[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

If cooled and stored properly in a 40f (or less) refrigerator, you have a week. So, yes, freeze away.

and you can take what Scooper says bout FOOD to the bank

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by dynimagelv

and you can take what Scooper says bout FOOD to the bank

Well the trick is "cooled and stored properly."

Very few people know what that means.

The trick is to get the food down from 140f (or whatever it happens to be) down to 40f as quickly as possible -- WITHOUT sticking it in the fridge, because that will just warm all your other food up.) And a refrigerator is good at keeping cold food cold. Not at cooling hot food.

Break the turkey down -- thighs, legs, and cut the breast into manageable chunks. Wrap in foil so that the turkey lies flat (you don't want big balls o' turkey). Place on a sheet pan and then place outside -- we put ours on top of our BBQ grill. If it's a nice, cold, windy Las Vegas November night, the turkey will be down to 70f in less than an hour. Then you can place the 70f packages into the fridge -- that's safe to do.

Or, you can vacuum-bag the pieces of turkey -- flat, not a big ball. And submerge in ice water. Once they're below 70f, place in the 'fridge.


I'll bet next to nobody cooled their birds down like this.

EDIT -- For the person who reputation-asked me if they can just chuck the hot bird in the freezer (I don't like it when people do this because there's no way to reply). The answer is no. While it will cool the bird quickly, it will also raise the temperature of all the items in the freezer, leading to thawing and refreezing, which is bad for the quality of your frozen food.

Repeat: 1) Remove meat from bones. (And then roast bones and make stock, same day.) 2) Cool meat quickly down to 70f. 3) Place in refrigerator until less than 40f. 4) Place in freezer.

That's the safest way to cool the bird and will yield the highest quality frozen leftovers. Freeze things ONCE. Do not freeze, thaw and refreeze. It ruins the texture and often the flavor.