I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?

Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?

Thanks
EJ in NJ

"EJ Willson" > wrote in message
...
> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire cooking
> time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be served. Is it
> possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house, drive to the meal
> and final cook the lamb there?
>
> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
>
> Thanks
> EJ in NJ

Precooking only partially can be an invitation to problems. Keeping it
less than well done for that time is another problem. Keeping it well done
(or close to it) can be done by packing the meat in a foam chest. It will
stay hot for hours, but it won't be medium rare after all that time.

Ed Pawlowski replied to EJ Wilson:
>
> > I'd like to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the
>> entire cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal
>> will be served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at
>> my house, drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
>>
>> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?

and Ed wrote ...

> Precooking only partially can be an invitation to problems. Keeping
> it less than well done for that time is another problem. Keeping it
> well done (or close to it) can be done by packing the meat in a foam
> chest. It will stay hot for hours, but it won't be medium rare after all
> that time.

Totally agree on this. I'm from one of those families that the
host/hostesses home took care of the meat. Hauling a fine piece of
cooked or partially cooked lamb for that long of a drive is not wise. As
a guest or participant in the dinner, I would have brought something
else that travels better -- maybe contributing to the cost of the meat
or arriving a couple hours earlier to make use of their oven if it HAD
to be me doing the lamb.

I've also had decent results wrapping hot meat (grilled burgers for a
family reunion at a park in this case) in foil and then placing them in
one of those Playmate Coolers. The drive was 2-3 hours and the meat was
still VERY hot when we arrived. Who knew coolers keep things hot, too!
I've also done this with baked potatoes, but the skins seemed more
steamed upon arrival. Still, no complaints and no leftovers.

--Lin

Piggy-backing on what I wrote:

> Totally agree on this. I'm from one of those families that the
> host/hostesses home took care of the meat. Hauling a fine piece of
> cooked or partially cooked lamb for that long of a drive is not wise. As
> a guest or participant in the dinner, I would have brought something
> else that travels better -- maybe contributing to the cost of the meat
> or arriving a couple hours earlier to make use of their oven if it HAD
> to be me doing the lamb.

EJ ... also after a 1.5 hour drive, what is supposed to be the crown
jewel of the meal is going to sit for an additional amount of time as
others arrive, table gets set, people visit. Doubtful that it's going to
get served the second you walk through the door unless you are so
unfashionably late and they are waiting with forks in hand at the table
for you.

The meat won't be in the most ideal condition. Jes sayin'.

--Lin

On Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:56:34 -0400, EJ Willson wrote:

> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?


This is why the host usually prepares the main, and others just
bring sides, desserts, and beverages.

-sw

In article >,
Lin > wrote:

> I've also had decent results wrapping hot meat (grilled burgers for a
> family reunion at a park in this case) in foil and then placing them in
> one of those Playmate Coolers. The drive was 2-3 hours and the meat was
> still VERY hot when we arrived. Who knew coolers keep things hot, too!
> I've also done this with baked potatoes, but the skins seemed more
> steamed upon arrival. Still, no complaints and no leftovers.
>
> --Lin

That's the joke about the Thermos� bottle: "It keeps hot things hot and
cold things cold. How do it know?"


--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Updated 4-2-2010

In article >,
EJ Willson > wrote:

> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
>
> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
>
> Thanks
> EJ in NJ


Drive it to your host's home today, drop it off with explicit
instructions for roasting it, and get a room at the nearest AmericInn.
OR drive it to your host's town, where you've gotten a room for the
night, and go to the host's home early and roast it there. I would not
risk spoiling a big chunk of flesh with 90 minutes on the road. JMO.
(Whose idea was it that you're doing the main <assumed> meat?)

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Updated 4-2-2010

EJ Willson wrote:
> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
>
> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
>
> Thanks
> EJ in NJ



I'd cook it all the way, wrap well in heavy foil,
and put it in a heavy cardboard box in the trunk
on layers of newspaper (for insulation) and surrounded
with a few bricks that had been heated for a while long with the
roasting lamb in the oven. You could use a pizza stone instead.
Then put layers of newspaper on top, too. (Just make sure the
bricks aren't hot enough to light the newspaper aflame.)

gloria p

EJ Willson > wrote:

>I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
>at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
>to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
>cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
>served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
>drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?

>Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?

James Beard was a proponent of letting roast meats "coast";
by this he meant turning off the oven an hour or so
before serving the roast, then serving it from the oven.

It seems to me you could do something similar here -- if you
could simulate a coasting oven with a sufficiently insulated box.

However the timing is tight. If you and the host agree that you
will arrive with the lamb at pretty much the exact moment guests
are sitting down to eat, that would work. Otherwise, it might spend
too much time coasting, be at too low of an unsafe temperature
for too long. The obvious problem with this is you miss out
on the pre-dinner socializing.

