Sunday, October 4, 2009
Restaurants Do you really want that burger cooked rare?
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Sun, Oct 4, 2009 at 3:54 PM
At a recent lunch, a friend was complaining that it's hard to find a hamburger cooked rare in our city, despite the epidemic of new burger joints. According to the New York Times, there is very good reason for that. Today's paper includes a lengthy story in which the writer, Michael Moss, traces Upton-Sinclair-like, the hamburger whose E. coli contamination left Stephanie Smith paralyzed:
Meat companies and grocers have been barred from selling ground beef tainted by the virulent strain of E. coli known as O157:H7 since 1994, after an outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants left four children dead. Yet tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by this pathogen, federal health officials estimate, with hamburger being the biggest culprit. Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone, including the one that left Ms. Smith paralyzed from the waist down. This summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3,000 grocers in 41 states.
Read the entire article, with its account of slaughterhouses that refuse to sell meat to companies that insist on rigorous testing, and you'll never complain again about your hamburger being overcooked.
Comments (1)
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A couple thoughts: 1) Cooking a burger rare doesn't get it hot enough to melt the fat. In my experience, just shy of medium is the right temperature. 2) That being said, wouldn't eat a pre-packaged hamburger patty anything short of medium-well. I try not to eat an hamburger that I don't grind myself or buy from a source that grinds on-site. I only eat burgers medium or below from restaurants that I feel comfortable with their quality. 3) Any chance of getting resident burger-chef Blais to comment? I'd be interested to hear his thoughts.
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