Is It Safe Eating Raw Beef
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Eating raw meat comes with risk. Honestly, that's a little bit of the fun. More timid dining companions will order their steaks medium and well done. They'll only eat meat cooked to the proper temperature. And it's true; those temperatures were created to ensure a safe eating experience, immaculately free of hazard. But living strictly by the rules, living at medium and well done, you miss out on raw. And raw can be so tender. It melts. Scallops like ice and butter. Tuna, al dente. Beef, clean and slippery on crusty piece of bread, tacky on your finger tips. Cooking may be the only absolute insurance, but raw is worth its little risk, especially when you break the rules right.
Here's what you should keep in mind if you're going to prepare raw beef or fish at home.
FIND A SOURCE YOU CAN TRUST
Go to a store that is busy so you know that the product is turning over quickly and the meat is fresh. For beef, the most problematic microbe is E. coli 0157. "E. Coli 0157 doesn't cause disease in the cow," explains Eugene Muller, professor of Microbiology, Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Framingham State University. "But if the intestines are nicked during butchering and the animal is carrying it, E. coli 0157 can get into the meat. So whether the meat is contaminated is going to be variable according to the skill of the butcher and whether the herd is contaminated or not." Buying from a good butcher who understands the animal and communicates with his providers significantly reduces risk.
For fish, it is essential that the product be as fresh as possible. Go to a local fish market if you can, or find a great fishmonger. You'll know it's a good place because it "smells of fresh ocean water," explains Chef Mette Williams, whose restaurant Culina Modern Italian in Los Angeles, is known for its crudo bar. "If it smells like fish, it shouldn't." Touch the fish. If it leaves an indentation, then don't buy it. Scallops should be opaque. "Once they start to get a yellow color, they're starting to dry out," says Chef Williams, "Make sure they're not tacky, and they're in whole pieces."
BUY IT WHOLE
Beef ground in a plant can have anywhere from 100 to 2,000 different cows present in a single package of meat. If your butcher grinds the meat, the number will be much lower, but the more animals, the higher possibility of foodborne illness. If you buy the muscle whole, you know that you're only dealing with one cow. In a whole cut, the inner layers are essentially sterile. What you need to be wary of is the surface. Since ground beef mixes the external with the internal, being able to rinse the meat and chop it on a clean surface can help keep the meat fresh.
Similarly, when you buy fish whole, it's less likely to be introduced to contaminants. Chef Mette Williams explains, "A lot of fish fabrication happens on boats, so you don't actually get to see how the fish is processed." To the extent that you can, you want to know how the fish is being handled.
KEEP IT COLD
Though keeping the food cold and even freezing will not kill bacteria, it can slow growth. We're constantly exposed to microorganisms; the key is not to consume an infectious dose of potentially harmful bacteria. According to Muller, "Bacteria grow from a complete range of temperature about as low as your refrigeration goes, up to higher than your body temperature. The longer food is left out, even a smaller amount of bacteria will grow."
Bacteria that cause food poisoning are rarely found in sushi. But shellfish like scallops, oysters, and clams, that eat by filtration encounter viruses and bacteria that can cause intestinal discomfort. Still, the risk is low if you buy from a reputable source. The Board of Health must certify all legally functioning beds where animals are harvested.
FREEZE FISH
Fish sometimes host parasitic worms. Gross. But 5 days in a home freezer (-10 degrees F) will kill all parasites, and sushi grade fish from a store like Whole Foods often comes already frozen. (Tip: If you'd rather not wait 5 days, you don't need to freeze scallops.)
KEEP CALM AND ALSO KEEP CLEAN
"With any meat," explained Chef Mette Williams, "The cleaner the preparation area; the fresher it's going to stay." Chef Kuniko Yagi recommends spraying your cutting board with a homemade sanitizer spray of grapefruit seed extract and water to kill germs.
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
We asked a few microbiologists about this: Do you eat raw fish or beef?
Robert Tauxe, Deputy Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases at CDC: "I eat sushi, but I don't eat tartare."
Eugene Muller: "You are gambling every time you eat an oyster on the half shell, and there is no other way to eat an oyster in my opinion. And yes, I do eat raw beef."
*You should not eat raw meat if you are elderly, immunocompromised, or pregnant.
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Source: https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/food/how-to/a24118/raw-meat-safety/
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