Picnic Roast (shoulder or pork) is an ideal picnic food. Picnic Roast is easy to prepare for a large group of people and can be pre-prepared and stored for almost two months. You can easily use left over roast meats to prepare quick sandwiches, salads and lunches. Here are some ways in which you can store a picnic roast. It is very important that you store a picnic roast properly after cooking so that there is not spoilage and it is easy to ready whenever needed.

Roasted meats, be it pork, beef, lamb, chicken or turkey must be stored properly before and after cooking. It is important to ensure that there is no food contamination and that the meat is stored at the correct temperature even after cooking. If you are not going to using the roast immediately, store the meat safely to prevent spoilage due to the growth of bacteria that can cause illness.

Here are ways to Store a Picnic Roast.

1. If you have got a precooked picnic roast, store it in its original packaging. You may refrigerate it for up to five days before you cook it. If freezing the roast, wrap it in freezer wrap before you freeze it for up to six months. Label it with the best before date.
2. If you have cooked a picnic roast, allow the roast to cool completely before you refrigerate it. Do not leave a cooked roast on the counter for more than an hour and a half. You can refrigerate the cooked roast, leaving it in its original roast pan for two days or put it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for three to four days.
3. If you want to freeze a cooked roast, keep it in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours and then wrap the cooked picnic roast in freezer paper, put it in a zip lock (freezer proof) bag and freeze it for up to two months. Don’t forget to burp the excess air out of the bag before sealing it and placing in the fridge.
4. Always label your food before you freeze it, so that you know what is there in the package, when it was frozen and by what day you need to use it.
5. You can store picnic roasts by packaging it in disposable picnic containers which you can put in your oven to heat before you pack it in your picnic basket. This will save you a lot of time and effort to transfer the food from freezing container to picnic containers.
6. Always remember to thaw frozen foods by transferring from freezer to refrigerator. Never directly thaw at room temperature. This can lead to food spoilage and will change the texture of the food.
7. You can also shred or slice cooked roast (free of the pan juices) and store in an airtight container, following the rules for freezing and thawing.

Picnic roasts can be prepared many days in advance. Don’t forget to prepare a quick and easy salad and carry pita bread or rolls to go along with your roast.

Image courtesy- bonelessporkroast.rulehall.com