Let's ask the cook: how long does baked, fried, boiled, stewed, smoked meat last in the refrigerator and without?

Baked or fried meat is a nutritious and tasty dish that is perishable.

It is advisable to eat it immediately after preparation, but if the dish needs to be stored for a long time, it is important to know all the rules for storing the product.

We will tell you further about how much and under what conditions cooked meat is stored in the refrigerator and without.

How long can it be stored?

The prepared dish has a limited shelf life. After cooling, it must be put in the refrigerator. At room temperature, the product will begin to deteriorate very quickly.

Repeated, and even more so, repeated heat treatments worsen the quality of food and its taste.

In the refrigerator

Cooked meat does not last long. The average duration of stay in the refrigerator compartment is as follows:

If immediately after cooking it becomes clear that you cannot eat the entire volume of the fried dish in two days, you can freeze it. But this needs to be done immediately, and not when the product has already been in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Vacuum packaging can extend the shelf life of cooked meat products in the refrigerator.

At room temperature

Without a refrigerator, simply fried or baked meat cannot sit for long. Its shelf life depends on the processing method.

Vacuum-packed for up to 3 days, salted for up to a week, dried for a month, baked (fried) for several hours.

Conditions of detention

When storing already cooked meat, the necessary conditions must be observed. Among them:

• isolation from other products (both fresh and prepared), including meat;
• protection from direct sunlight;
• keeping in the refrigerator;
• being in a suitable container.

It is recommended that cooked meat be placed in the refrigerator after it has cooled.

Freezing

A cooked meat dish can be frozen subject to a number of rules. Basic safety conditions include the following rules:

1. The temperature must be stable. The best option is to maintain the temperature within the range from -18 to -23? C. It is advisable to place the packaging in a household freezer closer to the back wall. In this case, when opening the door, practically no warm air will enter it.
2. The container must be airtight. The prepared dish should not come into contact with other products, moisture or air. The best option is to use vacuum packaging or plastic containers with a lid.
3. Before storing in the freezer, cooked food should be divided into individual portions so as not to defrost more than is necessary at one time. Cooked meat that has already been thawed cannot be re-frozen.
4. The best defrosting option is gradual. To do this, the product is first transferred from the freezer to the refrigerator for several hours so that the dish thaws gradually. Using a microwave oven to defrost is possible, but may result in reduced taste.

Signs of a spoiled product

Meat that has been heat-treated should be stored at low temperatures - in the refrigerator or freezer. But even in this case, it can be damaged.

The following reasons may lead to this:

• violation of cooking rules;
• temperature violation;
• initially low quality of fresh meat;
• improper defrosting;
• storage for too long;
• incorrectly selected container.

Signs of spoilage of cooked food:

• unpleasant odor;
• the appearance of mucus;
• mold;
• color change;
• change in consistency.

Conclusion

The shelf life of prepared meat depends on the storage conditions and the processing performed. At the same time, it is important that the products are initially fresh and of high quality, and that the processing itself is carried out in accordance with all technological rules.