How long to keep cold meat?

[southcoaster]

DH eats a lot of cold meat so I want to make my own instead of buying packets with 3 slices only. So once I've got cold roast beef and cold am, how long can I keep it, how long is it safe to eat?

We keep cold meat in an airtight container for 3-4 days

I would have thought a few days as well. But . . . If you are cooking it to slice yourself you may be able to cook, slice, cool and then freeze. Thus making it last longer

But check with someone a bit more experienced than me!! Am new to this cooking lark!

until is smells

OOh - we have the same idea! I have bought a chicken with this in mind - plan to roast it, slice it and use it for sandwiches rather than those crappy packs which make 1 lunch and cost half the price of a whole chicken!

DH and I have disagreed over whether it would be okay to freeze the cooked meat though - he says no because it won't be cooked after defrosting, but reckons it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. I don't see any reason we can't freeze it.

I often cook a ham joint at the weekend for DS to have cold for lunches, and it is absolutely fine for a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

I personally would freeze any you don't think will be used within the week in that case. I go through loads of meats for my oh too & tend to cook a chicken, strip it, keep out enough for the week & freeze the rest in meal sized portions to use for something else.

Thanks ladies, freezing is a good idea, hadn't thought of that. Might check with the butcher again as to how long to keep it but I also thought about a week would be fine. I guess I'll freeze it and then take out smaller portions as and when needed and defrost it overnight.