Do you like your burgers rare?

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I’m guessing some sort of rare burger discussions happened and you’ve discovered our public service messaging that’s been incredibly successful that meat must be thoroughly cooked through or you’ll get food poisoning 😆
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Yeah, I posted a burger a while ago that was quite pink inside, and I think some folks were surprised I lived to see the morning. :wink:

I always like how, along the foot of menus in the UK, I’ll usually see a note that simply says, “We serve our beef burgers well done.” Period. End of story. Don’t even ask.

On the bottom of menus here in the US, it’s just a warning that “Consuming raw or undercooked meat may increase your risk of illness,” - which always reads like “You’ve been warned, do you accept the challenge?” :laugh:
 
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TastyReuben said:
I always like how, along the foot of menus in the UK, I’ll usually see a note that simply says, “We serve our beef burgers well done.” Period. End of story. Don’t even ask.
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The food standards agency here states:
Harmful bacteria can be carried on the surface of whole cuts of meat. When a rare steak is seared these bacteria are killed, making the steak safe to eat.

When meat is minced to produce burgers, any harmful bacteria from the surface of the raw meat spread throughout the burger. Unless the burger is cooked right through, these bacteria can remain alive on the inside. This applies to all burgers, including burgers made from good quality or expensive meat.

That's why a burger needs to be served well done, while a steak can be served rare
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I does also add:

Some restaurants are able to put in place strict controls over the way their burgers are produced and cooked. These controls mean that the risk from burgers that are pink in the middle is significantly reduced.
You need to remember that there is still risk involved whenever a burger isn't thoroughly cooked, even in restaurants with strict controls in place. That's why we advise that anyone who is more vulnerable to food poisoning should only ever eat burgers that are thoroughly cooked.
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TastyReuben said:
I thought of all my British friends here when I ordered my burger medium-rare, and the other four people I had lunch with ordered theirs either rare or “extra rare.” :wink:
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My oldest brother and father would eat raw, store bought, ground beef sandwiches with salt, pepper and raw onion. Now I'll eat Carpaccio, but not raw ground beef.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I’m guessing some sort of rare burger discussions happened and you’ve discovered our public service messaging that’s been incredibly successful that meat must be thoroughly cooked through or you’ll get food poisoning 😆

I like a rare beef burger. I’m far more concerned about how the animals been treated than the bacterial count 😆
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Although I like a medium-rare steak, I like my burgers at least medium well. It is not because of bacteria, but texture. A medium rare burger is "mushy" to me.

CD
 
Morning Glory said:
The food standards agency here states:


I does also add:
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That‘s pretty much my understanding of the current stance, but it’s not where we started from.

Remember the gov ran advertising campaigns about food poisoning?

They towed a line of “must be thoroughly cooked“ that went on for donkeys years. It’s still ingrained in most of us that ‘inside out meat‘ is more dangerous than a single cut (which obv it is) and even a single cut that was still pink in the middle was a danger 😆 Even now not over cooking causes an insistence you need a meat thermometer.

I’m told it stems from old farming practices, before regulated treatments were obligatory and inspections made it happen so it was possible to pick up more than food poisoning from undercooked meat (particularly from the fat), parasites like tapeworm.

Personally when restaurants ask me how I want something cooked I usually say as rare as you dare! So far (touch wood) after over 30 years of eating rare I haven’t had a problem. Not that thats a guarantee for the future and I am careful about suppliers and dates etc.

You do get a choice how you want things cooked in the UK now and it’s not often I see an “at your own risk“ warning. If I did I’d probably bail 😂
 
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
That‘s pretty much my understanding of the current stance, but it’s not where we started from.

Remember the gov ran advertising campaigns about food poisoning?

They towed a line of “must be thoroughly cooked“ that went on for donkeys years. It’s still ingrained in most of us that ‘inside out meat‘ is more dangerous than a single cut (which obv it is) and even a single cut that was still pink in the middle was a danger 😆 Even now not over cooking causes an insistence you need a meat thermometer.

I’m told it stems from old farming practices, before regulated treatments were obligatory and inspections made it happen so it was possible to pick up more than food poisoning from undercooked meat (particularly from the fat), parasites like tapeworm.

Personally when restaurants ask me how I want something cooked I usually say as rare as you dare! So far (touch wood) after over 30 years of eating rare I haven’t had a problem. Not that thats a guarantee for the future and I am careful about suppliers and dates etc.

You do get a choice how you want things cooked in the UK now and it’s not often I see an “at your own risk“ warning. If I did I’d probably bail 😂
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And that.
 
CraigC said:
My oldest brother and father would eat raw, store bought, ground beef sandwiches with salt, pepper and raw onion. Now I'll eat Carpaccio, but not raw ground beef.
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My Dad would eat raw store bought minced beef too. Not sure that he ever put it on a sandwich but would snatch a chunk and eat it if it was on the bench. I bet he would have loved it that sandwich.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
And he never got food poisoning?
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Nope. Once from McDonalds back in 1981but that’s the only time I ever heard in his 83 years.

I’ve only had it twice - from a Thai place in 1991 & a bbq chicken place in 1994. Both times the meal was shared with others and everyone who ate it got sick. I’ve eaten all sorts of things that are past date, leftovers that were 5 days old etc and it’s never affected it.

When it comes to use by dates etc that is a soap box topic for me.
 
Frizz1974 said:
Nope. Once from McDonalds back in 1981but that’s the only time I ever heard in his 83 years.

I’ve only had it twice - from a Thai place in 1991 & a bbq chicken place in 1994. Both times the meal was shared with others and everyone who ate it got sick. I’ve eaten all sorts of things that are past date, leftovers that were 5 days old etc and it’s never affected it.

When it comes to use by dates etc that is a soap box topic for me.
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Is your mince just mince or does it have nitrates added?
I only ask because I was surprised to discover on the back of a pack of mince here in Spain nitrates were an ingredient.

Best we don’t start on use by dates as one of my pet peeves is food waste and with those two topics so intertwined it might go large 😄
 
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Frizz1974 said:
My Dad would eat raw store bought minced beef too.
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We raised and slaughtered our own meat, that included making our own bulk breakfast sausage.

After grinding the meat, my dad and grandad would mix it all together with the seasonings and everything in a giant plastic bag-lined cardboard box and there it would sit, curing.

Every day, my grandad would come by, reach in, pull out a knob of raw sausage meat, eat it, and then tell my mom how to adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
 
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