To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook all ground beef products to an internal temperature of 160 °F throughout. Ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked. The pink color can be due to a reaction between the oven heat and myoglobin, which causes a red or pink color.
Press the burger firmly and observe the colour of the juices that run out. If they're red the burger will be pink inside. If they're clear the burger will be cooked through.
If all else fails and you do come down with an unfortunate case of food poisoning from undercooked meat, then stay hydrated, and see a doctor or healthcare provider if your symptoms don't go away for a few days, or if you develop a fever.
However, if you regularly serve medium-cooked burgers, you need to make sure that the temperature of the meat is 160°F throughout. This specifically applies to BEEF ONLY. Any other meats have an even greater chance to lead to sickness and disease.
Medium-rare: Medium-rare burgers have a golden brown crust, a juicy deep pink center, red or deep pink juices, and a slightly soft interior.
Considering everyone knows you can eat rare steak, you'd be forgiven for thinking rare burgers are fine to eat too. But this is in fact not the case. According to experts, eating a burger that's pink inside could lead to food poisoning or even be fatal.
Yes, it is dangerous to eat raw or undercooked ground beef because it can contain harmful bacteria. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends not eating or tasting raw or undercooked ground beef. To be sure all bacteria are destroyed, cook meat loaf, meatballs, casseroles, and hamburgers to 160 °F.
Consumers view ground beef patties that are pink in the middle as being undercooked and unsafe when, in reality, these patties may be fully cooked and safe to eat. Persistent pinkness can be caused by reducing agents, pH, nitrite contamination, and/or carbon monoxide from gas ovens.
Q: Is it illegal to sell undercooked, raw or pink burgers? No, it's not currently illegal, however, the CRITICAL control point (CCP) for meat is to cook it through. That means you have to cook it to a core temperature of 70 degrees for 2 minutes.
At 160°F, dangerous pathogens and bacteria found in ground beef die. No matter how you cook it, the best burger should be juicy but healthy. Eating high-quality ground beef medium-rare will make you far less likely to become ill.
Some ground beef may appear to have lost all pink color before it is fully cooked. If raw ground beef is somewhat brown already, it may look fully cooked before it reaches a safe temperature. Some lean ground beef may remain pink at temperatures well above the 160 °F final cooking temperature recommended for consumers.
Is it dangerous to eat a raw or undercooked burger patty? Raw and undercooked hamburger patties may contain harmful bacteria that can produce foodborne illness such as pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli), mostly due to improper handling and preparation of the meat.
The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within 1 to 2 days of eating contaminated food. They can also start a few hours later or several weeks later.
Most people think you can tell whether a burger is done by the color of the meat. Those people are wrong. “A burger can be undercooked, and unsafe, but still be brown in the middle,” Chapman says. “Or a burger can be well cooked, and safe, but still be pink or red.
According to the food code, ground beef should be cooked at 155 degrees F internally and held there for 15 seconds, or 158 degrees for even a moment, in order to kill pathogens at the center of the meat. Unlike a rare steak, a rare burger is risky because the germs from the outside of the meat have been ground inside.
If blood is coming out when you cook them, it's a sign they are fresh. Be easy with the spatula. You may be pressing them too hard, bringing out blood and also squeezing out the juices. Ideally, you'll cook on one side and turn only once.
To destroy harmful bacteria, cook ground beef to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C).
The ground beef, when cooked until medium rare, will have a pinkish-red center. The outside of the burger patty looks golden brown with only a slight charring. The best way to achieve a medium rare burger is to use a meat thermometer.
If we're talking beef steaks, and beef steaks only, the verdict is that eating pink meat is safe – if it's medium rare. Bacteria primarily resides on the outer surface of the steak, and doesn't penetrate the inside, notably E. coli.
Ground Beef Should Be Cooked Well Done
That means that you should never see any pink in the middle of your burger. That's right, the days when it was safe to eat a medium-rare hamburger are sadly behind us.
For a medium-rare burger, cook for 2 minutes and thirty seconds per side for 5 minutes total. For a medium burger, cook for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes per side for 6 to 7 minutes total. For a well-done burger, cook for 4 to 4 1/2 minutes per side for 8 to 9 minutes total.
Not all chefs are the same, and at any given restaurant, you may order medium-rare and end up with medium-well. This confusion won't occur when you're eating the best burger in the Gulch.
How Soon Do Symptoms Start? Some germs make you sick within a few hours after you swallow them. Others may take a few days to make you sick.