Medium rare burgers

[captainlee]

I only order medium rare or medium. I used to love rare burgers. Back in the day a party appetizer was raw hamburger with chopped onions and salt. Wouldn't even think about that today. I never heard of anybody getting sick either. Oh the good ole days.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I'm on team rare for a burger, but you're lucky to find a place that will cook to order these days and most won't go med-rare. But I get it.

[RonB]

The reason I grind my own beef is so that I can eat burgers cooked to medium.

[realdocBBQ]

Definitely a safer option if you're going to cook them lighter than medium well, for sure. Nice to know EXACTLY what's happening with your ground beef.

[DavidNorcross]

I always go to the side of caution. I like my hamburger cooked through.

[zblongladder]

My parents were very strict about cooking all meat thoroughly, so I grew up with dry, chewy meat. Since I got old enough to cook my own meat, I've cooked my steaks rare and my burgers medium rare or medium...I know it's a risk, but it's better than the shoe leather I grew up on. I've only ever gotten sick once, from a restaurant burger...admittedly, that once had me in gastrointestinal distress for about a month.

[fzxdoc]

I've been sick once on a too-raw burger as well. It's no picnic. Well, it's sort of a reverse picnic, if you get my drift. Ugh.

Kathryn

[dpearce]

Same here, we grew up on well-cooked meats. Now that I have to tools to cook things right, it's a lot better. And yeah, I had a few bouts of stomach problems with undercooked restaurant food. I remember biting into a burger at a place called MCL Cafeteria (buffet type place was where older folks went) and it was bloody red and cold inside. I sent that back toot sweet!

[Dewesq55]

It's all about how much risk you are willing to accept. Personally, I hate well done, or even medium well done, burgers. So I always order them medium rare and take my chances.

[Mike981]

I just ground up 11lbs of meat (the waste from my attempt at butchering a chuck roll) and really like the idea of knowing at least it came from a very clean environment and was frozen right after vacuum sealed.

That said, like many of you I grew up eating cannibal sandwiches and burgers that were quick charred and then left on long enough to melt the cheese. A cool center was very common.

Times have changed for sure.

[shify]

I do not hesitate to get my burgers medium rare at a restaurant I trust and see no reason to change. Outside of a smash burger I have no interest in a medium well burger and am willing to take the slightly elevated risk. I also love steak tartare and will order it almost every time I see it on the menu

[Draznnl]

I always used to order my burgers rare or medium rare. Then I learned about food safety here. I’ve tried, but I can’t stand medium well or well done burgers. So I gave up burgers. I’ll have to try Kathryn’s sous vide and see if I find 145 an acceptable compromise.

[Attjack]

Everywhere I eat in these parts has a disclaimer on the menu. As for me, I don't even want a medium rare burger. Give me a greasy smash burger instead. Save the red for a thick juicy steak.

[Santamarina]

It’s been a good while since I was asked how I want a burger cooked. Medium is my answer. Closest I’ve been in a while is “pink or no pink?” To which I reply “pink.”

At home I haven’t made anything but a smash burger in probably 8 years, so it’s a non-issue.

[fzxdoc]

Those of you who grind your own burger mix, do you scald (pasteurize) the outside of the hunk of meat in boiling water first, as Meathead recommends in his burger video?

I've done it this way when grinding my own burger mix, but for convenience I prefer getting a good already-ground burger blend from the butcher and using the sous vide then sear method.

Kathryn

[Ace]

This was the info (video) that I was looking for yesterday but couldn't locate it. I'm planning on grinding about 10 lbs later this week. Thank you Kathryn for posting this... 👍😎

[jayjordan]

If anyone has used a food processor for making ground beef like this- how does it compare to using a meat grinder?
I have grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but using the food processor would sure be faster.

[Ace]

@jayjordan
I've used a food processor and I think that it's ok for very small batches. I would suggest smaller meat cubes as to not overload the machine. Also pulse chop so that the meat will settle back to the bottom of the pitcher. Running it on puree / knead will give you a very fine, tight texture (think hotdog batter). Yep, I've made my own frankfurters doing this. Also with the food processor the grind won't be as consistent as with a meat grinder. That may or may not matter to some. 🙂

[jayjordan]

Restaurant burgers I want medium well to well. I like to cut restaurant burgers in half so I can see what the middle looks like before biting in. Grinding my own meat I want my burger medium rare to medium.