How Long Is Deli Turkey Good For

Introduction

Deli turkey is a quick slice of meat to keep between two bread pieces and make a sandwich. Usually, we get a lot of meat for any occasion or even a family reunion.

But sometimes, there are way too many leftovers you won’t use immediately. If you got some, then how long is deli turkey good for keeping for the future. Read to know more.

How long deli meat lasts

Whether you get a pre-prepared or instant cut slice of meat, you can’t keep it for long. Usually, you can keep deli meat for 3 – 5 days, but it’s edible for 7 days for poultry meat like turkey. 

If you take pre-packed meat from the deli counter, look at the expiry date that is the best time to use it within. But once you opened the deli meat, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3 to 5 days. And for deli turkey, the number of days is the most is the same.

How long Turkey stays fresh at the room temperature

Like any other deli meat, turkey also can’t stay fresh for long. Usually, producers use sugar or sugar-type products to treat cured meat.

And bacteria love this environment. If you leave a deli turkey for 2 hours in the open air, it will start bacterial fermentation. Though those bacteria are not reasonably harmful, you will still lose the freshness. 

Signs my deli turkey is rotten.

If you are willing to get affected by food poisoning, then eat a rotten deli turkey at will. The taste won’t be good if you are starving for months and will eat anything. The result of eating rotten turkey is not pleasurable as well. 

At first, you will feel a stomach ache. Then if your digestive system fails to beat the bacteria, you will vomit everything out. And for those who have compromised immune system can fall seriously ill, that needs a hospital visit. 

To avoid unnecessary harassment, don’t eat rotten deli turkey. Here are few things that will indicate the slice of deli turkey is inedible.

• Discolorization of meat: You will find that the color becomes fade in the middle. Usually, it becomes very pink in turkey meat. Sometimes you will notice odd colors. If you find anything like that, just throw it away.
• Bad odor: The next thing to check is the smell. Sometimes you may notice the meat looks good from the outside, but it’s completely rotten inside. Take a sniff, and if that feels unbearable, that thing is garbage.
• Mold layers on slices: Mold is terrible no one has to teach you that you can understand. If you see mold in even one slice, just throw away the whole pack. It is inedible even for dogs.
• Slimy: Some meat membrane makes the meat a little slippery. But if you feel there is too much slime that needs to go in the trash can.

How to preserve deli turkey

If you have too much leftover, freezing will be a good idea. If you can keep your refrigerator under 40° F, then you can keep your opened turkey slices for 3 days.

But if you want to keep it further, use a freezer bag or aluminum wrapping foil. Keep on an airtight container and freeze it to keep it good for 2 months.

Conclusion

Again How long is deli turkey good for after opening? It’s 3 to 5 days. Still, if you want to enjoy the freshness and quality, eat it within the sell-by date.

John C. Crawford

I am John C. Crawford. I am the founder of EnjoyWiki.com. I am a professional freelancer, blogger and content writer. I have several blogs and EnjoyWiki.com is one of them. I always love to share my experience on my blogs.