Everyone knows that chicken should always be fully cooked all the way through before it can be eaten, but when it comes to steak, everyone has different tastes when it comes to how rare it should be. Some prefer their steak cooked until it’s brown all the way through, while others will turn their nose up unless the meat still runs red.
What makes rare steak safe to eat, but not rare chicken? Can steak ever be too rare? In today’s post we’re examining the rules of rareness for your favorite cuts of steak. Read on to learn more, and if you’re feeling hungry by the end, come and have dinner at our historic steak and seafood restaurant in Lake Charles. Our chefs understand the ins and outs of preparing the very best steak for a wide range of tastes, so check out our menu and contact us to make your reservation tonight.
If you like steak, nothing tastes and feels better than a perfectly marbled, perfectly charred but still pink inside strip, ribeye, or filet. On the other hand, eating chicken that isn’t well-done sounds not only gross, but also dangerous. But what exactly is the reason for this big difference in how we cook chicken and beef?
The Science Behind Safe Meat Preparation
To get rid of potentially harmful bacteria that could cause foodborne illnesses, it is important to cook any raw meat the right way. In particular, salmonella, campylobacter, and other bacteria can live in the muscles and cavities of chicken. Health officials say that chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to kill these pathogens.
On the other hand, dangerous bacteria don’t tend to spread through beef’s thicker muscle fibers. Instead, organisms are usually only on the exterior surfaces. So, cooking the outside of a steak over high heat gets rid of this contamination while keeping the inside pink and juicy.
Why Chicken Has More Harmful Bacteria
There are a few key reasons why chicken poses a higher risk of harboring dangerous bacteria compared to beef
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Anatomy – Chickens have more nooks and crannies both internally and on their skin where bacteria can lodge, especially in the abdominal cavity. Cattle, with their thicker hides and less intricate organs, provide fewer hiding spots.
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Food: Chickens eat a variety of grains and plants, as well as a lot of animal protein. Because they eat different things, they can support a wider range of bacteria. Cows, as herbivores, take in fewer microbes.
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Processing – Machine evisceration of chickens can spread bacteria from the intestines onto the meat. With cattle, the main risk is contamination of the outer carcass during skinning.
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Vaccines – Cattle often receive vaccines for major pathogens like E. coli. Equivalent vaccines are not as widely used in the poultry industry.
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Farm Size – Chickens are more frequently raised in crowded, indoor facilities where disease transmission is greater compared to pasture-raised beef cattle.
The Dangers of Undercooked Chicken
Eating raw or undercooked chicken poses clear health risks:
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Salmonella – This bacterium triggers nausea, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea 12 to 72 hours after ingestion. It hospitalizes over 20,000 Americans each year.
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Campylobacter – With symptoms similar to salmonella, campylobacter infections can lead to Guillain-Barré syndrome, paralysis, and long-term arthritis.
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Clostridium perfringens – Although it causes a relatively mild illness, this pathogen can produce dangerous toxins. It’s the second most common bacterial source of food poisoning.
Cooking Chicken Thoroughly
To avoid foodborne illnesses, public health recommendations are clear – chicken needs to reach 165°F all the way through. Here are some tips for properly cooking chicken:
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Use a food thermometer to check internal temperature, especially for large cuts like whole birds or bone-in breasts and thighs.
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Allow extra cooking time for frozen chicken to ensure it is fully thawed.
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Adjust cook times for factors like high altitude. Set your oven 25°F higher if baking above 3000 feet elevation.
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Don’t eat chicken if it remains pink, red, or bloody looking, even after resting. Send it back for more cooking if served underdone at a restaurant.
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Leftovers should be reheated to 165°F. Discard any chicken sitting at room temperature for longer than two hours.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to meat doneness, not all proteins are equal. The internal structure and predominant bacteria associated with chicken mean it absolutely must be cooked to 165°F to be safe. Steak has a thicker, less hospitable muscle composition allowing it to be safely consumed rare or medium-rare when seared on the outside. Knowing the science behind proper meat preparation empowers home cooks to serve up delicious, yet pathogen-free meals.
