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

How about stuffed peppers? Served over pasta with meatballs. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Meat Stuffed Peppers ==================== Edited from Lidia's Stuffed Pepper recipe. Meat Stuffed Peppers 1/3 cup rice Salt cubanella, banana peppers, Hungarian sweet peppers, etc... 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 pound ground meat (pork/beef/veal) 1 egg 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano 2 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup chicken broth Tomato sauce Olive oil Garlic, Onions Canned tomatoes Red pepper flakes Fresh basil Prepare the Tomato Sauce. Cook rice until almost tender. Drain and cool to room temperature. While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 400� F, prepare the peppers and start the filling: Cut the stems from the peppers and scrape out the seeds and membranes with a teaspoon. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Put the onions, garlic, parsley, fresh oregano and chicken broth in small food processor. Process. Add the cheese, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and onion mixture to the meat. Mix well. Mix in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Fry a small piece to check for seasoning. Stuff the peppers and use the extra meat to make meatballs. Saute the peppers to lightly brown. Place the peppers in a casserole dish and cover with some of the tomato sauce. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Maryanne, I regret the direction this thread turned, as well as the condescending tone of my previous post. I won't say it was misinterpreted, because it was certainly intentional - a response to people picking my original post apart and alleging that I said something that I never said. Does anyone even remember my original post on this thread? Some posters here took a very simple comment of mine: "Other than the obvious differences of the U.S. product most likely being fresher and slaughtered/processed under the watchful eyes of USDA inspectors...." And from that, alleged that I was insinuating that Australian beef was "slaughtered and processed under less sanitary conditions than in the US." I NEVER said that or even implied it. NEVER! My comment regarding the USDA inspection simply referred to the fact that we don't know anything about the inspection in foreign countries. Granted, ours could be improved upon, but at least we know something about it. It's certainly possible that Australia's is as good or even better than ours, but we just don't KNOW that. And the comment I made about freshness was ONLY pertaining to the logistics of shipping. It's actually a pretty simple concept... The less distance there is between the point of a commodity's production and the point of that commodity's consumption, the fresher that product is likely to be. Not just beef, but ANY product. But, the shipping time is not even an issue for me, because I wouldn't buy the imported product under ANY conditions. I have a strong desire to support local farmers and ranchers - and not just because I'm a cattle producer. I feel STRONGLY that we should support our domestic food producers...even at the higher price. I put my money where my mouth is and do the same thing with products other than beef. We've already given much of this country's manufacturing capability to China. We're becoming more and more dependent on them all the time for fish and seafood. We depend on the Middle East for way too much of our energy needs. If we ever become too dependent on foreign countries for our food....well, I'm going to do my part to be sure that doesn't happen. Even if it costs more. Again, I regret hijacking your thread and the direction that it turned. Thanks for buying U.S. beef!

Beef ribs These came out really good. Husband loved! Rub down with your favorite rub. (I just sprinkle generously with seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder) Wrap tightly in foil and refrigerate over night. Bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook for 4 hours (in the foil). Turn on broiler. Remove from foil. Drizzle ribs with olive oil (I brushed with just a little BBQ sauce) and char for about two minutes per side. This is another favorite. I think I got this from someone here, years and years ago! Mustard Short Ribs 4 lbs. beef short ribs 1/3 C prepared mustard 1 TB sugar 2 TB lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 2 cloves garlic, crushed 4 medium onions, sliced Place beef ribs in shallow glass dish. Mix mustard, sugar, lemon juice, salt, pepper & garlic; spread over beef. Top with onions. Cover and refrigerate, turning beef occasionally, about 24 hours. Brown ribs on the stove. Place ribs in casserole dish or Dutch oven and pour in marinade and onions. Cover and bake in 325 oven about 3-1/2 to 4 hours.