Cooking my meat to well...I cannot seem to stop!

[LindsayAnn]

Okay - I know this may sound strange...hell it sounds strange to me too!

I always overcook meat...ON PURPOSE!

Why? because of my fear of eating partially raw, contaminated, samanila-laydon meat.....

When I am at a restaurant I will order steak rare, happily and securily....but when I cook it (grill, broil, pan fry, bake, etc...) I always cook it so that it is sooooo done that is is drier than it should be and drier than I prefer. I do it on purpose - I AM INSANE!

I have gotten sick from undercooked meat before, and heard many stories like it...I hate being sick (especially from food poisoning, etc....), I dread it, so to prevent this I cook all meats well well well done. Not my style though! Not at all.

Now - having said all that let me explain that yes, I know I have a higher chance of getting food poisoning/sick from vegs/fruits, but even-so...its the meats that scare me. I suppose I think if I cook em' real good, really really good, I will cook out and possibility of cantamination...

So, please help. Fix me. What can I do. Anyone have any stats. that will reverse my horrid style.

Thanks!

P.S i grilled out burger and steaks today, outside on the grill, and yes, I charred them....soo much. The steaks weren't even a slight pink in the middle. And I knew I was doing it the entire time.... Oh the humility....

[Rebecca263]

Oh, Dear!

I have a friend who says that this is the cure for overdone steak: Stick a fork into the back of your hand and when you can't stand it any longer, the steak is done!

Not really a help, I know, but maybe you just need a little laugh!

[srhcb]

Okay - I know this may sound strange...hell it sounds strange to me too!

I always overcook meat...ON PURPOSE!

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If you braise most meats you can get them cooked through without drying out.

Also, giving steaks and chops a good sear and then finishing them in the oven gives you enough control to accomplish much the same thing.

SB (it's either that, or a psychiatrist)(see one, not eat one )

[Chris Amirault]

I have gotten sick from undercooked meat before, and heard many stories like it...I hate being sick (especially from food poisoning, etc....), I dread it, so to prevent this I cook all meats well well well done. Not my style though! Not at all.

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Two thoughts.

Are you sure that you got sick from the undercooked meat? Most anecdotal reports of "food poisoning" cannot reliably be traced to actual food poisoning. Perhaps it was just a stomach bug that you already had when you plowed through that bleu NY strip, and because you were feeling a bit queasy you associate that feeling with the meat.

On the other hand: maybe you just prefer well done meat. I mean, it's not a crime, despite what some might say around here.

[Luckylies]

Go buy a really, really, really, expensive steak from the nicest butcher in town and just try to fuckt it up.

Seriously though. take the food off 3 mins before you think it's done then cut it and check it. You can always cook it more.

[rooftop1000]

Lindsay

Once you have heated the surface of a steak you have sterilized it.

burgers are another story because they are inside out (anything that may have gotten on the outside of the meat to be ground may now be inside)

think about the news reports .....people get sick either from bad ground beef or SALAD (scallions, spinach, sloppy cuttings boards)

Think Pink for steaks at least

tracey

[Toliver]

Friends don't let friends cook steaks well done.

You need an intervention. Or at least have someone else there with you who will stop you from overcooking the meat.

[Shalmanese]

One way I love cooking steaks that's a little bit different is to give them a nice sear on the outside but let them remain essentially raw in the middle. Rest them well and then slice them into thin slices across the grain and get a cast iron pan smoking hot. Drop them in 10 seconds on one side, flip, 10 seconds on the other, into a dipping sauce and then straight into your mouth. The meat gets cooked all the way through to well done but because the time is so short, it's still moist and flavorful. You have to eat standing in your kitchen and it smokes up the house but it's so good it's worth it.

[Chufi]

When I am at a restaurant I will order steak rare, happily and securily....but when I cook it (grill, broil, pan fry, bake, etc...) I always cook it so that it is sooooo done that is is drier than it should be and drier than I prefer. I do it on purpose - I AM INSANE!