Why Is Raw Meat Dangerous?
Have you ever thought about why some animals, like omnivores and carnivores, can eat raw meat all the time but humans can’t? Well, for starters, we can eat more raw meat than we think, as long as it’s really fresh.
Lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) can get many of the same foodborne illnesses as people. However, because they usually eat meat right after killing an animal, they don’t come across harmful bacteria as often. Most humans, on the other hand, only come by their meat after it’s been through a lengthy processing and storing process during which pathogens may be introduced.
Still, fresh or not, raw meat will still affect humans much more harshly than the rest of the animal kingdom, since our gut structures are not designed to handle it. Why is this, though? Why can other animals eat raw meat better than us? Should we be envious of this skill?
As it turns out, our inability to eat raw meat is probably an asset as a species. One of the prevailing theories is that even though cooked meat retains less energy and nutrition than raw meat, it also enhances our digestive efficiency. Essentially, the cooking process lets us get the digestive process started before we ever eat the food — it breaks down tough protein strands, kills parasites and pathogens, and frees up our internal energy to be used by our big human brains.
The downside, of course, is that we have to be more careful with how we eat meat.
Rare Ground Beef is Usually Not Safe
Because the process of grinding beef can introduce harmful bacteria from the meat’s surface throughout the meat, burgers should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, or to medium doneness.
Why Rare Steak is Safe — but NOT Rare Chicken
FAQ
Can you eat rare steak but not chicken?
Difference in cooking temperature One of the reasons why you can eat rare steak but not chicken is the difference in cooking temperature. Steak is cooked at a higher temperature than chicken. When steak is cooked, the outside is seared at high heat to make a tasty crust, and the middle is left rare or medium-rare.
Can you eat rare steak?
Rare steak can be safely consumed because the high heat used during cooking kills most bacteria present. But chicken should be cooked all the way through to get rid of harmful bacteria like salmonella that are often found in poultry. Cooking chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) helps ensure it is safe to eat.
Why is rare steak bad for You?
These bacteria live on the meat’s surface and can make you sick with symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. People worry that the temperature inside a rare steak isn’t high enough to kill these germs, which could make people sick.
Why is steak cooked at a higher temperature than chicken?
Steak is cooked at a higher temperature than chicken. When cooking steak, it is typically seared at a high temperature to develop a flavorful crust, while the inside is left rare or medium-rare. This high cooking temperature helps to kill any potential bacteria present on the surface of the meat.
Why is rare steak so good?
Rare steak retains more moisture, resulting in a richer, more pronounced beef flavor. The Maillard reaction on the seared surface complements the succulent interior, creating a symphony of flavors. Overcooking steak can lead to dryness and a loss of flavor, diminishing the overall culinary experience.
Can rare steak be contaminated?
The primary concern surrounding rare steak revolves around the potential for bacterial contamination. However, the way beef is processed and the nature of bacterial contamination significantly reduce this risk. Unlike poultry or ground meat, beef is typically contaminated only on its surface.
Why can you have rare steak but not chicken?
Beef is safer to eat rare because it has less propensity to have bacteria in the inner muscle tissue. This is due to beef being a drier meat than poultry. Chicken is a very moist protein, which is a conducive environment for bacteria growth. This is why chicken must be cooked through to 165 Fahrenheit for safety.
Why can you eat pink steak and not pink chicken?
Color and Texture: The pink color in a rare steak is generally safe because the bacteria that can be present on the surface of the meat are killed during the searing process. Steak is typically less prone to contamination throughout its interior compared to chicken.
Why can’t chicken be cooked rare?
Why does chicken have Salmonella but beef doesn’t?
It has to do with the structure of the meat. Poultry is not very dense and provides more “pockets” for salmonella to grow. Beef is much more dense thus more difficult (though far from impossible) for salmonella to grow in.