food that has been cooked, and left to stand runs a risk of growing bacteria; so lets talk about prevention. All meat should be stored in a tightly sealed container in a refrigerator set to 40 degrees or below. This will help keep your stored cooked meat safely and reduce food waste. Also preventing the incidence of food poisoning. Keeping in mind the suggested food storage days on cooked and frozen meats. Once cooked, leftovers should be stored within 2 hours to avoid meat growing bacteria that can lead to illness. Well lets break this down.  You have a turkey that was thawed out a few days prior to Thanksgiving, cooked, and more than likely left out on Thanksgiving day for a few hours prior to being placed back into the refrigerator. All in all, those left over turkey sandwiches, turkey salad, or turkey all la king should only be consumed until around Sunday if placed in the refrigerator.

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Now for those who are like me, I hate to have a bunch of food just sitting in my refrigerator. If you have left overs; I would suggest transforming them into completely different and new dishes! A great use of the left over sides like yams, mac n cheese, and collard greens is soul food egg rolls. Cost efficient, easy, and great spin on classic soul food. Another great way to use up the left over turkey is to turn it into a turkey pot pie! Not one for cooking? A simple turkey sandwich will fill any void.

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Happy Eating!