Is it dangerous?

[Snappy]

I have just defrosted a lamb steak in the microwave and part of it has heated up by accident. Is it still safe to cook and eat?

[ursula62]

Yes, you've probably nuked any germs on the surface of the meat anyway!

Often when I defrost mince it goes slightly "cooked" in the corners. It has never given me any tummy upsets.

[dmsjps]

Lamb is fine, so is beef. They're the two meats that you can eat either over or under-cooked. Chicken or pork is different and you have to be careful. Having said that, I don't think you have to worry quite so much now as you did 3-10 years ago, when chickens and pigs were all drugged up to God knows what levels in their feed. I'm married to someone who grew up on a farm and since then has worked in the production of animal feeds so I'm not just speaking about what I've read in the media or heard about in gossip. Your lamb steak probably won't taste as nice once it's been half nuked in a microwave, but it will be fine to eat.

[brachiopod]

I presume that because you are defrosting it in a microwave, you wanted to cook it straight away. In that case, there's no problem at all.

If you were to keep it in this partially-cooked-in-places state in the fridge for four days, there might be a slight risk of a problem.

But then, if you weren't eating it straight away, I suppose you wouldn't be defrosting it in a microwave in the first place, would you? !!