Raw Meats v Rare etc

SlanGoFoil2011

I have some questions about undercooking meat.

Can you eat a raw steak - is it bad for you?

How rare is raw?


Is undercooked mince very bad for you?


Whats the difference between mince and steak.

Pink lamb - is it supposed to be cold inside. Is a very rare steak cold in the middle.

Anyone know as this confuses me.

yellowlabrador

I eat raw beef. Get some best quality minced steak, no fat. Add a raw egg, some capers, some raw chopped onion, salt, pepper, some people add a little mayonaise. Spread on bread. Not for the fainthearted, but delicious. It's very popular in Belgium. I'd only use prime quality beef from a butcher, I wouldn't use plastic supermarket meat. I also like 'blue' steak. Cooked on the outside, but still mooing on the inside. If it's good quality beef, you could nearly cut it with a fork. but again only from a good butcher.
I've never been sick nor know anyone who has been affected.

olaola

I think you need to clarify what you're trying to ask by 'bad for you'.

howamidifferent

But why? What is your reasoning for eating raw meat?

duploelabs

howamidifferent wrote: »

But why? What is your reasoning for eating raw meat?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating raw meat, the cooking processes break down the protein structures, making it easier to digest, and the heat will kill off any bacteria that MAY be present. Other than that its just a matter of personal taste on how, subjectively, you Luke the flavour and texture of the meat. Personally i like my steak to flinch when I stick the fork in. But that's just me

the beer revolu

Here's an idea of what steak cooked various ways should look like.

Raw meat or rare minced meat is potentially dangerous.
If you wish to eat such meat you should know your butcher well and have trust in them and they should know what you are planning to do with the meat.

SlanGoFoil2011

Thanks - great article

What I am saying is - is it safe to buy a plastic wrapped steak in the supermarkety, cook it blue and eat it. (and lamb)

Faith

As far as I know, it's fine to do that with beef. Beef is very tough, so bacteria only live on the outside of the meat. By searing it properly, you kill the bacteria and it's safe to eat rare. If you're going to eat it blue or raw, I'd only buy my beef for a top-quality butcher, just to be safe.

Lamb I'm not so sure about. I never cook with it. I think you can cook lamb steaks quite rare if you like, but it's safest to cook it to medium-rare at least.

the beer revolu

Lamb or beef is perfectly safe to eat blue.

SlanGoFoil2011

chicken is suicide

Ponster

SlanGoFoil2011 wrote: »

chicken is suicide

Yep. Pork though, as long as you trust the source and if the meat has been frozen first can be eaten raw (popular in southern Germany for breakfast!)

Can you eat a raw steak - is it bad for you?

> Well it wouldn't be bad for you but it wouldn't be easy. That's why we cook the meat first. Mince up your steak though and you get steak tartar which as yellowlab knows is fab !

How rare is raw?

> raw means it hasn't been heated in the cooking process I guess.

Is undercooked mince very bad for you?

> Well there's a difference between 'undercooked' and 'raw'. In Ireland I grew up to believe that everything had to be cooked extra-well-done or else it was likely to kill me. Something that is undercooked is most likely bad for you as it suggests that it hasn't been cooked for long enough to make it safe.
Mince though is hard to 'undercook' though isn't it? If you're browning mince and you still have a few red pieces that haven't done yet I wouldn't bother waiting until it was all 100% brown for the sake of saftey.

Whats the difference between mince and steak.

>Mince is meat that has been chopped into small pieces. Steak is a slice of meat, usually beef.

In a French butchers if you ask for a steak then the butcher will take a large piece of meat and cut steaks from it.
If you ask for mince he'll do the exact same thing but then put the steak into a mincer.

Pink lamb - is it supposed to be cold inside. Is a very rare steak cold in the middle.

> Generally when I order lamb in France I get the choice between 'pink' or 'well done'. When it's pink it isn't cold. I find though that if you don't take a beef steak out of the fridge before you cook it so that it comes up to room temp, that it can be cold in the middle when cooked to 'blue' standard.

shrapnel222

i love raw meat, and eat a lot of it. mainly beef though.

only one thing to add though, and that's don't buy your meat in the supermarket if you want to eat it raw, blue is fine but then again supermarket meat is just not very good. Get a nice piece of meat from the butchers and eat it anyway you like.

other good meats to eat raw are horse and lama. (not that readily available in ireland though)

gerryk

BTW, meat which is cooked either rare or blue should not be cold in the centre. Meat should be cooked from room temperature and not directly from the fridge.

howamidifferent

howamidifferent wrote: »

But why? What is your reasoning for eating raw meat?

