How long does meat last in the refrigerator after it's cooked?!
How long does meat last in the refrigerator after it's cooked?
Once meat has been cooked and leftovers put in the refrigerator, how long will those leftovers keep? I'm thinking of lamb in particular at the moment, but advice for meats in general would be helpful, especially if you have sources to back it up.
Answers:
An excellent question, Sinbad, and one that many bachelors have experimented with for years. You are going to see a lot of "safe" answers, but I am going to tell you the truth.
Let me ask YOU a question: how long would a leather shoe keep in the refrigerator? A long time.
Of course, the leather has been "processed" and treated -that is, IT HAS BEEN BATHED IN CHEMICALS AND COOKED. Same as that Lebanese preparation for your lamb roast.
Well, not exactly the same -but the same concept.
What preserves the meat, for the most part, is cooking. What the refrigerator does is slow down:
1. Contamination from other stuff that lives (really) in your reefer, and,
2. Any oxidation (decay) in the meat itself that will eventually occur simply because you didn't make an actual pair of loafers out of it (I hope).
And so, there are other various factors that come into play here. For examples: how long (how well) didja cook the meat? In general, well done will hold on longer than rare. What is the composition of the meat in terms of fat, bone, lean, blood, etc.? In general, lean holds better than yellow fat. And, what part of the reefer are you using? Down in the veggie area, where it is warmer, or closer to the freezer, where it is colder? What ELSE is going on in the fridge? Is the other food sealed up in little sanitary plastic boxes, all neatly labeled, or are most of your pots and pans sitting in there with science experiments growing in them? How often do you open the reefer and leave the door open? Just 3 or 4 times a day, only for as long as it takes to get what you need? Or do you often spend blissful moments, staring in there, with the door wide open, believing that the mere act of opening the door will make something new and tasty suddenly appear? (Or, do you have a teenager?)
You get my drift. There are so many factors involved that it is difficult to answer the "how long" question and therefore difficult to point to an authoritative source. But you can bet the "authoritative" source will be conservative, preferring you to throw stuff out sooner rather than later on the better safe than sorry theory.
But for myself, I use a range of 3 to 10 days, based on the following "spectrum" of factors:
1. At the high end: Meat that is purchased as a smoked product, and then "hard cooked," like bacon or sausage, and separately stored in a sealed container (baggie or box) can stay for up to 10 days -maybe longer.
2. At the low end: Meat that has been purchased raw, with a high fat content, then cooked to a rare state in its own juices and/or with added sauce or gravy, and stored in an open vessel -such as a baking dish- a 3 day pass is about the limit.
Your yummy lamb probably is closer to #2, so, if you sliced up the left overs and then stored them in a sealed container -and did this AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after it was cooked, you (well, I) would feel OK with 4 or 5 days.
Bear in mind that "air time" is a big deal -the longer stuff sits out around your sneezing and coughing friends, the more exposed it will be. You are, in effect, refrigerating used kleenex. Likewise, cleanliness of your hands and utensils counts, as well. Give that French chef's knife a wipe with a Chlorox soaked rag before slicing, OK?
What also matters is the secondary use of the meat. Will you be slicing it for sandwhiches, or putting it into some kind of casserole that will bake at 350 for an hour or so?
Let me know when you'd like a lamb pizza, and I'll come over and really put those left-overs to work for you!
Enjoy!
2-3 days. YOu could probably push 5. When in doubt, throw it out.
No longer than 3 days, as long as you put it in the fridge after you cooked it. If you reheat the whole thing, throw the remaining portion away - bacteria loves to be reheated. Make sure the meat doesn't change in texture, smell, or colour before you eat it, and when you decide to eat it, make sure the internal temperature is cooked to at least 180 degrees f.
It lasts for 2-3 days ,in some cases even 1 day
This is probably going to drop mouths everywhere, but when I cook....casseroles, steak, burgers, chicken, EVERYTHING, except noodles, I leave then in the microwave, out of the way, overnight and we eat leftovers the next day. Been doing it for 20 years and we're all healthy.
We eat leftovers in the fridge for about 6 days......unless there is any green funky stuff growing on it.
Oh, also, we drink water from the tap.
Maybe that's why we're healthy.....good immune systems.
The rule on anything cooked or fresh is 3 days throw it out. You might push 4, I wouldn't go past that.