Medium Rare vs Medium Scare
When red in your order is a red flag…
Generally, there are few things that bother me in life. I’m typically very easy-going and while I do have pet peeves, the list is short. However, at the top of that list is being asked how I want my hamburger cooked when going to a restaurant. I want it cooked. No pink. Well done. Cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160ºF. And before any food snobs get offended by that idea, note that I never order a steak anything more than medium. I, too, am a food snob, one that is not only concerned with flavor profile but with the health, safety, and contaminants of food.
So why the difference between my hamburger order and filet mignon? The way in which beef is processed in these two cases varies greatly. With a steak or similar cut of beef, the bacteria is concentrated on the surface and generally, there are no pathogens on the inside. Therefore, as long as the outside is cooked, the bacteria dies and the meat is safe to eat. Ground beef is different. The surface of the beef has been ground and mashed into the middle, mixing all the bacteria into a nice squishy ball of beef. Sounds appetizing right? This bacteria can, in many instances, be E. coli, a pathogen that can cause symptoms such as vomiting and bowel problems (to put it mildly)¹.
Long story short, get your hamburgers cooked well-done and your steaks, in my opinion, cooked medium-rare. Simply put, think before you order pink.
Mayo Clinic. (2022, October 1). E. coli - Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved September 25, 2024, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/e-coli/symptoms-causes/syc-20372058
