Here's How Long Leftover Pot Roast Lasts In The Fridge

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Pot roast is a savory meal that, when paired with something like Ree Drummond's creamy mashed potatoes, exemplifies comfort food. There are a few different cuts of beef that are ideal for pot roast, and you can even jazz it up with some Coca-Cola, but however you make it, unless you're feeding a big crowd, you'll likely end up with leftovers. Stash those in the fridge, but be sure to finish them off before they start to go bad, which, according to the USDA, can start after three to four days for cooked beef.

Of course, every pot roast and refrigerator is different, and if you find you've reached those third or fourth days, you might want to start checking for signs that the roast is beginning to spoil every time you pull it out. The first one will assail your nostrils; if the meat just smells off, differently (and worse) than it did the previous day, that's a good indication that it's starting to turn. Toss it asap.

The other signs are visual. Spoiled beef tends to accumulate a kind of slime; it might be time to toss out your pot roast leftovers if the juices start to resemble more of an ooze. Finally, if you see mold sitting on your meat, it should go straight into the trash because the bacteria that have manifested themselves into a fuzz on top of the leftover pot roast have likely invisibly permeated all throughout.

Not only how, but how quickly you move to store your pot roast leftovers, can impact whether it lasts for just a few days before showing signs of spoiling, or the full four days (or perhaps even a day or two more). So for starters, you'll want to get the beef into the fridge before two hours have passed after taking it out of the oven (it doesn't have to be entirely cooled beforehand). The reason for the two-hour rule is that after this duration, dangerous bacteria can begin to grow rapidly.

Then there's how you get your pot roast ready for refrigeration. Rather than wrapping it up with tin foil or plastic wrap, a low-sided, air-tight, lidded glass container is best, something like one of the rectangular pieces from this set by Amazon Basics (but plastic is okay, too; just don't put the meat in while it's still ripping hot).

If there's just too much beef for your household to handle within four days, pot roast also freezes and thaws beautifully, with little degradation to the flavor and texture once defrosted. You can freeze it for up to six months, so be sure to write the date on the container.