Do we have to cook this beautiful beef to
well done? Maybe not. Photo by FCAFoto
Digital | IST.

Because ground meat has been a significant source of foodborne illness, the USDA advises consumers to use a meat thermometer when cooking burgers. In other words, you should not rely on eyeballing the internal color of the meat to ensure it’s safe to eat.

The agency’s research has shown that the color of meat is not a reliable indicator of ground beef safety. To be safe from harmful bacteria such as E. coli, ground beef must be cooked thoroughly to 160°F: thoroughly well done. This recommendation applies to all ground beef, including meat balls and meat loaf.

Why, then, can you eat steak as rare as you like?

When a steak, roast or other cut of beef is cooked, the heat kills all the bacteria, which are on the surface of the meat.

When beef is ground, however, the bacteria are dispersed to every individual ground bit. They’ll be killed if they’re on the surface of the meat that’s exposed to the heat. But unless the ground beef is cooked to 160°F, any harmful bacteria inside the beef/meat ball/meat loaf will still be viable.

If you love your beef medium rare—and we do—you have options to limit your exposure. While there are no guarantees, you can:

 
A meat grinder does more than make burgers. You can grind your own pork, poultry, veal and lamb as well as beef; and make sausages, ham salad, ham loaf, chopped liver, corned beef hash—even cat food.

O.K., so where’s the beef? Otherwise asked, how to you get your burger or steak to the desired degree of doneness?

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can try it by touch. While that’s not what the USDA advises, that’s how chefs in every restaurant do it. See this simple meat doneness pictorial and try it.

Meat Thermometer Readings For Steak & Burgers

 
Remember that food continues to cook internally when it’s removed from the heat. So removing it from the stove or grill when the meat thermometer reads 10°F less for beef, 5°F less for burgers (because they don’t need to “rest” for 10-15 minutes before slicing).

To speak with an expert, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1.888.MPHotline (1.888.674.6854) during business hours. Learn more at IsItDoneYet.gov.

At 21 Club, though, customers also want a luxury burger. In honor of National Hamburger Day, May 28th, here’s Chef Greeley’s recipe, which uses duck fat to add panache:

21 BURGER RECIPE
Yields 8 burgers.

Ingredients

The 21 Burger. Photo courtesy 21 Club.

 
Preparation
1. In a mixing bowl add the beef, duck fat or Crisco, fennel, cayenne pepper, ground pepper, thyme, rosemary, egg and onion. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated evenly.
2. Divide the beef mixture into four 8-ounce burgers. Pack and shape them.
3. On a hot grill place the burger and cook for approximately 4-1/2 minutes on each side for medium rare temperature. Cook longer for a more well?done burger, if desired.
4. Serve on a bun with desired garnishes.

[1] Grilled fruit is a welcome treat (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[2] It’s easy to cut fresh pineapple into chunks. First, cut a wedge lengthwise (photo © The Fruit Company)./td>

A fruit salad (do you have time to carved a watermelon basket?) is always welcome; as are fruit skewers, easily made by adding cut fruits and whole berries to wooden skewers and inserting into a half melon placed face down on a tray.

But grilled fruit skewers are even more fun.

Here’s a basic recipe for grilling all fruits.

Melissa’s uses its own Sugar Cane Swizzle Stix instead of wood skewers, and adds a dessert sauce. We prefer the natural, sweet flavor of the fruit without a sauce.

And you don’t need skewers. You can grill watermelon and pineapple slices, and halved tree fruits.
 
 
GRILLED PINEAPPLE & STRAWBERRY SKEWERS

Ingredients

Want something more elaborate? Try these recipes:

A good smoke flavored with a good
drink. Photo courtesy TedsCigars.com.

Ted’s Cigars combine both flavors in one.

Fifteen years ago, Ted Jackson was asked by Kentucky neighbor Maker’s Mark to make a cigar for a Derby party. The result was a premium cigar flavored with the famous Bourbon.

Jackson created a process to add a subtle bourbon flavor without affecting the integrity of the fine tobacco. A big hit, millions of Maker’s Mark cigars are now sold worldwide.

The flavored line expanded to include a HOPZ Craft Beer cigar, Grand Marnier, Dumante Verdenoce Pistachio Liqueur and Forty Creek Barrel Select Canadian Whisky.

The cigars are also available in traditional, unflavored versions including The Kentucky Derby, the official cigar of the famous horse race.

All of the cigars are packaged in glass tubes and do not require a humidifier. They are available in two distinct blends and three sizes, with either a Connecticut shade or a Maduro wrapper. Dads who enjoy a good cigar will welcome this unusual gift.

For special events, you can create cigars in a glass tube labeled with a company name, as well as custom neck bands.

The cigars are made by a partner company in the Dominican Republic, from a proprietary blend of Brazilian, Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco. The flavoring and packaging done at Jackson’s Louisville, Kentucky-based headquarters.

The products are carried at fine tobacconists nationwide and can be purchased online at TedsCigars.com.

Too many people refrain from cooking delicious, nutritious dried beans because the preparation—soaking the beans—seems like too much trouble.

It couldn’t be easier! And you may not have to soak them overnight: The fresher the beans, the more moisture they retain so less soaking is required.

As you’ll see in this video, all you need to do is:

1. The video is missing an important first step: Rinse the beans in a collander under cold running water.
2. Sort through the beans and pick out any broken ones, plus extraneous matter such as the occasional pebble.
3. Place the beans in a bowl or pot to soak: 2 cups cold water per one cup beans.
4. When the beans grow larger in size and can be chewed, strain the beans from the water. You’re ready to cook!

Learn your bean types in our Bean Glossary.

FOOD TRIVIA: Lima beans have been cultivated in Peru since 6000 B.C.E. Their common name comes from Lima, Peru’s capital city. That makes the correct pronounciation LEE-mah beans, not LYE-muh beans. But who’s going to correct the American public?