<p>MIL has no apparent expiration date for food products. She will literally use the leftovers until they are GONE (not freezing them for use later - using them out of the fridge). Tomorrow we are supposed to go for Turkey Casserole. It is literally making me ill thinking about it. </p>
<p>So what about it? Are you still using leftover parts of the turkey which you have not had frozen between then and now?</p>
<p>No way - it’s long past the date it should have been thrown out. There’s no way I’d eat it - disgusting.</p>
<p>
<a href=“http://www.butterball.com/contact-us[/url]”>http://www.butterball.com/contact-us</a></p>
<p>[Food</a> Safety of Turkey…from Farm to Table](<a href=“http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/turkey_from_farm_to_table/index.asp#17]Food”>http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/turkey_from_farm_to_table/index.asp#17)</p>
<p>LOL - DH and I just had this same discussion two days ago. I told him just because it smelled and tasted OK to him did not mean it was still good! I quoted the USDA web site. Just like they recommend, I’ll give cooked meat leftovers 3 days, maybe 4.</p>
<p>[Basics</a> for Handling Food Safely](<a href=“http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/basics_for_handling_food_safely/#7]Basics”>http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/basics_for_handling_food_safely/#7)</p>
<p>Don’t eat the casserole!</p>
<p>10 day old turkey - nuh uh. Even my husband, who apparently doesn’t believe in expiration dates, would balk at that.</p>
<p>I would definitely find a way to avoid eating that casserole. (feign an upset tummy before rather than actually have one after).</p>
<p>I wonder if it a getting older thing. Toward the end of her life, my MIL used to produce food well after its useable date. When she offered food to my kids they learned to glance at me for a nod or shake of the head before they said yes or no.</p>
<p>DH does not recognize the concept of expiration dates. He just now (as in, while I was reading this thread) finished making turkey soup with the Thanksgiving leftovers. I have to admit it smells delicious, but I’m not sure I will partake.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t give it to the dog this many days after roasting!</p>
<p>somemom, I was going to say exactly the same thing! Even though my cats clawed at my legs as I was throwing the leftowers in the food waste bin, they did not get a single piece of stale turkey.
OP, you should avoid eating that casserole at all costs (and make sure no one else eats it)! I would do something to make the casserole fall on the floor, then sweep it up, apologize for clumsiness, call the nearest pizza delivery and treat everyone to a nice, hot (and perfectly safe) pizza dinner.</p>
<p>Lol, I’m convinced. MIL has long made a practice of using food long after I would have sent it on its way via the trash. I do my best to avoid any offering I can discern to be more than a few days past original preparation.</p>
<p>MIL has a thing for you?</p>
<p>Goodness what a bunch of weenies! I’m still eating turkey and it’s not making me sick. :)</p>
<p>but who cooked the turkey? and who handled the turkey afterwards? :evileye:</p>
<p>My unbreakable rule for the Thanksgiving turkey: Anything not eaten by Sunday night goes straight to the freezer.</p>
<p>I’m with you, Mathmom. 
Although I admit I was startled to find H still eating turkey leftovers last night. I assumed they were long gone. (I was away all week.)</p>
<p>I think that we finished everything by Saturday except for a tiny bit of cranberry sauce which was finished Sunday morning.</p>
<p>I think you will find that eating old leftovers might be a generational thing. People in the Depression era would never had thrown out that turkey. Yes, some people got sick but most didn’t and it was food. Possibly, your MIL still retains habits from when she was a child. We, as a nation, have changed a lot about how we prepare food and keeping clean in general. Most of it is for the good, but sometimes it goes a little overboard. Why don’t you bring a big side dish to supplement the turkey? It could even be another main dish. Don’t say anything ahead of time and just bring it along.</p>
<p>Hey, at least you have leftovers! For years, we’ve been going to the in laws’ house for Thanksgiving and coming home to an empty fridge. :(</p>
<p>OP, I agree with onward. Bring a side dish or two.</p>
<p>10 days is a bit much, but I made turkey soup on Monday which we finished up by Wednesday. I have pretty much a one week rule (no one’s gotten sick yet.) Me and Mathmom–must be from a different generation than we think we are. :)</p>
<p>At our house, all Thanksgiving leftovers that weren’t eaten went into the trash on Sunday morning. And I advised my daughter, who took some leftovers home with her (in an insulated container with cold packs) to do the same.</p>
<p>I think Thanksgiving leftovers are even riskier than most leftovers because they may have sat out at room temperature for more than two hours before being refrigerated. The bird usually sits for a while – maybe half an hour – after it comes out of the oven while gravy-making and other last-minute tasks are attended to, and the cook rarely jumps up from the table while others are eating to get all the leftovers refrigerated pronto. Also, dismembering a turkey takes a lot of handling, and that handling introduces bacteria into the bird from the cook’s hands and utensils.</p>
<p>I like hot turkey sandwiches so the day after I cut all the best meat off and throw it in a pot with the leftover gravy. I usually reheat daily on the stove and feel that reheating kills off any incipient nasties. I usually go a week like that if it lasts that long.</p>