For the average meat purchased in a grocery store, not talking about restaurant food here, is there really that high of a risk of getting a food-borne pathogen from meat that is undercooked? Or is it completely impossible to estimate? The reason I ask is that I am wondering how concerned I should be if I am cooking something and it is not completely done - I am not talking about eating raw meat or anything. But say there is a piece of pork that still looks really pink or something, is it something to worry about? Or are there varying degrees of risk depending on beef, poultry, pork? Obviously I try to cook things through the right way, but say for example I cook a pork loin or beef tenderloin and then take it out of the oven/grill, let it rest for 15 minutes, then slice it up and find that it looks undercooked. It's a real hassle to try and fix it 15 minutes after the grill/oven is off and the meat has been resting. What to do in a situation like this?
PS: And I have an instant-read thermometer but it must not work that well because sometimes I use it and it tells the meat is done when it does not look cooked all - and other times it tells me the meat is not done and by the time it says its done, it is bone dry. So I need to look into getting a better thermometer. But until then?
PS: And I have an instant-read thermometer but it must not work that well because sometimes I use it and it tells the meat is done when it does not look cooked all - and other times it tells me the meat is not done and by the time it says its done, it is bone dry. So I need to look into getting a better thermometer. But until then?