I stupidly went to a supermarket while hungry in the UK yesterday, saw a leg of lamb, salivated, and bought it. The lamb is heavily vacuum sealed in thick plastic.

I managed to keep if refrigerated all night until 8am this morning, but since then it has been at room temperature in my suitcase where it will remain until around 6pm this evening, so totaling around 10 hours un-refridgerated at room temperature. Again, the lamb is heavily vacuum sealed in thick plastic.

Do I need to consign it to the bin or will it survive until i get back to ZRH?

I think it should be fine.
When you get home open it and have a good sniff/look at it. If it looks and smells alright I would either cook it there and then, put it in the fridge to cook tomorrow or freeze it (if it has not been frozen previously) to cook another day.

If it is unfrozen within the date of expire you can freeze it again, if it has unfrozen after this I would prepare it when coming home.

And my best wishes when passing the border given the duty on meat

It'll be fine, today in ZH is almost fridge temperature anyway. If you're not eating it this weekend I would freeze it, otherwise I would just rinse it with cold water if it smells a little heady. But after maturing at room temperature for a short while it should be even tastier than normal.

Ten hours should be fine. The thick plastic will help some, but wrapping it in paper or insulating matrial like bubble-wrap will make a huge difference to how long it stays relatively cool. Just having it in the middle of a closed case with, presumably, clothing and stuff in will also help.

Lamb is fickle and much more temperature-sensitive than beef or pork, so do give it a good sniff (as already suggested) after you've unpacked it - if there's just a slight niff give it a good wash under cold water, dry and re-sniff.

Bon appetit, and don't forget the mint sauce!

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Gigot piqué! Put herbs in a glass of cognac, let it sit for 24 hrs, take an injection needle and inject the cognac into the leg of lamb. Heavenly taste!

Indeed. I find the longevity of lamb directly proportional to the MWSt and duty paid on it. A leg of lamb weighs around 2.5 kg, so presumably you ponied up your CHF 42.50 (plus MWSt if the total value of your imports was over CHF 300). In that case, your lamb will be good for a few days.

I have flown a few lamb legs back from London, never had a problem. The hold temperature in the plane is low anyway, the meat temp when I get it home is often lower than it was before I got to the airport.

It will be too late to cook by the time I get home so will be insta-freeze.

Us Brits are used to the dangers of making meat smuggling runs.

It will be have been 10 hours spent in an office at room temps, so no Zurich temperatures until I get back! I think immediate freezing will be my strategy then I can see what it's like in a week or two.

No fridges at work? Can't you displace the single-serve coffee milks?

Can you stick it on a balcony / window sill if you have one at the office?

CHF 25.50, 1kg is free.

Tom

Ok then I shall hope for the best and update this thread as and when the tale reaches its thrilling conclusion.

In the UK? I'd probably be fired for breaching whatever loon health and safety rules they decide to implement this month. .

Nope, balcony-less. I guess I could have hidden it in a bush outside, but the risk I would forget was too great.

Now you will have to invite all the members who posted to dinner.

I always do this no ill affects so far, last trip I bought back *shock* about 4kgsof lamb, pork shoulder and beef topside all unrefridgerated for around 8hours. That I then portioned some was marinated then frozen that was in Feb, it's all eaten now Still alive. Just in case anyone accuses me of tax avoidance my local butcher in London is much cheaper then anywhere in Switzerland even if I paid the MwSt.

Personally I would not roast it- but cut it up into cubes and slow casserole it, or curry, so it is cooked thoroughly (I like my roast pink). But you need to declare it to only pay the weight over the kilo. If you don't and they catch you, you pay for the whole lot + fine.

Slow cooking is for the shoulder.

Up to 5x (4x fine, plus the original amount).

For CHF 25 (17/kg over the free bit), I certainly would.

Tom

Well, how far are they with Brexit?
<<Lebensmittel tierischer Herkunft

Die Einfuhr sämtlicher Lebensmittel tierischer Herkunft (Fleisch, Milcherzeugnisse usw.) aus Nicht-EU und Nicht-EFTA-Ländern ist verboten.>>

normally yes- in this case, I perso say no, just in case.

A good sized leg of lamb at our local French supermarkets is 19 Euros - so not much point in bringing from UK (where we are at the mo too)