Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
It is safe to cook frozen lamb in the oven, on the stove, or grill without defrosting it first; the
cooking time may be about 50 percent longer. Do not cook frozen lamb in a slow cooker.
Marinating
Marinate lamb roasts, steaks, or chops in the refrigerator up to five days. Lamb cubes or stew
meat can be marinated up to two days. Boil used marinade before brushing on cooked lamb.
Discard any uncooked leftover marinade.
Storage times
Because product dates are not a guide for safe use of a product, how long can the consumer
store the food and still use it at top quality? Follow these tips:
• Purchase the product before the date expires.
• Follow handling recommendations on product.
• Keep lamb in its package until ready to use.
• Refrigerate lamb roasts, steaks, and chops three to five days (ground lamb or stew meat,
one to two days); and three to four days after cooking.
• If product has a “use-by” date, follow that date.
• If product has a “sell-by” date or no date, cook or freeze the product by the times recom-
mended above.
• Once a perishable product is frozen, it does not matter if the date expires because foods
kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely.
• For best quality, use frozen lamb roasts, steaks, and chops within six to nine months;
ground lamb, three to four months.
Safe cooking
For safety, the USDA recommends cooking lamb patties and ground lamb mixtures, such as
meat loaf, to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F as measured by a food
thermometer. However, whole muscle meats such as roasts, steaks, and chops may be cooked
to 145 degrees F. For approximate cooking times for use in meal planning, see the following
chart.