Tangentially I picked up a James Beard cookbook recently in
the stack of discarded books at the recylcing center -- "James
Beard's Menus for Entertaining", apparently a promo book from
American Savings (paperback with ad on the back).

Steve

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:55:56 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
Pope) wrote:


>Tangentially I picked up a James Beard cookbook recently in
>the stack of discarded books at the recylcing center -- "James
>Beard's Menus for Entertaining", apparently a promo book from
>American Savings (paperback with ad on the back).
>
>Steve

I have that book. There are several recipes in there, that I have
used over the years. One is the Rich Pumpkin Pie, which is my all
time favorite pumpkin pie.

I am on my second copy of that now...the first one got worn out and
fell apart, and I found a much better copy of it at some thrift store.
Christine

Christine Dabney > wrote:

>On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:55:56 +0000 (UTC), (Steve

>>Tangentially I picked up a James Beard cookbook recently in
>>the stack of discarded books at the recylcing center -- "James
>>Beard's Menus for Entertaining", apparently a promo book from
>>American Savings (paperback with ad on the back).

>I have that book. There are several recipes in there, that I have
>used over the years. One is the Rich Pumpkin Pie, which is my all
>time favorite pumpkin pie.

>I am on my second copy of that now...the first one got worn out and
>fell apart, and I found a much better copy of it at some thrift store.

It looks pretty useful, although it is not encyclopedic --
for example while there are a couple hamburger recipers scattered
through it, there is no discussion on the theory of hamburgers
as there is in The James Beard Cookbook. Mostly a bunch of recipes
strung together with minor amounts of discussion added.

Also in my copy, the index does not contain the correct page
numbers for the index entries. Looks like a quick promo reprint.

Steve

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 21:06:51 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
Pope) wrote:


>It looks pretty useful, although it is not encyclopedic --
>for example while there are a couple hamburger recipers scattered
>through it, there is no discussion on the theory of hamburgers
>as there is in The James Beard Cookbook. Mostly a bunch of recipes
>strung together with minor amounts of discussion added.

Well, yes.. of course. It isn't the same type of cookbook...LOL. Not
meant to go into theory, or anything...

Christine.

EJ Willson wrote:
> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
>
> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
>
> Thanks
> EJ in NJ
Use a thermal pot

http://www.vitalrecipe.com/view/ppj6...pot-meat-loaf/
they are truly idiot proof and terribly easy to use

"Melba's Jammin'" > ha >

> EJ Willson > wrote:
>
I will cook the lamb >> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive
from my house. I'd like
>> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire >>
>> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be >>
>> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
>> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?

> Drive it to your host's home today, drop it off with explicit >
> instructions for roasting it, and get a room at the nearest AmericInn. >
> OR drive it to your host's town, where you've gotten a room for the
> night, and go to the host's home early and roast it there. I would not >
> risk spoiling a big chunk of flesh with 90 minutes on the road.

There's a load of official opinion that agrees with you, Barb. There's no
way to guarantee that meat stays in the safe zone for all that time, plus if
it is wrapped up very well, it will steam and cook the whole time as well as
being a breeding ground for whatever.

I would not eat meat abused in this way for both taste and safety. If it
were cooked, chilled, transported and reheated it would be safer, but then
would taste like leftovers.

EJ Willson wrote:
> I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
>
> Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
>
> Thanks
> EJ in NJ

Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an
internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper.
Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The
result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions
here, no one was poisoned.

EJ in NJ

EJ Willson > wrote:

>Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an
>internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper.
>Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The
>result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions
>here, no one was poisoned.

Excellent!


S.

On Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:15:53 -0400, EJ Willson >
wrote:

> EJ Willson wrote:
> > I am responsible for leg of lamb for Easter Dinner. I will cook the lamb
> > at my house. The meal is about 1 1/2 hours drive from my house. I'd like
> > to have the lamb hot at serving time, and yet not spend the entire
> > cooking time waiting for dinner at the place where the meal will be
> > served. Is it possible/safe to partially precook the lamb at my house,
> > drive to the meal and final cook the lamb there?
> >
> > Any suggestions about how to do this? How far do you precook it (temp)?
> >
> > Thanks
> > EJ in NJ
>
> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an
> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper.
> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The
> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions
> here, no one was poisoned.
>
Congratulations on a piece of meat that turned out well! It's tricky
to pull off when you have to travel that distance.


--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

"EJ Willson" ha scritto nel messaggio

> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an >
> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper. >
> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The >
> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions >
> here, no one was poisoned.

You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
you'd be closed down for that. Nine times out of ten no one gets violently
ill but the tenth time, everyone is in the hospital and you get to be a
renowned chef.

Giusi > wrote:

>"EJ Willson" ha scritto nel messaggio

>> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an >
>> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper. >
>> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The >
>> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions >
>> here, no one was poisoned.

