How To Store A Turkey - My Fearless Kitchen

How long will a turkey keep in the freezer? How long can a thawed turkey stay in the refrigerator? How long can you keep those leftovers? Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about how to store turkey.

How to Store a Frozen Turkey

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Your freezer should be set to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.7 degrees Celsius). At this low temperature, you can safely store your frozen turkey. The Food and Drug Administration recommends storing your frozen turkey for no longer than one year. Butterball claims that their turkeys can be stored, fully frozen, for up to two years.

After too much time has passed, the quality of the turkey can deteriorate in the freezer. It can get freezer burned, start to dry out, or absorb other flavors from the freezer.

When you find whole turkeys on sale, you’ll definitely want to stock up for the holidays, or grab one to cook later in the year when you’re craving turkey. You can even plan on saving one until next year. (If you have that much space in your freezer.)

Get more information about keeping foods in your freezer in this post.

How to Store a Fresh or Thawed Turkey

Once your turkey is thawed, you still need a place to store it until you’re ready to cook it! A thawed turkey, or a turkey purchased fresh (not frozen) needs to be stored in your refrigerator. Your refrigerator should be set to 40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C) or below. The best temperature for your refrigerator is 34-38 degrees F (1-3 degrees C). If you don’t have space in your refrigerator, you can keep the turkey in a cooler with ice packs. Be sure to change out the ice packs regularly to keep the turkey cool enough. It’s a good idea to stash a thermometer inside the cooler, so you can monitor the temperature. Consider a probe thermometer with an alarm like this one – the thermometer goes inside the cooler, and the monitor goes outside. You can set the alarm to go off if the temperature goes above 40 degrees F!

You can keep a thawed, uncooked turkey in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days before cooking. If you purchase a fresh (not frozen) turkey, be sure to use it before the date on the label.

If you’re using a cooler for temporary turkey storage, consider keeping this cooler separate for raw poultry and meat only. Bacteria found on raw poultry and meat could cause food poisoning. Having one cooler that is only used for raw poultry and meat is an easy way to practice food safety in your kitchen. (Check out this post for more information on coolers.)

How to Store Turkey Leftovers

The best part of cooking a turkey is all the leftovers! Leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking. Store them tightly wrapped, in your 34-38 degrees F refrigerator. Leftovers should be used up in 3 days. If you’re not sure that you’ll finish your leftovers before then, it’s a good idea to freeze them for later. Leftover cooked turkey can be stored in the freezer for 2-6 months. Be sure to use good quality zip-top freezer bags, and label them with the date and contents.

Follow these guidelines to store your turkey and keep your meal fresh, flavorful, and safe!

Take the Fear Out of Turkey

Do you want even more tips about turkey? Check out these Top 10 Turkey Tips and never be afraid of cooking turkey again!

How to Store a Turkey – Free Printable

Do you want a printable cheat sheet so you don’t forget what you’re looking for? Click here to download your free printable.

Enjoy!

3 Ways to Take the Fear Out of Your Kitchen

• How to Choose a Turkey
• How to Thaw a Turkey
• What’s That Stuff Inside My Turkey?

3 More Recipes to Try

• 3 Steps to the Perfect Turkey
• Slow Cooker Turkey Tetrazzini
• Slow Cooker Cheesy White Turkey Chili

Want Even More Recipes?

Try one of these 17 Recipes for Turkey Leftovers.

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