If you’re preparing the turkey ahead of time to serve to a crowd, you can leave it whole. Cover the turkey tightly with plastic wrap before you refrigerate it.
If you want to refrigerate the turkey with gravy, spoon enough gravy over it to cover the meat. This keeps the turkey moist as it chills.
If you divided the turkey into several containers, remember to label each one. You don’t need to buy special labels for your containers. Just tear off a piece of masking tape and write the information on it.
If you’ve had the smoked turkey in the fridge for less than 2 weeks and find that you can’t finish it all, store the rest in the freezer.
If you don’t want to use plastic wrap, wrap the meat in butcher paper or freezer paper. Smaller portions of smoked turkey defrost faster than large portions, so divide the turkey if you want to save time. For example, wrap the legs in 1 portion and the sliced turkey breast in 2 separate portions. Don’t freeze a whole smoked turkey since it’s difficult to safely thaw and reheat the bird.
Wrapping the smoked turkey in several layers also protects the meat from freezer burn.
For example, write, “2 pounds (0. 91 kg) sliced, smoked turkey, 7/7/20. "
Once you’ve thawed the smoked turkey, eat it cold or reheat it. Use the meat within 4 days.
Plan on heating a pan full of turkey for about 20 to 25 minutes before you check its temperature.
If the smoked turkey’s not up to temperature, keep heating it in 30-second increments until it’s hot enough. Chemicals from the plastic can transfer to your turkey if the plastic wrap touches the food while you’re microwaving it.
This is why it’s a good idea to divide the turkey into small portions so you can reheat only what you’ll eat in 1 sitting.
