The day after a big holiday feast provides a wonderfully relaxing break from cooking. It’s a time to put your feet up and snack on those abundant leftovers. But what about the next day … and the day after that? Will all those goodies that were so lovingly and carefully prepared end up in the trash? Not if you know how to store them.
Properly stored food saves money, time, energy — not to mention the planet. So it pays to be well-informed about food storage solutions. In a previous post, I sang the praises of StillTasty.com (a simple, free, informative site about shelf life) but I want to emphasize that it’s not only about produce. StillTasty can help you preserve all kinds of prepared foods, too, including the bounty of holiday leftovers.
Let’s talk turkey, shall we. And cranberry sauce. And mashed potatoes, while we’re at it. You don’t need another turkey soup recipe, right? And how much stuffing can you feed to the dog or giblets to the cat? You’re overwhelmed! Don’t panic, I’m going to save you a lot of time and aggravation by explaining how to store specific holiday leftovers. Here goes:
- Thanksgiving turkey — Simply cut the whole cooked bird into smaller pieces (drumsticks, wings, breast meat, etc.) and put into shallow airtight containers, plastic freezer bags, or wrap tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap; you can either store these in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or put them in the freezer where they’ll stay at peak quality for up to 3 months
- Cranberry sauce — If it’s homemade, just store the sauce in a covered airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag where it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 10-14 days, or in the freezer for about 6 weeks; for store-bought sauce, same steps as above, just remember not to keep it in an opened metal can — be sure to transfer the sauce to a properly sealed airtight container
- Mashed potatoes — Cooked mashed potatoes freeze very well, so put them into a tightly sealed container or heavy-duty freezer bag and you can enjoy them again in 3 months or 6 months, even 12 months; if you’d prefer to refrigerate them, just store in any covered container but they’ll only last about 5 days
- Stuffing (or ‘dressing’) — Southerners call it ‘dressing’, the rest of America calls it ‘stuffing’ … but whatever you call it, unfortunately, the cooked leftovers don’t keep well; if you store it in the freezer, however, you could serve leftover Thanksgiving stuffing for Christmas dinner — just put it into heavy-duty freezer bags or an airtight plastic container and freeze for up to a month; leftover stuffing lasts only 3-4 days in the refrigerator
- Pumpkin pie — If you want to refrigerate the pie, try to do so within 2 hours of baking; cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and it will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; freezing is not ideal because it changes the texture (but not the taste) of the pie, although you certainly could freeze it; just wrap tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze for 1-2 months
If you have questions about storing other holiday dishes, visit StillTasty.com where you can search for information on just about any food item. You can also get your questions answered, if you somehow don’t find the guidance you’re looking for. StillTasty is the Ultimate Shelf Life Guide — it’s an invaluable resource for anyone interested in saving money. (And who isn’t!)
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