<p>My rule of thumb is one week. If I made a turkey on a Thursday (oh, say on Thanksgiving), I’d eat it up to and including the following Thursday night. Same with leftovers of any type. And deli meats One week. That’s my rule.</p>
<p>Oh, but cheese can go much much longer.</p>
<p>I eat turkey till it smells bad. Haven’t gotten sick yet. (I spent my childhood in Africa and rarely get tummy bugs after a childhood of being exposed to everything though.) 
I ate Turkey on Friday and forgot all about it this weekend. I suspect it’s going to smell bad by Monday though. (It didn’t smell perfect on Friday, but I ate it anyway. It tasted fine.)</p>
<p>I take the turkey bones and put them in a pot with meat scraps and make a soup. After boiling it all, I strain and get a lovely broth and then add veggies. I do this with all meat leftovers that have bones. I spent years on a farm and I can’t just throw things out. Also, if you think soup after getting tired of the carcass sitting in the fridge, you never worry about if it will go bad or not.</p>
<p>We do the exact same routine every year: Repeat the Thanksgiving dinner Fri, Sat, and Sun.<br>
Mon and Tue are tetrazinni (baked at 375 for an hour).</p>
<p>Wed, I make stock with the (now 6-day-old) carcass, and slow-simmer it for several hours. That becomes soup that we enjoy through the weekend.</p>
<p>I am meticulous about kitchen hygiene, I carve and refrigerate ALL the meat before serving Thanksgiving dinner, and we keep our fridge at 34 degrees…much colder than yours may actually be, and it makes a big difference in the longevity of many foods.</p>
<p>Have been doing this for years and years…never had any problems.</p>
<p>Where is SplashMom??? :eek:</p>
<p>I had some turkey from Thanksgiving yesterday. I’m still alive.</p>
<p>Here’s the bigger question…</p>
<p>Why would you want to eat week old turkey?</p>
<p>It’s free (sunk cost). It’s convenient. It tastes the same as 2 hour old refrigerated turkey.</p>
<p>And I hate throwing out food. I paid for it, I cooked it, I want to finish it. (Especially considering all the starving children in China – channeling my mother, here.) (That’s supposed to be a lame joke.)</p>
<p>Agree with Thiscould and fireandrain. It’s free (or at least already paid for), it’s cooked, it’s nutritious, and I hate to waste.</p>
<p>We ate turkey for a week after Thanksgiving. Then I made stock with my turkey carcass on Saturday and used the stock to make a delicious chicken pot pie. I pulled all the remaining skin/bones off the boiled carcass and have been giving it to my dogs as training treats. We, and they, are just fine.</p>
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Leftover turkey is one of my favorite foods. It’s delicious warmed over. It’s delicious in sandwiches (mayo, cranberry jelly and turky - yum!). It’s delicious in soup. It’s delicious in turkey pot pie. And I also don’t believe in throwing out food if I can help it.</p>
<p>Thumbs up to y’all!</p>
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He had a big turkey sandwich and I am happy to report he is alive and still kicking. He was disappointed when he went to the refrigerator the next day and I had tossed it.</p>
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<p>That was not the question! I know leftover turkey is good. :)</p>
<p>The question was why anyone would want to eat turkey that has been in fridge for a week (presumably after plentiful opportunities to eat left over turkey morning, noon, and night). I find that left over turkey is getting pretty “tired” in the fridge after 3 days – time to put it in a soup or a turkey pot pie or something.</p>
<p>I’d still eat it. If I enjoyed it the first time, I’d still enjoy it again. I can’t be bothered trying to figure out creative things to do with leftovers. Uh, reheat and eat them, one less meal to deal with. And I would hate to waste food for no reason.</p>