Why Can You Eat Steak Rare, but Not Ground Beef? - Pre (2024)

FAQs

Why Can You Eat Steak Rare, but Not Ground Beef? - Pre? ›

A steak has bacteria on the outside which is immediately killed when you throw it in a hot skillet or grill. When beef is ground, you essentially chop or grind up all the surface area, and the bacteria sitting on the surface is brought into the meat and distributed throughout.

Yes, it is dangerous to eat raw or undercooked ground beef because it can contain harmful bacteria. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends not eating or tasting raw or undercooked ground beef. To be sure all bacteria are destroyed, cook meat loaf, meatballs, casseroles, and hamburgers to 160 °F.

It accounts for about 62% of all beef sold in the United States. However, since grinding the meat exposes more of its surface to air, spoilage organisms have more space to attach to it. Thus, it goes bad faster than steak or other larger cuts. Spoilage and pathogenic bacteria may both affect ground beef.

Ground meat may be easier to digest than a steak. If eating a big steak is giving you digestive problems, you may do better eating a hamburger instead. Even though ground meat and steak come from the same animal, the additional processing of the ground meat may make it a little easier to digest.

“Officials say the internal temperature of a steak, or other solid cut of meat, is not a significant health concern because harmful bacteria that may be present would normally only be on the surface of the meat, and would be eliminated even if cooked “rare.””

However, when beef is ground, bacteria from its surface are mixed throughout the meat as it is chopped into tiny pieces. That means ground beef—and all other ground meats, like ground chicken, turkey, pork or lamb, which are processed the same way—must be cooked all the way through in order to kill the bacteria.

For example, red meats are usually only susceptible to pathogens on the surface of the cut, while chicken can be contaminated all the way through the muscle. This is why you should never eat raw chicken, but a juicy rare steak is perfectly fine.

This is because when the beef is ground, the meat is all mixed together and any bacteria that had been on the surface of the meat gets distributed throughout the product. So, if the internal temperature of a burger does not reach at least 160°F, the bacteria is not killed, and severe food poisoning can result.

Conclusions: Minced beef is more rapidly digested and absorbed than beef steak, which results in increased amino acid availability and greater postprandial protein retention. However, this does not result in greater postprandial muscle protein synthesis rates.

Steaks cooked to medium rare and even rare are safe to eat because they have been heated through enough to kill the bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Making it to the internal temperature of 135°F (57°C) – medium-rare steak will improve the flavor and texture of the steak you are eating for the most part.