How long will a roast chicken keep in the fridge?

When I roast a chicken, we never finish it right away. How many days can I continue to safely use the leftovers?

ameulensteen
  • 62376 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

LeBec F. May 2, 2012
Keeping meats and fish and poultry in the rear left corner of your fridge- has a remarkable impact on lengthening their lives, both pre and post cooking.
 
ChefOno May 2, 2012

I've got my refrigerator turned down so low, anything stored in that upper rear corner will freeze. My milk and heavy cream go right next to that spot though and it extends their useful life by quite a bit.

 
ChefOno May 1, 2012

The quick and safe answer is 3-4 days.

The longer answer is it depends upon how you're going to use the leftovers. For example, you'd be perfectly safe if you made stock out of the bird 4 days from now and then consumed the stock (or soup or pot pie) 3 or 4 days later.

 
ChefOno May 2, 2012

Sorry, this line was supposed to follow the second paragraph above:
Every time you take a dish up to pasteurization temperature, the clock is reset.

 
Recommended by Food52