“Keeping warm” tips

Those bugs are probably weevils. I would take it back to the store and ask for a refund. If the rice is the only grain with bugs, chances are the larvae were already in the rice.

The weevils are about 1/4 inch long and they have a little tube sticking out of their head. The larvae take about 35 days to emerge from inside the kernels. A farmer can only control a weevil infestation with chemicals, which would preclude the organic label, and there is just so much frogs and birds can eat.

First thing to try is freezing, possibly in ice cube trays (once frozen, transfer to freezer bag). Freezing has the advantage that you can be confident the food is still safe to consume.

Unfortunately, cornstarch-thickened sauces often don't hold up to freezing. A couple of approaches:

• Thicken only after thawing. Takes more time reheating, but not much.
• Try arrowroot or tapioca starch. You'll get a different look and slightly different texture than you're used to.
• Use "modernist" ingredients for thickening, such as guar gum and/or xanthan gum. The texture is probably going to be different than what you're used to.

Your BBQ sauce is not only low-pH it is also high-sugar. Both reduce microbial growth. It'd be difficult to know how long your pan sauce would last in the fridge without measuring those, and possibly doing lab work.