Good question. I usually buy ground beef that is freshly ground each day from steak and roast cuts. I never worry about browning thoroughly though..because...ground beef is usually well cooked in most dishes calling for it..basically gets cooked twice.. I love to "snitch" pieces of partially browned ground beef out as it's cooking..

If you grind your own you know what goes into it...if you buy ground beef you don't know what went into the meat and how long it was sitting out before being ground...
Also bacteria grows on the surface of the meat....and by buying your own and grinding it, you are minimizing the mumber of surfaces that were there before the meat was ground.
Linda C

I've always thought that the grinders themselves are a breeding ground for bacteria. Grind it yourself, you know you're using fresh, clean tools.

To both Linda C's and my points, a couple excerpts from Cook's Illustrated:

"Only meat ground at federally inspected plants is guaranteed to match its label." [meaning cut of meat]

"The percentage of fat in beef is checked and enforced at the retail level." [so that part of the label should be good]

"Because commercially ground beef is at risk for contamination with bacteria E. coli...."

I buy sirloin when it's on sale . I trim, rough chop and use my Cuisinart to grind it up...sometimes a rough grind, sometimes smaller depending on how I plan on using it.
There is such a flavor difference when grinding your own!
Especially when you cook a Sirloin Burger medium rare...yummo.

Speaking of ground beef, did you read about the butcher that backed into his grinder? He got a little behind in his orders....

sorry

michaelp

LOL Michael!

michaelmaxp, Good grief, women do have a sense of humor, that was KEWL!

As for the ground beef question, I have no intention of arguing with anyone, if you don't believe what I say, contact
your local Agriculture extension office in your state/county/country.

Ground meat is just that! It doesn't make any difference if it is sirloin, top/bottom round/eye of round/ WHATEVER! It is ground meat that should be treated with respect because it can ALLL go bad at the same time! There is "NO" one better than another!
You Absolutely Must Under Stand the above!! It's "meat". Treat all of it the same, especially when ground!

I don't want to scare anyone because you guys are mostly accustomed to working with it.

BUT, Do not ever let someone tell you anything other than what it is "MEAT"!!!!!!!!!!

Changeling, what did you mean by women having a sense of humor? I would appreciate an explanation. It seems like in either sense it was very rude.

Duane

I skipped over the "women" part, but after several reads am still not sure exactly what it is that I Absolutely Must Under Stand.

Fenworth~ "Because commercially ground beef is at risk for contamination with bacteria E. coli...." can't any meat be contaminated with E. coli?

Terri - Yes, of course. But ground beef seems to be more susceptible. Why? Linda C's surface area theory sounds reasonable to me, as does my concern about commercial grinders cross-contaminating meats. Either way, the CDC seems particularly concerned with ground beef as well. See link...

Here is a link that might be useful: Ground beef and E Coli

Yes, the increased surface area means that more of the meat has been exposed to air and potential contamination, which means it can spoil more quickly. Another aspect of concern is that commercial ground beef is often combined from many different animals and processing plants (especially the ground beef used for burgers from fast food restaurants). That means that one small amount of contaminated meat can be spread into a whole batch of ground beef.

It is hard to test for contamination, and get a result before the meat is packaged and distributed (the test requires the microorganisms to grow for a couple days), which is why recalls periodically happen. There is no way for the meat processing companies to get these results back (using current testing technologies) before releasing the meat to the market.

I prefer to grind my own meat. In a pinch, I will buy pre-ground from a butcher or from a supplier that grinds their own meat in small batches. I won't buy pre-packaged ground meat, and if for some reason I did, I would never ever ever serve it anything less than very very well done.

"Fast Food Nation" is a very interesting book that contains a lot of information about meat processing and the food industry.

To add a couple more things...

Bacteria (which can cause microbial contamination) is basically located on the skin of the animal (not the muscle meat), and E. coli is located in the digestive system of the animal. Cross contamination from the digestive system through any number of ways during slaughter is how the muscle meat can get contaminated with E. coli. Poor slaughtering methods.

The meats that we eat skin and all - poultry, for the most part - are especially prone to spoilage because of the microbial contamination from the skin. For example, (source: On Food and Cooking - by Harold McGee) "a typical piece of pork in the supermarket will have a few hundred bacteria per square centimeter (a cut from muscle meat without any skin), while a piece of chicken (which contains the skin) may have 10,000 in the same area. This simple statistic is the reason for cleaning hands, knives, and cutting boards thoroughly with hot, soapy water after handling chicken and before handling other foods, and for cooking poultry well, especially its surfaces."

"Bacteria and molds break down the surface layer of meat..."

A way to lower the potential of E. coli contamination is to use grassfed beef. Studies have found that animals fed corn silage and animal by-products are more likely to carry E. coli 0157:H7 than animals that are grass-fed. It has to do with the acidity in the digestive system of the animal due to the type of feed. The grassfed animals have more acidity in the digestive juices which destroys E. coli to begin with.

Our own gastric juices can destroy 99.99 percent of the NORMAL type of E. coli found in grassfed animals. By contrast, a high percentage of the ACID-RESISTANT E. coli from grainfed animals can survive the acid bath in our stomachs which could cause major health problems.

Yet one more reason why I use grassfed beef.... Luckily, it's raised "naturally" and still processed in a small plant one animal at a time.

-Grainlady

"michaelmaxp, Good grief, women do have a sense of humor, that was KEWL!"

Um....

Michael is a guy...... and yes that was a hilarious joke!

Alexa

Wow! Thanks for all your input. DD and I like all our meats cooked well. DH likes his steaks, prime rib roasts, etc., medium rare. He's mentioned that he'd like a medium rare hamburger so I think I'll just grind up some sirloin (actually, he'll grind it LOL). I have one of those fashioned grinders that you clasp on to the table/counter and crank the handle! LOL

By the way, when I was a kid, I remember my mom slapping my sister's hand away from the ground beef a few times cuz my sister would always steal a little bit of it to eat... raw!! Good thing she never got sick!

This summer my brother was in charge of cooking the meat on the BBQ, when I asked him if he wanted a thermometer to check the doneness of the meat, he said "No. I only cook it to one doneness... burnt!!!!". LOL

* Posted by dukerdawg (My Page) on
Fri, Feb 15, 08 at 19:15

Changeling, what did you mean by women having a sense of humor? I would appreciate an explanation. It seems like in either sense it was very rude.

Duane

Well Duane if you read all the posts you will see that michaelp told a joke and I thought it was very funny.
Here it is so you won't have to look.

* Posted by michaelmaxp (My Page) on
Fri, Feb 15, 08 at 16:14

Speaking of ground beef, did you read about the butcher that backed into his grinder? He got a little behind in his orders....

sorry

michaelp

I told a joke once in a bar and a fist fight broke out. Looks like I still have the touch...

michaelp (guy)

Sorry if I took your comment wrong. I don't know about Michael personally, but it sounded like a cheap shot and if I mis-interpreted I apologize.

A horse walked into a bar. The bartender said 'why the long face?'

Bod-a-boom.

Duane

Thanks for the info...a ways up there...