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This puzzles me.. you trust the restaurant more than you trust yourself (your choice of meat supplier, your handling and storing it, your cooking it)?

[Irishgirl]

When I am at a restaurant I will order steak rare, happily and securily....but when I cook it (grill, broil, pan fry, bake, etc...) I always cook it so that it is sooooo done that is is drier than it should be and drier than I prefer. I do it on purpose - I AM INSANE!

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This puzzles me.. you trust the restaurant more than you trust yourself (your choice of meat supplier, your handling and storing it, your cooking it)?

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These are my thoughts exactly.

As was stated above Lindsay, the issue with beef is bacteria. Bacteria will only be on exposed surfaces. Bacteria requires moisture and oxygen to grow. Remove those from the equation, and you have a perfectly safe piece of beef to eat. So steaks can be cooked blue, rare, medium rare, what have you, without you creating risk for yourself. Buy your steaks that day, and you have virtually no risk. (As an aside, meat that is more rare will digest easier in your stomach, as the natural enzymes existing in the muscle tissue will help you break down your meat. Cook the meat to well done? No more enzymes.) Beef does not carry salmonella.

Also, yes, ground beef is a different matter. More oxygen and moisture. More surfaces to contaminate. That is why it is recommended to cook burgers to medium well or more.

Pork, same issue, but there was also the Trichinosis problem, which I understand has been eradicated in North America for decades. I serve my pork medium without any risk.

Chicken and Turkey, well done. As these are the birds that carry salmonella. Ducks and Squab do not, so they can be cooked rare.

I feel that the only way that you will be convinced about this though, is if you do the research yourself and rid yourself of your fear by having the proper knowledge.

Good luck!

[LindsayAnn]

When I am at a restaurant I will order steak rare, happily and securily....but when I cook it (grill, broil, pan fry, bake, etc...) I always cook it so that it is sooooo done that is is drier than it should be and drier than I prefer. I do it on purpose - I AM INSANE!

←

This puzzles me.. you trust the restaurant more than you trust yourself (your choice of meat supplier, your handling and storing it, your cooking it)?

←

These are my thoughts exactly.

As was stated above Lindsay, the issue with beef is bacteria. Bacteria will only be on exposed surfaces. Bacteria requires moisture and oxygen to grow. Remove those from the equation, and you have a perfectly safe piece of beef to eat. So steaks can be cooked blue, rare, medium rare, what have you, without you creating risk for yourself. Buy your steaks that day, and you have virtually no risk. (As an aside, meat that is more rare will digest easier in your stomach, as the natural enzymes existing in the muscle tissue will help you break down your meat. Cook the meat to well done? No more enzymes.) Beef does not carry salmonella.

Also, yes, ground beef is a different matter. More oxygen and moisture. More surfaces to contaminate. That is why it is recommended to cook burgers to medium well or more.

Pork, same issue, but there was also the Trichinosis problem, which I understand has been eradicated in North America for decades. I serve my pork medium without any risk.

Chicken and Turkey, well done. As these are the birds that carry salmonella. Ducks and Squab do not, so they can be cooked rare.

I feel that the only way that you will be convinced about this though, is if you do the research yourself and rid yourself of your fear by having the proper knowledge.

Good luck!

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Thanks Irish girl, not to mention everyone here! Yes, i know steak=no samonella....not even sure why I brought that into this equation (oh wait, yes yes I know, cause I overcook all meat, chicken and beef and prk alike. I am not much for eating duck or squab though, no worries for me there!).

I never considered or even thought about the enzyme thing in rare beef...although I know this (I am a big cheese eater and raw milk cheese is better for you and digestion for these same reasons...hence why I prefer raw milk cheeses, but I dont discriminate I just prefer...haha). Your posting irishgirl, bringing that into the equation brought me particular comfort, as did all of the other posts.

Chufi, it puzzels me too....you short but to the point posting made me feel particularly strange about this, and embarrased!

[Kouign Aman]

set a timr b4 u start cooking the meat, and force yrself to remove the meat when the timer goes off ?

Although, if you LIKE it well done, fine!

goodluck!