How long does meat last in the fridge?
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We all have been through this challenging situation of storing leftover meat sometime or the other in our lives. Let’s look into how long does meat last in the fridge.
What spoils your leftover meat?
Two types of bacteria can grow in our food. They are Spoilage bacteria and Pathogenic bacteria.
Spoilage bacteria can change your food’s smell, taste, and appearance and spoil them. They usually do not make you fall sick.
Pathogenic bacteria can make you fall seriously ill. These do not change the smell, taste, and appearance of the food too much and are difficult to detect. They are dangerous and can cause food-borne illnesses.
For how long can you store the different types of meat?
Different types of meat last for different durations in the fridge. The time for storing meat in the refrigerator will also depend upon whether the meat is fresh, raw, cooked, or canned meat. Let us look at some of the different types of meat and find out how long we can store them in the refrigerator.
Storing Beef in the Fridge
Raw uncooked meat in the refrigerator lasts for about 3 to 5 days. Even if the beef has been cut, we can still store it for about 3 to 5 days without spoilage.
However, ground beef lasts for only about 1 or 2 days in the fridge. Do not store freshly cooked beef in the refrigerator for more than 3 to 4 days.
Storing Pork in the Fridge
Without spoilage, you can store raw and uncooked pork in the fridge for about 3 to 5 days. Like ground beef, you should also not keep ground pork for longer than 1 or 2 days in the refrigerator. Ground pork can get affected by dangerous bacteria, which could easily make you fall ill. You can store dishes made using pork for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
However, after taking it out of the fridge, you will have to reheat it before consumption. After reheating your delicious pork dish, you must smell it and then taste it. If your leftover pork dish does not smell good or tastes slightly different, you will have to get rid of it immediately. Unfortunately, you will not be able to consume it any further because it might make you fall ill.
Bacon lasts for about 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator without spoilage. Luckily, you can also keep a whole ham for about 5 to 7 days in the fridge if not cut into pieces.
Storing Chicken in the Fridge
You can store raw and uncooked chicken only for about 1 or 2 days in the fridge. Chicken spoils very fast. This is why it will not be a good idea to store raw and uncooked chicken any longer than 2 days in the refrigerator.
However, cook the raw and fresh chicken to make a delicious recipe. You can always store fresh and cooked chicken in the fridge for a relatively long period. Freshly cooked chicken lasts for about 2 to 4 days in the refrigerator without damage.
Storing Seafood and Fish in the Fridge
You can only store the fresh and raw meat of both lean fish and fatty feat for about 1 or 2 days in the fridge. Similarly, we can keep the raw and fresh uncooked shellfish meat for only about 1 or 2 days in the refrigerator without any severe spoilage.
A leftover fish dish lasts for about 3 to 4 days. You can store smoked fish for about 12 to 14 days in the refrigerator.
Storing Canned Meat in the Fridge After Opening
After opening the can, you can store your canned meat for about 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. You have to do a smell test and a taste test before consuming the meat.
