How Long Thanksgiving Leftovers Last (and How to Store Them)

Step by step

1. 1

   Start the 2-hour clock when the food comes off the heat

   USDA starts the clock when the food finishes cooking or comes out of a warming dish, not when you sit down. Everything needs to be in the fridge within 2 hours. If dinner is somewhere over 90°F, you get 1 hour.

2. 2

   Take the turkey off the bone

   A whole bird is too big to cool quickly. Slice the breast meat, and leave the legs and wings whole. Pack the slices and pieces flat.

   What it looks like: a platter of sliced breast meat next to two drumsticks and two wings, with the carcass set aside.

3. 3

   Pack everything in shallow containers

   Spoon each dish into shallow containers instead of one deep bowl, so it cools all the way through. You don’t need to wait for food to cool first. USDA says hot food can go straight into the fridge.

   What it looks like: a row of low, flat containers instead of the deep serving bowls.

4. 4

   Cover tightly and date the lids

   Put a lid on each one, or wrap it well. A good cover keeps the food moist and keeps it from picking up smells. Then add a strip of tape with the date.

1. 5

   Leave room for cold air

   Set the containers where air can move around them, not stacked in a tight tower. FDA says a fridge packed so full that air can’t circulate does not keep food as cold.

2. 6

   Freeze what you won’t eat by Sunday

   If dinner was Thursday, the 3 to 4 days run out on Sunday or Monday. Anything you won’t finish by Sunday goes in the freezer that day. Label the bag with the dish and the date.

   What it looks like: flat freezer bags of turkey and stuffing, each labeled in marker.

3. 7

   Reheat to 165°F

   Heat turkey, stuffing and sides until they reach 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Bring gravy all the way to a rolling boil. In the oven, set it no lower than 325°F, add a little broth to the turkey, and cover it so it stays moist.

   What it looks like: steam rising off the dish and the thermometer reading 165°F or higher.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

These are the usual Thanksgiving leftover mix-ups.

• The food sat out through the football game. If it has been more than 2 hours, throw it out. USDA says turkey, stuffing and gravy left out longer than that should go.
• It still smells fine on day 6. The germs that make people sick usually don’t change how food looks, smells or tastes. Go by the date on the lid.
• The fridge is too full to fit it all. Pull out drinks and pantry-safe items to make room. A cooler packed with ice can hold drinks for the evening.
• You froze the turkey on day 5. Freezing doesn’t reset the clock. Freeze leftovers within the 3 to 4 days.
• The pumpkin pie sat on the counter overnight. Pumpkin and pecan pies belong in the fridge after 2 hours, so that pie should go. Fruit pies like apple can sit out for 1 to 2 days.

Why it works

Here is what is going on. The germs that make people sick grow fastest between 40°F and 140°F, a range USDA calls the Danger Zone. A Thanksgiving table sits right in the middle of it for hours, which is why the 2-hour clock matters so much on this one day.

Cutting the turkey up and using shallow containers helps the cold reach the middle fast. A whole bird or a deep bowl of stuffing stays warm inside long after the outside feels cool.

The 3 to 4 day limit covers the slow part. Cold slows germs down, but it doesn’t stop them all, so even well-packed leftovers have a shelf life.