Keep Those Holiday Leftovers Safe

Is a large cut of meat the centerpiece of your holiday dinner with family and friends?  Turkey, ham, beef roast, leg of lamb, prime rib.  What about leftovers?  Something for a turkey or ham sandwich from what is left and uncarved from your dinner?  Maybe we should serve you something instead; food safety information provided by USDA food safety expert Meredith Carothers.

“If you have large portions left over, especially if you only carved off a few slices or if you're cooking ahead of time and going to reheat it the next day or something like that, it is unsafe to refrigerate those large portions of meat as large portions of meat," Carothers noted. “They need to be cut, carved, sliced, down into smaller portions and then stored in smaller containers or shallow containers so they can cool properly in the fridge.”

The Main Dish Isn't The Only Thing You Need To Watch

That also means immediately refrigerating or freezing wrapped or contained leftovers for rapid cooling and food safety.  This also applies to side dishes served in large quantities.  So, say for a casserole, for instance.

“That's going to hold a lot of heat, so very helpful and much safer and really important to break it down into smaller containers or into smaller portions before putting it into the refrigerator, which makes sure that it is cooling safely and properly and that your leftovers aren't going to come back to bite you later,” she said.

Some other food safety tips regarding leftovers provided by Carothers and USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline: 

• Make sure leftovers are wrapped well, whether placed in airtight packaging or sealed tight in containers so as to keep foodborne bacteria out, retain moisture, and prevent leftovers from picking up odors from other foods.
• In terms of proper storage time for leftovers, from a food safety perspective, the safe range is three to four days in the refrigerator, three to four months in the freezer.
• Keep in mind, while leftovers in the freezer can be kept indefinitely, flavor and moisture loss will occur over time.  

Questions Come Up Around The Clock

Need to know some other food safety tips, such as how to reheat frozen leftovers and relive those holiday meals?  Reach out to the Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854).  Or you can e-mail questions to MPHotline@usda.gov.  You can also visit the Meat and Poultry Hotline's Website. 

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