Hi folks,
I've been surfing the internet attempting to find some answers on how I'd most safely produce a medium-rare burger in my home. I watched Alton Brown's "A Grind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste" (S02E11) and he suggests that the majority of e.Coli issues come from meat ground in factories or stores. As such, grinding the a whole cut in your home, he says, minimizes any potential e.Coli contamination.
Now, obviously, I understand that getting meat from a good butcher is a factor but I unfortunately do not have such a luxury in my city and therefore must purchase my meats from large-chain grocery stores. Are there any other extra steps I can take to increase safety or am I good to go by buying a whole cut and just grinding it?
Thanks for any help.
With that said, I generally trust the ground beef that I get at the store, but if you want to play it extra safe, buy a good large piece of chuck and grind it yourself. Make sure the blade, grinder attachment and anything that will come into contact with the meat is washed and sanitized thoroughly and chilled in your freezer or refrigerator to help keep the temperature of the meat down. Also, it takes time for bacteria to grow, so the faster you can form and cook your burgers after grinding the "safer" you'll be.
If you're really paranoid you can blanch the meat before grinding for 15-30 seconds in boiling water which would kill any surface bacteria. Obviously you would chill it in an ice bath and grind as usual. I would only recommend this with large cuts of meat and only if you're really paranoid.
Cook With Passion!
How should a meat grinder be sanitized, and when - just before using or when cleaning up after use?
p.s. Chef J... are you serious about blanching meat before grinding???
I think I'll eventually do a brief series on sanitation since it comes up quite a bit. Some people are more paranoid about food borne illness then others. Eating a burger mid-rare doesn't scare me, even if I don't grind my own meat, but that's just me. Could I end up being one of the rare cases of death caused by food borne illness? Maybe. But I think my time is better spent looking both ways before I cross the street.
That's not to say one shouldn't be concerned about food borne illness, especially in a professional environment. The reason why you have to be so careful with sterilizing your brewing equipment is because it's a fermented product that sits right in the sweet spot temperature for bacterial growth for an extended period of time.
Generally speaking, you don't want any food product to sit in the "danger zone" (40F-135F) for more then 4 hours. After 4 hours it is more likely that the food will contain enough bacteria to make someone sick (at least according to the FDA).
But in the case of your grinder versus brewing equipment, once the meat is ground it will either be cooked immediately or refrigerated so regular sanitary practices are sufficient. With your beer, not only is it "exposed" to the danger zone for a prolonged period of time, but it also really sucks to rack your 5 gallon carboy only to find your have a sour batch.
I personally would never blanch meat before grinding, but it would work to minimize the risk of surface bacteria. Then again, if you're that paranoid, you should probably just get used to eating your burger well done. ;-)