>You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
>you'd be closed down for that.

Not in California, the limit is two hours. EJ got in under the wire.

Steve

Giusi wrote:
> "EJ Willson" ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an >
>> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper. >
>> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The >
>> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions >
>> here, no one was poisoned.
>
> You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
> you'd be closed down for that. Nine times out of ten no one gets violently
> ill but the tenth time, everyone is in the hospital and you get to be a
> renowned chef.
>
>
I think that you would be amazed by what is partially cooked, and then
finally heated when it is ordered. How do you think a high volume
restaurant can serve you a chop that takes thirty minutes to cook in ten
minutes?

EJ in NJ

"EJ Willson" ha scritto nel messaggio news:1%

> I think that you would be amazed by what is partially cooked, and then >
> finally heated when it is ordered. How do you think a high volume >
> restaurant can serve you a chop that takes thirty minutes to cook in ten
> minutes?

It happens that I know how it's done, wouldn't do it anyway. It sure isn't
by keeping it between fridge temp and 140°F for 1.75 hours.

On Tue, 6 Apr 2010 08:10:56 +0200, Giusi wrote:

> "EJ Willson" ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an >
>> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper. >
>> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The >
>> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions >
>> here, no one was poisoned.
>
> You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
> you'd be closed down for that. Nine times out of ten no one gets violently
> ill but the tenth time, everyone is in the hospital and you get to be a
> renowned chef.

<snort>

your pal,
blake

EJ Willson wrote:
>Giusi wrote:
>> "EJ Willson" writes:
>>
>>> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an
>>> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper.
>>> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>>> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The
>>> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions
>>> here, no one was poisoned.
>>
>> You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
>> you'd be closed down for that. Nine times out of ten no one gets violently
>> ill but the tenth time, everyone is in the hospital and you get to be a
>> renowned chef.
>>
>>
> I think that you would be amazed by what is partially cooked, and then
>finally heated when it is ordered.

A large solid cut is sterile internally... so long as it wasn't sliced
a large cooked roast (even rare) will be fine unrefrigerated for a
couple of hours so long as it's kept well wrapped to retain heat on
the exterior... meat spoils from the exterior to the interior.
Restaurants do this all the time, how do you think they keep a whole
rare rib roast until it's all served, typically held for hours with
heat lamps and tented with foil to retain moisture. And anyway meat
doesn't spoil all that quickly even at room temperature whether cooked
or raw... I'd not with ground meat or sliced meat but a whole hunk can
easily sit out on a kitchen counter for an hour or two... folks leave
raw steaks out for an hour before cooking all the time. I almost
always (unless I forget) remove a large beef roast from the fridge and
leave it on the counter at least an hour so it can come to room
temperature prior to putting it in the oven. I'd not with fish or
poultry but with large mammary meat it's fine.

brooklyn1 wrote:
> EJ Willson wrote:
>> Giusi wrote:
>>> "EJ Willson" writes:
>>>
>>>> Just to let everyone know. The Lamb was excellent. I roasted it to an
>>>> internal temp of 135F, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then in paper.
>>>> Put it in a cardboard box and drove the 1 1/2 hours to dinner. Then we
>>>> crisped the outside by baking in a 475 oven for about 15 minutes. The
>>>> result was a nice medium pink roast and contrary to several opinions
>>>> here, no one was poisoned.
>>> You took the chance anyway, didn't you? If you were cooking in a restaurant
>>> you'd be closed down for that. Nine times out of ten no one gets violently
>>> ill but the tenth time, everyone is in the hospital and you get to be a
>>> renowned chef.
>>>
>>>
>> I think that you would be amazed by what is partially cooked, and then
>> finally heated when it is ordered.
>
> A large solid cut is sterile internally... so long as it wasn't sliced
> a large cooked roast (even rare) will be fine unrefrigerated for a
> couple of hours so long as it's kept well wrapped to retain heat on
> the exterior... meat spoils from the exterior to the interior.
> Restaurants do this all the time, how do you think they keep a whole
> rare rib roast until it's all served, typically held for hours with
> heat lamps and tented with foil to retain moisture. And anyway meat
> doesn't spoil all that quickly even at room temperature whether cooked
> or raw... I'd not with ground meat or sliced meat but a whole hunk can
> easily sit out on a kitchen counter for an hour or two... folks leave
> raw steaks out for an hour before cooking all the time. I almost
> always (unless I forget) remove a large beef roast from the fridge and
> leave it on the counter at least an hour so it can come to room
> temperature prior to putting it in the oven. I'd not with fish or
> poultry but with large mammary meat it's fine.


Thanks for your post..I couldn't have said it as well. The dangers are
with fish, ground meats and poultry.

EJ in NJ