Wise cooks remove the meat from the bones as soon as they pack the turkey away after Christmas dinner. The food safe window of time to get the turkey back into the fridge is within two hours of the turkey coming out of the oven.

Carcass, stuffing and bones should be separated, and wrapped separately before refrigerating or freezing. Sturdy freezer bags are recommended.

If you haven't made turkey soup yet, freeze the carcass and make your turkey soup within a few weeks.

Wrapped leftover turkey has a shelf life of three days. Today is a good day to either use it up, or freeze it.

For casseroles, patties, pizzas and other dishes using turkey meat, divide into convenient amounts, bag and freeze. Be sure to label the bags with date, amount of turkey meat and intended use, e.g. 2 cups (500 mL) for Pizza Topping; or 1 cup (250 mL) to Add to Soup; you will find packages of mystery meat later in the winter and good meat will have gone to waste.

TURKEY SANDWICH IDEAS

Leftover turkey meat makes a sandwich lover feel like heaven has dropped to earth. In our house, any leftover stuffing gets added to sandwiches so I don't need to freeze any.

The ultimate sandwich that uses up all the stuffing is one where leftover goodies are tucked into a crusty kaiser: Start with a modest slather of mayo, add on leafy lettuce, and abundance of sliced turkey, a slice or spoonful of dressing and a dollop of cranberry sauce. Open wide.

Or, there are turkey melts: Wholegrain bread (I like to toast mine lightly for a crisper texture) topped with cranberry sauce, sliced turkey and sliced Brie. Under the broiler until the Brie melts and bubbles and warms the turkey.

Then there's turkey salad stuffed into a pita: Chopped turkey, about
1/2 cup (125 mL) per sandwich, chopped green onion and celery, even some diced red or green pepper, a tbsp. (15 mL) or so for each, a couple of green olives, sliced if you like, plus a dash of hot pepper sauce, small spoonful of Dijon mustard and enough light mayonnaise to moisten. Line the pitas with leaf or Boston lettuce and fill with the chunky salad. Mmmm. This kind of moist filling also works well in a baguette: Cut the baguette lengthwise almost all the way through; remove a little of the bread from inside (dry and save for breadcrumbs) and line the baguette with leafy lettuce. Fill the baguette and wrap well and refrigerate to serve within an hour. Or, cut into lengths and serve with pride.

If you like barbecued turkey sandwiches, simply shred turkey, dark meat is best, and moisten with enough barbecue sauce to make the mixture moist and hold together. Heat until bubbly, toss in chopped green onion and fill toasted buns.

And if you haven't had enough in the sandwich realm, how about a hot turkey sandwich. A slice of bread topped with sliced turkey and hot gravy. Leftover peas optional. I have never been a lover of hot anything sandwiches, but, considering the number of fans of this way to use up leftovers, I admit to not marching with the majority.