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Original poster

Help! Can I serve this lamb?

109 replies

Lovesacake · 19/03/2023 07:40

Doing a lamb casserole for Mother’s Day lunch, browned off the lamb and precooked the veg/sauce etc. intended let it cool then put it in the fridge overnight. Will need an hour in the oven today. Just realised it never went in the fridge! So has been out ‘cooling’ for 13 hours. Is it still safe to cook??

OP posts:
jackstini · 19/03/2023 08:39

I give it a good long cook and eat it

If your freezer is rammed - take something out of it to eat today, then cook and freeze the casserole?

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 08:40

JuneOsborne · 19/03/2023 07:43

Yep. The initial cooking stage will have killed any problematic bacteria. It would need to be contaminated with something in the cooling stage for it to be a problem. But then you're going to cook it again, so I likely to cause a problem. I'd make sure the thickest piece of meat hits 80-odd degrees today.

That's not how it works.

Cooking food, even all the way through to 75 degrees, doesn't always kill all the pathogenic bacteria it just brings it to a safe level. Then you also have to think about spore forming bacteria, too , because spores aren't killed during cooking. A piece of meat left on the side, cooked, particularly cooked, or not, is being given the right conditions for bacteria to have a party and multiply: time and temperature as well as moisture and nutrients. When they multiply, they will also be releasing toxins that aren't killed during cooking so even if you cooked it and killed any bacteria, the toxins will remain amd make you sick.

So, in a nutshell, your meat is most definitely not safe to eat!

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 08:44

gogohmm · 19/03/2023 08:25

I've never managed to get food poisoning yet, despite eating all kinds of foods I've left out, eating raw foods and reheating rice. It's all about ensuring things are properly heated, at 70 degrees the bugs are killed off basically, as for raw stuff, think I must have a cast iron stomach, oysters anyone Grin

The "bugs" aren't killed off completely when you cook food, they are killed to a safe level. Any surviving "bugs" will then multiply given the right conditions. Toxins and spores are killed at all during cooking.

BillyDeanisnotmylover · 19/03/2023 08:44

Andywarholswig · 19/03/2023 07:55

I often leave food on the side to cool and forget to put it in the fridge, I always just carry on and cook it

Was just about to type exactly this!

aveline161 · 19/03/2023 08:45

I wouldn’t think twice about this, cook it. Please don’t waste precious food.

Yesthatismychildsigh · 19/03/2023 08:46

I’d never just brown the meat to leave without properly cooking it. That’s just unnecessary and rank.

Original poster
Lovesacake · 19/03/2023 08:48

jackstini · 19/03/2023 08:39

I give it a good long cook and eat it

If your freezer is rammed - take something out of it to eat today, then cook and freeze the casserole?

The freezer is rammed with a variety of things that won’t make a Mother’s Day lunch unfortunately…. Mainly a selection of tubs of ice cream, chips and frozen fish food. It’s a teeny freezer so doesn’t take much to fill it!

OP posts:
Turnipworkharder · 19/03/2023 08:48

I'd cook it no problem. Then rapidly cool it,pop it in the fridge and heat as needed.

susiesuelou · 19/03/2023 08:49

QuackMooBaaOink · 19/03/2023 08:28

Nope no way I would chance it. Half warmed through meat left at room temperature overnight?! Not a chance. But I am a pretty risk averse person, especially when it comes to potentially giving guests food poisoning 🙈😄

This! No way would I serve that.

VerbenaGirl · 19/03/2023 08:50

I would if it is piping hot when reheated.

smellyflowers · 19/03/2023 08:51

If you were in a commercial kitchen this would be a no.

Up to you what you do with that information.

olympicsrock · 19/03/2023 08:52

Honestly it will be fine, it will be cooked at a high temperature for a long period of time. No issue at all.

Mojitomogul · 19/03/2023 08:53

I'd eat it! You're going to cook it and heat it through again, it will be fine. I always think fridges are a modern invention, and people have survived through the ages !

Spanielsarepainless · 19/03/2023 08:54

Yes, if you cook it properly it should be fine.

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 08:55

olympicsrock · 19/03/2023 08:52

Honestly it will be fine, it will be cooked at a high temperature for a long period of time. No issue at all.

Except the toxins produced which won't be killed during cooking...

motherofawhirlwind · 19/03/2023 08:56
  1. I'd still serve it. It's lamb - it's fine to eat pink and you're cooking it again.
  1. If not, I'd take something cheap out of the freezer (bread, chips etc) and make space
CottonSock · 19/03/2023 08:56

No problem I assume its going to bubble for hours, not just be lightly warmed

Ploppppppppp · 19/03/2023 08:56

EHO here. I wouldn’t have it from
what you have described. I’d be worried about clostridium perfringens & bacillus cereus. Certainly wouldn’t give it to someone elderly

Highlyflavouredgravy · 19/03/2023 08:56

Godcyes of course! Cook it thoroughly and it will be fine

Redebs · 19/03/2023 09:00

Whoopsmahoot · 19/03/2023 08:15

I wouldn’t. It’s not the bacteria that causes the problem it’s the toxins they produce when they multiply. Ecoli had a doubling time of 20-30 mins.ie. If you start with 100 bacteria, 20 mins later you have 200, 20 mins later 400, 2o mins later 800. You get the drift. Depends how well you browned it but personally I don’t think it’s worth the risk.

Yep, it doesn't matter how well you cook it the second time, it's the toxins that make you ill, not live bacteria.
If you only browned it, it's likely that you didn't kill the bacteria inside it, merely woke them up and got them multiplying.
Then leaving it warm for hours, got them going like crazy.

If you want to keep a piece of meat after cooking it, it has to be cooked through and cooled to fridge temp within 2 hours.

If you like your meat pink, then eat it straight after cooking it. You can't store a medium steak.

The sniff test only works on raw, unirradiated produce btw. You can't detect food poisoning toxins without chemical analysis.

CandleInTheStorm · 19/03/2023 09:00

Ploppppppppp · 19/03/2023 08:56

EHO here. I wouldn’t have it from
what you have described. I’d be worried about clostridium perfringens & bacillus cereus. Certainly wouldn’t give it to someone elderly

Exactly. Both spore formers, too, which are unaffected by cooking.

Original poster
Lovesacake · 19/03/2023 09:02

Just to confirm again, decision has been made not to serve it - an alternative is being bought. Thank you all for responding, much appreciated.

OP posts:
HyggeTygge · 19/03/2023 09:05

Gutted for you op but it's the right decision. If it had been cooked through I'd have considered it but just browned, no - it's been fairly mild here too.

Redebs · 19/03/2023 09:05

Thanks for the update OP 👍
Have a lovely day

HappyMothersDayLadiesofMN · 19/03/2023 09:18

It will fine. I always put meat on a plate in the microwave to cook or defrost and forget about it. Nothing bad ever happened

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