Cut meat from the butcher is frequently contaminated with bacteria-that-can-cause-food-borne-illness like E.Coli (some forms), salmonella, c. botulinum, etc (for brevity, let's just call this stuff "bad bacteria") on the outside of the piece, which has been exposed to the air and surfaces of the processing facility. This is so whether you kept the piece refrigerated at home or not. The bad bacterial contamination occurred when the animal was butchered. The exterior of the meat is normally heated during cooking, to temperatures that will kill bacteria (around 150F), and usually to temperatures that will also de-activate the toxins produced by C. botulinum bacteria (around 170-180 F for 10 minutes). (Temperatures of boiling and above will even kill the C. botulinum spores, but the spores don't cause disease so it's not necessary to kill them.) But what about the interior of the meat? It is frequently not heated to 150 F. People like me cook their meat to internal temperature of 120 F, not even out of the food safety "danger zone", and relish it bloody and red. Some people even eat their meat raw and at room temperature - think carpaccio and steak tartare. Why aren't we dropping like flies? Because there is very little bad bacteria in the interior of meat. Bad bacteria like E. Coli do not normally live inside meat animals' muscle tissue. (Forms of E. coli live naturally in the gut, but not the muscle, and even those are not the harmful forms.) That is why it is not necessary to heat the interior of meat to 150 F or 170 F. Many publications even refer to muscle tissue as "sterile". Of course, "very little" and "sterile" doesn't necessarily mean "zero". But we are not porcelain dolls, we are exposed to bacteria all the time, and we have immune systems that defend us. (Do some reading about what's on the surfaces and in the air of your bathroom . . .) Except in unusual medical cases, you and I can tolerate exposure to modest amounts of bad bacteria. Exactly what that is, would depend on the individual. But it is enough that the interior of meat is safely eaten without being heated to a cuisine-destroying temperature. What about time then? If the interior of that lamb was safe when you got it home, how about 3 hours later? Well, remember that the meat started at 40 F in the store, a temperature at which the bad bacteria was effectively "dormant", i.e. not growing. Once exposed to room temperature, it took time for the interior of the meat to get to room temperature. How long depends on the cut. A thin chop warms up faster. A whole roast will stay internally cold for hours. As the meat warmed, the bad bacteria "woke up" and gradually started to reproduce. At room temperature, bacteria count can double in an hour, more or less (you'll read "every 20 minutes", or "in 90 minutes", depends on the bacteria, the medium, the temperature, etc). So maybe the bacteria inside your lamb - which started at somewhere between "zero" and "very little" - doubled by the time you discovered the roast under the tupperware. Maybe it quadrupuled. Or even rose 8X. The level was still well below what your body is made to tolerate. Okay, fine, it was "very very likely" well below etc. There is some tiny chance that the meat was very badly contaminated when you bought it, or that due to illness your body is much more vulnerable than normal. If you want to take every possible precaution, throw out the meat. And don't use public restrooms. And figure out a way to flush the toilet remotely, after you've left the room. And wash all your fruit, veg, etc in soap and hot water. And cook all your meat to internal 160 F. Etc. It is not necessary, but . . . NB: The above refers to cut meat. Ground meat is a different story. The grinding process distributes the bad bacteria throughout the meat, so store-ground meat has to be cooked to a high temperature (160+ F) throughout. Even I, who am training my body for the zombie apocalypse, am wary of ground beef. So how can you safely have a rare hamburger or a big bowl of boeuf hachee (beef tartare)? Buy a whole piece of meat. At home, sear the outside (killing bad bacteria on the surface), or cut it away (cleaning your knife as you go). Then grind the remaining meat yourself. A food processor or an old-style hand-cranked grinder will do. Clean your knives, board, and grinder well before doing this (soap, hot water, scrub). That ground beef is safe enough to eat raw. "Very very likely" safe. Safe enough for me. General food safety guidelines for cooking meat. http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/foodsafetymeatpoultry General temperature guidelines for killing/deactivating bacteria, spores, and toxins. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs104 E. coli in water does not penetrate into fish tissues. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3074484 E. coli is not in muscle tissue of cows; poultry is a different story. http://blog.jrsmedical.com/?p=94 Bacteria contamination of intact meat vs needle-tenderized meat, lots of interesting data. http://www.haccpalliance.org/sub/food-safety/NonintactBeefTechRpt.pdf Fun facts about toilet germs http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/what-can-you-catch-in-restrooms

I don't go out for dinner on holidays because, having been in the restaurant business most of my life, I know that the customer load can be 3 or 4 times heavier than regular nights, and far too often, the kitchen (and the servers) just can't handle it. The rack was probably ruined because it was hastily defrosted when they unexpectedly sold more than they had anticipated. I'm with Linda, just make that lamb into some other dish, that takes a good amount of simmering time to tenderize it. If the restaurant is one that is usually good, it wouldn't hurt to drop in and speak to the manager about how disappointed you were. Likely, he or she will be aware that they had run out of racks that night, and had to force defrost them (or whatever happened), and may offer you some compensation in the form of a discount your next dinner. Also, a good manager will appreciate you taking the time, because contrary to what many believe, a customer complaint is a good thing, if legitimate, because something can be done to make it up. What you don't want is for people to go away unhappy and tell all their friends how unhappy they were!

Thanks, Springroz, good to know. Rococo; so is this like a module that one buys, rather then having a carpenter make it? Dumb question, but is it just one dowel for each slot? I also realize, seeing your kitchen again, that I think I am channelling your pretty backsplash ... I am doing a grey and white floor with buttercup appliances. I think I know where i got the colors from now! Allison, I see your dish drawers, but id never guess they were there. Gorgeous. Leela, hmm they don't look like dowels Chester; I'm a form over function girl! Moldy dishes are just a convenient excuse Eandhl - I will go look, thanks. Mama Goose, hmm, good to know.

I've done it before a few different ways. I went looking for you and found a good video of a recipe by Martha Stewart, you can find it easily with a search. It's the classic approach. Besides the obvious first step of browning the meat, it's then painted (when cooled somewhat) with Dijon mustard and then coated with seasoned breadcrumbs. The seasoning is basic but includes garlic (of course). Then back into the oven to finish, but I think her time is a bit long for medium rare. Use your instant read thermometer and start checking it maybe 10 minutes before the expected end so as to not run over. The preparation she explains is easy and not too time consuming. The end result will be dramatic and delicious. Enjoy it. mushcreek, I'd be curious to hear why you're going the sous vide approach. It's easy enough to cook meat to the right degree of doneness (or non-doneness) in an oven. Are you worried about over-cooking it? I'd think raising the internal temperature via sous vide and then searing it afterwards risks doing that too. I guess in the end, whichever process one gets comfortable with and can use to the desired outcome is what matters but I'd be worried about not rendering off enough fat AND not overcooking it doing it your way, unless you're using a broiler. Still not clear why.