Well...the 4th of July is among us. This is a day for shooting off fireworks both legal and illegal, enjoying time with family and grilling our favorite foods.
Before you go grill up a bunch of food for your family and friends remember FOOD SAFETY! When you bring your meats home make sure you are storing them at the proper temperature. Frozen meats should be kept at (32 degrees to 0). Thawing meats are best done in the refrigerator.
Now...on to the grilling!
When grilling in the back yard, a lot of people seem to think they can cook by color! TIP# 4,080: Spend $15 and get yourself a digital thermometer. This takes the guess work out of the age old question “is it done yet?” It allows you to cook your food to perfection, no undercooking, no overcooking, just right!
Burgers (160º F)
I was found that 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature. The only safe way to know if meat, poultry, and egg dishes are "done" is to use a food thermometer. When a hamburger is cooked to 160 °F,
Frankfurters (hotdogs) and Sausage (160º F)
4th of July is the day that most Hotdogs and Sausage of all sorts will be consumed. Most hotdogs that you buy are already cooked, so what you are doing is warming them up. When you are heating your hot dogs, or cooking your raw Sausage cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. The Food Code says 160º F (72º C) and this temperature we adopt as the recommended temperature for cooking meats. Also, for the love of God and all meats grillable, please make sure you are turning your hotdogs and sausage with tongs and not a fork.
Chicken breast, Whole Chicken, Bone –in Chicken parts (165º F)
Chicken is like a blank canvas. You can do some amazing things with spices and the sort. Again, use a thermometer to take the guess work out. You have the potential to get very sick from undercooked chicken or you can over cook it and your family and friends will remember it.
Note: If you marinade your meat...DO NOT USE THE SAME MARINADE THE MEAT WAS SITTING IN TO BASTE YOUR MEAT WHILE IT IS COOKING. Save some in an extra bowl and use that marinade so your meat won’t get dry.
Steaks and such.
Fun with food all starts with being safe. When you are talking about Muscle meats like steaks or roast, you want to cook these to (145 °F medium rare), (160 °F medium), (170 °F well done)
Thes guidelines were taken from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Approximate Beef Cooking Times °F
Type of Beef Size Cooking Method Cooking Time Internal Temperature
Rib Roast, bone in 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 325° 23-25 min./lb. Medium rare 145°
Rib Roast, boneless rolled 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 325° Add 5-8 min./lb. to times above Same as above
Chuck Roast, Brisket 3 to 4 lbs. *Braise 325° *Braise 325° Medium 160°
Round or Rump Roast 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. Roast 325° 30-35 min./lb. Medium rare 145°
Tenderloin, whole 4 to 6 lbs. Roast 425° 45-60 min. total Medium rare 145°
Steaks 3/4" thick Broil/Grill 4-5 min. per side Medium rare 145°
Stew or Shank Cross Cuts 1 to 1 1/2" thick Cover with liquid; simmer 2 to 3 hours Medium 160°
Short Ribs 4" long and 2" thick *Braise 325° 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours Medium 160°
Happy Grilling.
Showing posts with label Burger U. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burger U. Show all posts
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, November 12, 2009
What’s the Beef? A quick rundown of the “Black Angus Burger”
You have to give it to the marketing guys that push the idea that Angus is a “better” cut of beef than you have normally been purchasing. Hell…some of my competition has even jumped on the band wagon. Well we are going to set the record straight and let you decide.
Angus is a breed of cattle…that’s it. Angus short for Aberdeen Angus originally came from Scotland. This breed is recorded by the U.S. government. In order to be certified “Angus” buy the USDA it must have the following requirements.
The cattle must be able to be traced back to provable registration papers. This is known as the Genotype. It also must have a positive ID…i.e. tattoos, brands, ear tags and such. Also they must have the blood lines of at least one parent or two grandparents. This is how the USDA can tell what percentage of Angus the cattle is.
Angus is also based on looks. This is called the Phenotype. It must be at least 51% covered with a solid black color. Angus also come with and without horns called polled
"Certified Angus Beef" or (CAB) was developed by the industry in 1979. The standards that they base this certification on are things such as age, color and marbling (fat lines between the meat muscles). This gets crazier because only about 8% of the beef can be CA (certified Angus)
So in a nutshell, Angus cattle is all about genetics. Angus, because of its genes is a fattier meat. They breed the Angus to slow down muscle growth and produce more fat. Angus has a gene called myostatin. The Angus meat is fattier and contains more marbling. As a last note, the Angus breed of cattle is probably the most prolific beef cattle that is raised in the United States today.
Angus is a breed of cattle…that’s it. Angus short for Aberdeen Angus originally came from Scotland. This breed is recorded by the U.S. government. In order to be certified “Angus” buy the USDA it must have the following requirements.
The cattle must be able to be traced back to provable registration papers. This is known as the Genotype. It also must have a positive ID…i.e. tattoos, brands, ear tags and such. Also they must have the blood lines of at least one parent or two grandparents. This is how the USDA can tell what percentage of Angus the cattle is.
Angus is also based on looks. This is called the Phenotype. It must be at least 51% covered with a solid black color. Angus also come with and without horns called polled
"Certified Angus Beef" or (CAB) was developed by the industry in 1979. The standards that they base this certification on are things such as age, color and marbling (fat lines between the meat muscles). This gets crazier because only about 8% of the beef can be CA (certified Angus)
So in a nutshell, Angus cattle is all about genetics. Angus, because of its genes is a fattier meat. They breed the Angus to slow down muscle growth and produce more fat. Angus has a gene called myostatin. The Angus meat is fattier and contains more marbling. As a last note, the Angus breed of cattle is probably the most prolific beef cattle that is raised in the United States today.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Rare, Med Rare, Well done, How and Why?
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
PICKING GROUND BEEF FOR BURGERS.
When looking for ground beef to make burgers, many people either go to a supermarket or a butcher. People have grown accustomed to looking at the ground beef for “redness” as a deciding factor as to freshness of the burger.
The redness of the burger meat DOES NOT=FRESH...I repeat the redness of the burger meat DOES NOT=FRESH! All warm blooded animals have a pigment in their meat tissue called myoglobin. The color is a light burgundy color. When this comes in contact with oxygen it becomes oxymyoglobin. This is when the meat will turn a deep red. This is the reason why if you buy a vacuumed packed side of boneless top sirloin (uncut) it is not the same deep red color.
What should you look out for? If you buy a couple of pounds of ground beef...any cut...and the inside and outside is the same color of red...there is a good chance that you ground beef had color added to it and it might not be as fresh as you think.
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