If you’re perplexed about what to do with the leftover ham and turkey clogging up your fridge, we’ve gone to the experts to “sauce” some answers for you.

Owner and head chef of Tamworth’s Square Man Inn, Rob Breese, doesn’t just know his way around a kitchen – he’s had a growing family of five to feed at Christmas.

He said leftovers needed not be the bland, cold remnants of the festive day; they could be reinvented as delicious new dishes.

“If you cut ham or turkey up, it can keep you going for weeks,” Mr Breese said.

“You can do anything with ham – make pizzas, stir it through pasta, whack it on a sandwich.

“You can even throw it on the barbie. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times you recook it.

“Turkey can also be used for pasta or pizza but it’s also great in Caesar salads or through pasta and potato salads.”

He said the high sugar content of mince pies and Christmas pudding meant they could last for extended periods in the fridge.

“The best thing to do with any of these things is portion them up and put them in the freezer,” Mr Breese said.

Fittingly, yesterday was designated as National Leftovers Day. Australians were predicted to spend an estimated $10.1 billion on Christmas groceries this year, a percentage of it destined to be wasted and sent to landfill.

Mr Breese said catering appropriately was the best way to mitigate the amount of leftovers: “You need to be realistic about how much you buy,” he said.

“Your butcher wants to sell you a whole ham but he’d also be happy to cut you up a quarter of a ham.”