As long as they didn't smell "off" I'd eat them.

I always make extra to freeze for another meal right away. In fridge I have a 2 day rule, 48hours...DH, 3 day rule.

Does not mean it has necessarily gone bad, but ground meats have been exposed to oxygen when ground, allowing the surface area a bit faster to deteriorate than a solid steak. So really 3 days max is what I give it. 'Cooked' meat I'd say 5 days max, but again depending on how cold your fridge is.

I bet it stinks. Unless it is in the coldest part of your fridge close to freezing. Still risky. If heavily herbed or spiced that may mask the smell.

Generally speaking, unless I have specifically cooked more of something than we can use for a meal, leftovers go into the freezer to be pulled out for a hot lunch or snack. I also really don't trust anything cooked (especially meat) that has been in the refrigerator for more than 2 days.

I generally freeze things also, but these were hiding and they smell just perfect. So I have 2 for and 2 against :)

I definitely have longer than a 2 or 3 day rule, but I'll give this some thought! Thank you for your input.

I’m three days on leftovers, 4 if i really don’t want to throw it out. By then I microwave the heck out of it so that anything and everything dies. I’d probably not eat those meatballs, but if tempted that’s what I’d do. They can take it.

Just re-reading the OP. If I was already leery I’d not feel good about waiting another day.

This is all probably more mental than physical.

Food lets you know if it's bad. I'd add look as well as smell because it can start looking wrong before it actually starts to smell, and can be chancy. When things get old like that, open them at the last second, if you can avoid earlier. Disturbing them seems to hasten the end.

This assumes the meatballs were cooked through. If they were less than medium inside, they could be happily growing bacteria in the middle, and heating enough to kill those would likely make them dry and rubbery. I'd throw undercooked meatballs away, rather than changing it, though they're likely to be just fine (the food supply isn't as contaminated as standards would have you believe, but it could be).

Food lets you know if it's bad.

That’s the problem! ;)

LOL! Before you eat it!!!

LOL to you both, FOAS and Pillog :)

I found a container of dressing in the fridge this afternoon. Some of the best dressing I've made in a long time. It was a week old and I wasn't sure but I went ahead and heated it up well in the microwave then lifted the lid and took a good sniff. Uh, nope. Made me cry while dumping it all in the trash. Darn holiday foods, there is just too much going on sometimes and things do get overlooked. :>(

Janie, I'm going to err on the side of caution here and say that I wouldn't eat the meatballs. Ground meat is automatically suspect for me, I never know what was ground on that same grinder, or when. While I would happily eat raw steak or week old tenderloin, I don't do that with ground meat.

Annie