We know ALOT about burgers. We also know that any food that you may eat that comes from an animal, has the potential of either containing bacteria or developing bacteria by the way it is processed. In our current state of operation, we cook burgers from a flash frozen state for safety reasons. We will be grinding our own beef in the future, but for now, it is what it is, let us explain.
This is the range of “doneness” of burgers: We cook our burgers well done.
Very rare=115-120F
Rare =120-130F
Med Rare= 130-135F
Medium =135-150F
Medium well= 150-165F
Well done=165F+
While these temperatures may be safe for solid cuts of meat like steak, the game changes when it comes to ground beef. With a solid cut of meat, the internal part of the meat has never been exposed, so It has less of a chance of coming in contact with bacteria. When meat goes through a grinder, the meat has more exposed surface area, which gives bacteria more opportunities to contaminate the meat. The bacteria that may be present will multiply very quickly between the temperatures of 40°F and 140°F. Any bacteria that may be present will be killed at 160°F.
We would suggest getting a food thermometer. This takes the guess work out of the doneness scale. Digital or instant read would be the best options. When taking the temp of a burger, you want to make sure that you probe the burger from the side to get an accurate internal temperature. You also want to make sure you remove the burger from the fire while you are taking the temp as not to get a false reading.