Again, but why?

I know it may be safe, I'm just wondering how does one go from eating cooked meat as a child to suddenly deciding "I'll eat it raw." What's the motivation?

shrapnel222

howamidifferent wrote: »

Again, but why?

I know it may be safe, I'm just wondering how does one go from eating cooked meat as a child to suddenly deciding "I'll eat it raw." What's the motivation?

because it's delicious? i've always had my meat cooked blue because that's how it was cooked in my house, so it was a pretty small step to eating it raw. When i was a kid, we'd go round to my uncle's and he was always serving us steak tartare, which has been since then one of my favorite dishes. tbh, whether meat or fish, i love it raw.

duploelabs

howamidifferent wrote: »

Again, but why?

I know it may be safe, I'm just wondering how does one go from eating cooked meat as a child to suddenly deciding "I'll eat it raw." What's the motivation?

like I said, its a matter of flavour and texture.

howamidifferent

duploelabs wrote: »

like I said, its a matter of flavour and texture.

The flavour and the texture are recognised "after" having eaten it or "while" eating it.

My question was regarding the motivation to "begin" to eat raw meat.

I'm not trying to annoy anyone here I'm genuinley interested to hear what makes anyone decide to step over the line between "cooked" albeit for varying durations and "raw". I'm not questioning anyones taste buds or palet just their motivation...

duploelabs

well I was introduced to the different ways of meat being cooked by my mum, and as a new father I'm educating my two year old in the different textures and complexities of meat, and she's actually getting it and enjoying it.
Food knowledge, and your question OP in it, is essential and it only comes from one place, your home and where you eat your daily meals. You've hit on a very valid point. Our food education, and culture, as a nation when compared to the french, spanish and italians is very very poor considering what amazing indigenous food produce we have

Kimia

howamidifferent wrote: »

The flavour and the texture are recognised "after" having eaten it or "while" eating it.

My question was regarding the motivation to "begin" to eat raw meat.

I'm not trying to annoy anyone here I'm genuinley interested to hear what makes anyone decide to step over the line between "cooked" albeit for varying durations and "raw". I'm not questioning anyones taste buds or palet just their motivation...

I would imagine it's the same curiosity you'd have about anything!

Mellor

yellowlabrador wrote: »

I eat raw beef. Get some best quality minced steak, no fat. Add a raw egg, some capers, some raw chopped onion, salt, pepper, some people add a little mayonaise. Spread on bread.

If you are doing this, make sure the steak is minced as close as possible to the time you will eat it

Padraig Mor

I work in a food poisoning related area and like my steak rare. Obviously the safest way is to cremate the thing but I'd certainly suggest searing the outside anyway. Eating raw minced beef would most certianly NOT be recommended - unless it's absolutely top quality steak minced there and then (i.e. not pre packed etc).

unkel

I make / order my steak blue and make a point when ordering, that if it is overcooked it will be send back. This works!!!

My favourite sandwich filler is Filet Américain, puréed steak tartare with a bit of spices and herbs added during processing. Unfortunately it is not available in supermarkets in this country

And on of my favourite starters (you probably guessed it ) is carpaccio of beef (completely raw)

Little Alex

In Germany they also have something called Hackepeter or Mett, which is seasoned, raw, minced pork. It's often served in the shape of a hedgehog!!! or in a mound with a hollow that a raw egg is cracked into. It's also eaten as a topping on open sandwiches.

I think that nowadays raw eggs are far less likely to carry salmonella and raw pork less likely to carry parasites, so I guess it is safe to eat.

The Hill Billy

I've enjoyed a few steak tartares here in Switzerland. Not so sure of I'd be so certain of getting as good quality beef back home though, but maybe that's just me. As a kid I used to enjoy nicking bits of raw mince to eat when dinner was being prepared. Mind you I'd be as quick to eat raw spuds, turnip, you name it...

Minder

Anthony Bourdain eats rare chicken and chicken sushi in a Japanese Yakatori Bar in Tokyo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sR0mrUU9bs