| You can't judge a burger by its color
That research by the USDA surprised almost everyone by showing that a pink burger can be perfectly done and a brown one not done. Indeed, one out of every four burgers studied by USDA researchers in 1998 turned brown in the middle before reaching 160ºF, the temperature that ensures all pathogens in the meat are dead and the meat is safe to eat. Some patties looked done at temperatures as low as 135ºF! Ways we
judge are unreliable Very few of us bother, however, with just 3 to 6 percent of households nationally using the instant-read digital or dial thermometers that work in thin cuts of meat such as chicken breasts, sausage patties, and pork chops. To get more of us to use instant-read thermometers, McCurdy and colleagues at Washington State University have developed an ambitious educational campaign funded by a $374,000 competitive grant from the USDA. Their brochure, video, recipe cards, and poster, as well as their curricula for high school family and consumer science teachers and extension educators, all tout the advantages of thermometer use. Currently, they are sending the materials to home cooks in Idaho and Washington and conducting surveys to find out whether their thermometer use increases. “I think we have taken on a difficult problem,” McCurdy admits. Focus group participants in Idaho and Washington cited the “hassle” of using the thermometers as a deterrent. “If they have to wait 20 seconds for the temperature to register, that’s annoying.” Help with
speed, reliability, better taste Her preliminary findings are that some thermometers respond in as few as 8 seconds while some take as long as 33 seconds. Among the best she’s tested so far are several brands of dial thermometers (Acurite model 640W, Good Cook model 25111, and Norpro model 5979), but only one brand of digital thermometer (Redi-Chek model ET-3), which has a 10- to 15-second response time. She plans to make her full findings available to extension educators, and anyone else who requests them, when her study wraps up in January or February. Contact her at smccurdy@uidaho.edu. McCurdy says she uses a thermometer all the time now, and not least because it makes cooking a chicken breast so much easier. Before, “I’d always be cutting in to see if it was done,” she said. Now, she can tell exactly when her meat is ready, neither undercooked nor overcooked. By taking meat off the heat in time, says McCurdy, you’re not only keeping yourself safe, “You’re going to have better-tasting, juicier meat.”
Burger
Flipping 101 In pans or single-sided grills, the secret to speedy and even cooking turned out to be frequent turning. Burgers flipped every 30 seconds were uniformly done in 6.6 minutes. Burgers flipped just once during cooking, in contrast, took a full 10.9 minutes. End-point
temperatures for thin meats The USDA has yet to study fish temperatures, so for salmon, and other fish, flaky texture and opaque look remain the best gauge. 160ºF
Ground beef, lamb, veal, and pork
Using instant-read thermometers for thin meats Instant-read dial thermometers are inserted 2 to 3 inches into the meat. Instant-read digital thermometers are inserted at least 1/2 inch into the meat.
--Diane Noel (photos by Kelly Weaver, UI Photo Services) © 2003 University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. |
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Since
E. coli-tainted hamburgers started making headlines in 1993,
almost all of us have absorbed the advice that a safe burger is
one with the pink cooked out of it, a nice brown-inthe- middle burger.
“For years we’ve cooked meat by color. Everybody thought
color was fine,” said Sandy McCurdy, UI extension food safety
specialist, “until somebody did some research.”
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