Turkey: to eat or not to eat after 9 days?

[TobleroneWrestling]

Is it safe to eat a turkey, cooked on Boxing Day, allowed to cool and then kept in a cold fridge since? It looks and smells fine but it is almost 9 days since it was cooked. It seems a shame to waste it if it is safe to eat.

I know some people would eat it without considering it an issue and some people would run screaming for the hills rather than eat it!

But can anyone tell me please if it is safe to eat from an actual food safety knowledge point of view?

Fuck no. Not worth it. I'd rather bin it than risk food poisoning.

I would eat it - I ate the last portion of turkey pie yesterday (made from turkey initially cooked on Christmas Day) and we are all fine!

I got a notification from this thread which reminded me to check in.

Turkey was picked up 23rd Dec from local butcher.
Cooked 25th Dec.

Had a cold turkey roll for lunch and a turkey roast dinner for dinner with my DH yesterday and neither of us has had any problems, not even the shits.

We still have a box of it left to eat plus a small amount of beef that was picked up and cooked the same days as the turkey. Still all looks and smells the same as when first cooked. It was a crown that he was carving bits off and then carved up the rest yesterday.

I am sick to death of turkey but reluctant to put it on Olio considering the freakout most people are having on here. But maybe I should and list a picture and the date it was cooked and see if anyone bites 🤔

You might get banned from olio if you do, if your listing gets reported because that amount of time is guidlines

Gammon is cured though before hand,isn't it? Not the same risk as poultry.

I'm about to cook with a pot of cream use by 2/12/24 - but it's been in the coldest part of the fridge, unopened. I wouldn't at your turkey though, I wouldn't eat cooked meat after 3/4 days.

Morning all. I've lived to cook another day and I hope everyone else who shared their own stories of pushing the turkey boundaries is still with us?!

No doubt to the great relief of some pps and the disappointment of others, in the end after much thought I made the decision not to eat or serve the turkey.

• Like some pps, I still think that the likelihood was it would have been ok. But there was a clear risk and I decided that that risk just wasn't worth taking with our health.
• As some pps correctly identified, we're not starving or living in real poverty, and so fortunately it really wasn't a risk I needed to take.
• Although the appearance and aroma of the turkey made it appear perfectly fresh, I took the point that this could be deceptive and undetectable food-poisoning bugs could well be present after 9 days.
• The food safety guidelines posted were pretty clear that I'd left it twice as long as advised, which gave me serious food for thought.
• My family rely on me to feed them and to keep them safe and well. They have always been able to trust me to do that and that trust is important to me and to them. Most importantly, I didn't want to risk making them unwell or seriously unwell - for them, for me and for the stretched NHS.
• My family rely on me to look after them on a daily basis and to be here to stick around in their lives for as long as possible. I didn't want to risk making myself ill or seriously ill - again, for them, for me and for the stretched NHS.
• Even an upset stomach would not have been nice or welcome, but some pps reminded me of how serious food poisoning can be. That took me back to an experience many years ago when travelling - in Turkey, funnily enough!
• Once I'd decided not to risk it with us, I also decided not to risk it for pets or wildlife either. I'm pretty sure the cat, dog, badger and fox would have enjoyed it but again I had to recognise the risk of making them ill too.
• I think it was as much about wanting to avoid waste - of food, of cost and of the bird's life - as it was about trying to still salvage some of our Christmas. Also, when you've lost both your parents and there is none of the older generation left in your family either, you can feel a little lost when there is no longer anyone there older and wiser to ask. It is suddenly down to you...and Mumsnet, apparently!
• I do feel disappointed by the waste, but sometimes you just have to let things go and that's ok.

Thanks again to pps. I know some of you think I need my bumps feeling to have even considered it in the first place, while others will think I've wimped out by not eating and serving it - heigh-ho!

Happy New Year everyone and all the very best for 2025.

Now, where's that leftover Christmas cake...

What a wonderful, caring, thoughtful and considerate post OP.
Thank you so much, you said it all so well.
You weighed the pros/cons and decided any risk to health for anyone was not a good one, well done!
Thank you for your response.
Happy New Year, stay safe and healthy!
Hope you found your Christmas cake!

Well done OP I enjoyed your thread and thanks for the update. Happy New Year 2025 to you and yours. Enjoy your Christmas cake that lasts forever as we all know.

Yes good update op and I agree with it all!

Very wise response indeed op. These things happen- sometimes life gets in the way and you have to write something off xx

Thanks again to pps. I know some of you think I need my bumps feeling to have even considered it in the first place, while others will think I've wimped out by not eating and serving it - heigh-ho!
Happy New Year everyone and all the very best for 2025.
Now, where's that leftover Christmas cake...

Hey @TobleroneWrestling - hope you found your cake. I have a six year old Christmas cake we cut into last night to celebrate a special anniversary.

It was delicious! Mind you, it had been fed so much brandy over the years that one slice would put you over the driving limit.. 😁

After a few more slices were cut off for having at this afternoon's tea with friends, it has been re-brandied, wrapped up again in fresh baking paper and tin foil, put back inside its tin and replaced at the back of the understairs cupboard.

It will make another appearance this day next year..

3 days in the fridge is long enough. I wouldn't risk the heath of me or my children to save a few quid, but to each their own

i put my turkey into a curry sauce on 29th December and froze it
on 24th december i boiled a gammon and roasted it
i might chuck it today, dh has been eating it with no ill effects

Jesus christ there are some truly disgusting people in this thread.

I'd give it a go if it's been wrapped in tin foil.
If we haven't heard back from you in 9 days we'll assume the worst.

Aww I’m slightly disappointed you didn’t go for it but maybe it was for the best.
I’ve still not had any ill effects, not really eaten today apart from a few grapes and a mango finger but that’s stress for you not food poisoning, thank the (turkey) Lord.

That's not a very nice reply to my poster. This isn't AIBU, you know.

4 days was pushing it with me.

I would like to try a piece of that cake @CleansUpButWouldPreferNotTo as long as I wasn't driving!

It's very much like our tradition here in the UK to have extra tiers made to your wedding cake to save to serve at future Christenings. That would usually be an iced boozy fruit cake, very much like Christmas cake.

Our pot of cream is only use by 4/01/25, so a spring chicken turkey compared to yours @Radio4head ! To be served with a Yule Log, best before 31/12/24.

Nope , asked dh who said not a chance and he's a human dustbin

I've updated on the outcome of The Great Turkey Dilemma of 2024.

Yes, I've been reliably informed by several pps that the tin foil makes all the difference

Enjoy your Christmas cake that lasts forever as we all know.
Alas three disadvantaged pps do not seem to know that, @CombatLingerie !

Yes, I'm slightly disappointed too @IWantToBeADCC but I do think it's for the best. I couldn't have forgiven myself if I had caused serious illness.

Anyway, if we'd eaten the turkey then it wouldn't still be available for you to drop from a great height on to your H's head or to leave on the pillow next to him, now would it? Assuming that you really don't deserve it, I don't like the idea of you being sent to Coventry for a week and being so stressed that you can't eat apart from a bit of fruit. I've no wish to pry or to give unsolicited advice but do take good care of yourself - and only you know if it's time to consider getting your turkeys in a row.

NB Readers - no Hs were actually harmed during the making of this post.