It’s delicious, and my boys love it. Salmon pairs well with a lot of things, and it’s not hard to cook.
However, salmon is also quite filling, and they can’t always eat everything I make. Even if it’s delicious smoked salmon, it’s not healthy to eat too much of it in one go.
How Long Does Cooked Salmon Last?
So, the question arose – what to do with leftovers? Throwing them away seemed like such a waste, but keeping them in the fridge even for one day might be a health risk.
Well, today, I’ll puzzle this out for you – I’ll tell you just how long cooked salmon lasts and how to keep it to ensure that it stays good.
How to Make Sure Your Salmon Won’t Spoil Quickly?
Before you even start cooking salmon, there are ways to ensure that it will last for a long time after being cooked. If you do it right, you might extend the shelf life of the leftovers by a whole day or even more.
The first important thing to consider is to cook salmon while it’s as fresh as possible. Buying fresh salmon and cooking it straight away is the best way to ensure that it will last for a long time after being cooked.
Cooking salmon after defrosting it, especially if you defrosted it quickly, will lower its shelf life, and you won’t be able to keep it for as long.
Of course, canned cooked salmon is the exception here, and it will last for up to a year since it’s made to have a long shelf-life. However, even the best-canned salmon can’t compare to the fresh kind.
Another important thing to keeping salmon from spoiling is making sure it’s not close to the expiry date when you buy it. The closer it is, the shorter it will last when cooked. Again, freshness is the key.
Caution: If the salmon you bought was close to the expiry date, don’t keep any leftovers after you cook it – throw them straight away. They likely won’t stay edible for more than a few hours.
How Long Does Salmon Last at Room Temperature?
Even though it may seem foolish, certain items last longer on the counter at ambient temperature than they do in the refrigerator.
Since you don’t want your fridge to be overstuffed and smelling odd, it’s always a choice worth considering.
However, storing salmon at room temperature is not a good idea in this scenario. Put the meat in the fridge as soon as you can to prevent creating the ideal habitat for the growth of dangerous germs.
At most, cooked salmon can be stored at room temperature for a few hours. If you want to extend its shelf life, you can store it in a sealed container, but if it has been sitting for more than four hours, you should discard it.
How Long Does it Last in the Fridge?
Keeping your salmon in the fridge is a good option, one that will make sure your cooked salmon lasts long enough for you to have one or two more meals with it.
A good rule of thumb when it comes to keeping salmon in the fridge is that it will stay good for up to 3 days at most. However, that also depends on various factors, so 2 days is a safer bet, especially if it’s salmon from a restaurant.
Caution: Make sure to refrigerate your salmon as soon as possible after cooking. At most, two hours. This will increase its shelf life after refrigeration. Otherwise, you risk it spoiling within less than a day.
Of course, the way you store salmon in the fridge is also important. If you store it the right way, it’s much less likely to go bad.
One good way to store cooked salmon is in a shallow and airtight container, which should keep it relatively fresh for a few days.
Make sure it’s in there with no liquids! No sauces or stuff like that either – John always makes that mistake, and I have to correct him every time.
If you don’t have an adequate container, wrapping it in aluminum foil or plastic wrap should also be completely fine.
Never put salmon in the fridge without covering it up in some way since this will drastically increase the chance of bacteria forming and possibly spreading to other foods.
Can You Put it In the Freezer?
When you talk about storing cooked salmon, most people instantly think about putting it in the fridge – but a freezer is also a viable option.
Yes, putting it in the freezer is possible, and if stored properly, it can last for up to 6 months, though it’s safer to eat it within the first 2 to 3 months since that’s when it will retain the best possible taste and texture.
Pro Tip: If kept at a constant temperature of 0 degrees F, cooked salmon can stay safe to eat indefinitely. The taste will surely suffer, but it won’t spoil.
Of course, it has to be stored properly to stay good. Freezer bags are a good solution, but airtight containers also work. If you have to, you can also store it in aluminum foil or freezer wrap though I wouldn’t recommend that.
When thawed, the salmon can still stay in the fridge for around 2 or 3 days, but only if it has been thawed in the fridge. If thawed in water or at room temperature, it should be eaten straight away.
Storing cooked salmon in smaller pieces is also a good idea since it will allow you to take out and thaw only as much as you want to eat and not everything at once.
Recognizing Salmon That’s Gone Bad
Once you decide to eat that cooked salmon you stored, you have to make sure it’s still good. Doing that is not too tricky. I’ve described it in more detail before, but I’ll also give you a quick rundown here.
One of the best indicators is smell. If it is starting to smell sour, you should probably throw it away instead of eating it.
Sometimes, the smell is not the most accurate indicator, especially if you made your salmon with some strong spices like lemongrass (learn more about lemongrass substitutes). In those cases, you should also check the texture – if the salmon seems slimy and is leaking a lot of liquid, it’s probably gone bad.
The most obvious sign of spoilage, however, is the look of the meat. If it has some milky-white residue or black spots, it’s surely spoiled. Throw it away immediately before it contaminates your other food.
Conclusion
As you can see, storing cooked salmon in many different ways is completely viable, and you can still eat it afterward with no problems. Just make sure to check for spoilage before putting it in your mouth, and you’ll be fine.
If you have anything to add or any questions, please comment below, and other members of the Kitchen Byte team or I will be happy to answer you!
I hope this article helped you at least a little bit and, until next time, have fun with your cooking!