Raw meat

[bleh]

is it ok to handle raw meat with (very very tiny) open cuts (that are not infected) on your fingers? also how long does it take to fully cook by broil or grill ground beef patties?

 

[GB]

Yes it is fine. Just make sure to wash your hands well afterwards as you should do anyway.

As far as how long the patties need to cook, that would depend on how thick they are and how well done you want them as well as a few other factors.

 

[jkath]

echoing what GB said, plus if you think your cooking time is done, just cut one of the patties in half and make sure it's not pink

 

[Zereh]

The most accurate way to ensure meat is done is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

Here's a chart I found that may help:

Minimum Internal Temperatures

(that foods must reach to be considered safe and done, no matter how you prepare them)
​

Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal:

Fresh ground beef, veal, lamb and pork

160 °F
​

Beef, veal, lamb (roasts, steak, chops)

Medium rare:
​

Medium:
​

Well done:
​

145 °F
​

160 °F
​

170 °F
​

Fresh pork (roasts, steaks, chops)

Medium:
​

Well done:
​

160 °F
​

170 °F
​

Ham, cook-before-eating

160 °F
​

Ham, fully-cooked, reheat

140 °F
​

Poultry, Stuffing, Eggs and Leftovers: Ground chicken or turkey

165 °F
​

Whole chicken or turkey

180 °F
​

Breast, roasts

170 °F
​

Stuffing, alone or in bird

165 °F
​

Egg dishes, casseroles

160 °F
​

Leftovers, to reheat

165 °F
​

Z

[size=+2]Cooking Temperature[/size]

Product °F Eggs & Egg Dishes
Eggs Cook until yolk and white are firm Egg dishes 160

Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures
Turkey, chicken 165
Veal, beef, lamb, pork 160

Fresh Beef
Medium Rare 145
Medium 160
Well Done 170

Fresh Veal
Medium Rare
145 Medium 160
Well Done 170

Fresh Lamb
Medium Rare 145
Medium 160
Well Done 170

Fresh Pork
Medium 160
Well Done 170

Poultry
Chicken, whole 180
Turkey, whole 180
Poultry breasts, roast 170
Poultry thighs,
wings 180
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)165
Duck & Goose 180

Ham
Fresh (raw) 160
Pre-cooked (to reheat) 140

Seafood
Fin Fish Cook until opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Shrimp, lobster, crab Should turn red and flesh should become pearly opaque.
Scallops Should turn milky white or opaque and firm.
Clams, mussels, oysters Cook until shells open.

 

[bleh]

The most accurate way to ensure meat is done is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

that i know, but i dont have a probe(?) thermometer and i doubt my mom is willing to buy one.

echoing what GB said, plus if you think your cooking time is done, just cut one of the patties in half and make sure it's not pink

from what i learned, its bad to cut food while or right after it's cooked because itll loose its juices. but maybe that doesnt apply to ground meat...

but anyway, say it's about an inch thick and 4 inches wide. how long would you say?

 

[GB]

from what i learned, its bad to cut food while or right after it's cooked because itll loose its juices. but maybe that doesnt apply to ground meat...

You are correct in both things you said. You don't want to cut into a steak or roast without letting it rest first, but a burger is a different story because it is ground meat.

but anyway, say it's about an inch thick and 4 inches wide. how long would you say?

Again it is kind of hard to say because it depends on so many different things. Some of the other factors are how hot your heat source is and how close the patty is to it as well as how you want it cooked (rare, med rare, well done, etc.). Lets assume you are cooking the burger on the grill using med high heat and you want it med rare, I would guess (and it really is just a guess) that maybe 4 minutes per side should get you there.

 

[Constance]

I have very delicate skin, and often get little cracks in my fingertips. I have found that they can get infected very easily from handling raw meat, even if I wash my hands.
I'm a great believer in peroxide, so after I'm finished cooking, have washed my hands and let them dry, I pour a bit of peroxide over the open places. It bubbles away the bacteria.

 

[amber]

is it ok to handle raw meat with (very very tiny) open cuts (that are not infected) on your fingers? also how long does it take to fully cook by broil or grill ground beef patties?

At home yea, in a public situation no. Use gloves. On grilling or broiling beef patties, it depends on how thick or thin the pattie is, but I make my patties thin, so I cook them for about 10-15 minutes for well done, in a pan on the stove, not sure about broiling, or grilling.

 

[purrfectlydevine]

A basic meat thermometer is not that expensive and it is cheaper than getting sick from undercooked meat.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Wash you hands with soap and hot water both before and after handling raw meat - not scalding hot but about what you would feel comfortable with if you were washing your dishes by hand. Just lather up and rub your hands together for about (ok, a minumum) 30-seconds before rinsing and you'll kill 99% of the bacteria on your hands.

I get so tickled watching people on a food service line wearing gloves ... the gloves are really no more "sanitary" than their hands would be if they just washed them properly after they touch this and that around their station! But they are wearing gloves so they think it's okay to adjust their paper hats, scratch their bottoms, wtc. because they are wearing gloves!

As for how long it takes to cook a hamburger patty - it depends on (a) thickness (b) temperature (c) the degree of doneness you want. Broiling a patty 6" below the broiler will take longer than 2" away, for example. I like my burger a little on the rare side, and thick ... in a skillet over medium heat on the stovetop - 4-5 minutes per side IF I use a lid, about 6-7 minutes if I don't.

 

[DugDbold]

How done is done???

Ok, a rookie plowing in here now....

I have a friend that worked at a burger house in the past. He told me that one way to tell if a grilled burger was done is to bounce it.

Lift the burger with a spatula about 6 inches off the grill. Drop it and if it bounces it is done, if not keep on cookin....

Actually this technique will give you "well done". No shades of wellness [doneness?].

Another factor that will help is to press the center of a thick burger down to about half thickness. Make a well in the middle. Helps the center cook about the same speed as the outer edges which get more heat. Also makes it level out so the tomatoe does not slide off :]

 

[GB]

I have never heard of the bounce method, but that would make sense. As the burger cooks it "tightens" up. The more cooked it is, the tighter it gets. A tight burger will bounce more than a looser one. The same idea can be applied to testing doneness but touching the burger. If it is sort of mushy then it is less cooked than if it is springy. I am sure someone can explain that a bit better than I just did .

Yeah the indent in the middle of the burger is a great idea as well!

 

[bleh]

I get so tickled watching people on a food service line wearing gloves ... the gloves are really no more "sanitary" than their hands would be if they just washed them properly after they touch this and that around their station! But they are wearing gloves so they think it's okay to adjust their paper hats, scratch their bottoms, wtc. because they are wearing gloves!

thats true but they wear gloves cuz our skin has bacteria and oil and theyd have to wash their hands constantly to keep them off.