Like Cheeseburgers? Let's Make It Hot

Now and again, this or that strain of the now infamous (and quite deadly) E. coli bacteria shows up in a beef shipment. Word on the street is you need to cook your burgers at above 160F to make the bacteria defunct if you happen to get a bad sample. I cannot think of any good reason NOT to do this in the first place. 160 is not really cooking something. The steamed milk at Starbuck's has to be this temperature. If you order your coffee -- which is not to be cooked -- extra hot, you get 180.

My take? Barbecue it over an open flame. It tastes far better, you get the burger actually COOKED (not just thawed at 160), and the whole backyard smells great. So it's Autumn. So what. Your barbecue can't tell time, and the lighter fluid can't even spell (which means it would vote Republikin if possible). Here is the article which commands you in the name of the E.Coli damage control medical team to cook your hamburgers, so they don't look red anymore. Okay, but it's your liver transplant. The Associated Press wants you to know that:

"A company voluntarily recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after two people were sickened, possibly by the E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Saturday.

The recalled ground beef products were distributed in seven states.

The beef products by American Foods Group include coarse and fine ground beef chuck, sirloin and chop beef. They were distributed to retailers and distributors in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. The problem surfaced after an investigation by the Illinois Department of Health, which was looking into two reports of illnesses.

The bacteria is E. coli O157:H7. E. coli is harbored in the intestines of cattle. Improper butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat. Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees internal temperature, can destroy the bacteria."

The whole article is found here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/25/beef.recall.ap/index.html

Comments: No, I don't work for Burger King or Wendy's, but charbroiling rules.