Anyone eaten rare pork?

[bcla]

I was at a restaurant once when I saw pork medallions on the menu. Sounded good, and I was hungry.

When it arrived, the meat looked like it was seared on the outside, with the tenderloin sliced and still very pink inside. If anything, it reminded me of seared ahi tuna. I expressed my concern that it was undercooked to the server, who then tried to assure me that nobody ever got sick.

Anyone cook pork this way or tried undercooked pork? I've always had it drilled in my head that trichinosis is a risk with pork.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I was raised that way too, but lately on shows like Top Chef, I've seen them purposely cooking it in a way that *I* would consider under. I'm sure it's like with any other meat, even rare beef, that it isn't without risk. There is no doubt a "safe" temperature but I don't think it's as high as we've been raised to believe.

 

[kimblebee]

There's no way I would eat pink pork..same with chicken.

 

[shoney]

Pork does not have to be cooked through anymore. I have never seen it served rare but more medium. A little pink in the middle.

 

[Squirlz]

We grill ours to about 155.

 

[goofyernmost]

That rule comes from the old thought that pigs were dirtier then other animals and to prevent illness the meat must be well done. It is also a spring off of certain religious restrictions. However, in todays world (our world anyway) the rules that are in place to prevent problems have pretty much ended that situation. I still cook it until it is no longer pink, but, not because I'm afraid of it, it's because that is the way I like it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

A great food/cooking site, Serious Eats, with an article on this topic:

The Case For Pink Pork

From the article:

Then again, the risks of eating raw or pink pork are not notably worse than those that come with runny egg yolks, beef tartare, or cheap delivery sushi. And the payoff, chefs argue, is worth it. "When you get a nice thick pork chop, and it's slightly pink in the middle? That's great," says Andy Ricker, of the Pok Pok restaurants in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. "Nice and juicy, delicious." The cut matters, too, the same way it does for beef: Some cuts are suited for long braises; others are best served as steaks and cooked pink; and some, yes, are great for raw preparations.

 

[bcla]

We grill ours to about 155.

That's supposed to be enough to instantly kill trichinosis cysts, but might still be pink. I've always heard 165 deg F, but I guess the recommendation now is that 144 deg F is enough. Still kind of scares me. I've dined with someone who refused to eat anything except well done meat.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

I don't eat pork but I prefer my meats cooked all the way thru. No pink whatsoever.

 

[jevs]

I wouldn't have eaten it.

 

[soccerdad72]

Rare? No. Slightly pink, yes.

 

[lizabu]

Yes when I was in culinary school we were taught to cook it that way. Once I graduated and got out there I was advised to cook it well. Today's pork gets immunization and pigs don't get the diseases they once did so it's perfectly safe to eat it pink but for a long time it wasn't safe to eat undercooked pork and may people will be super weirded out by pink pork because of this history.

 

[Bluestars]

I always eat all of my meat cooked thoroughly. I don't like any pink, even though in some cases it might not be harmful. I didn't realize pork didn't realize that pork was safe to eat when it was still pink.

 

[aristocatz]

I went to a restaurant once & ordered pork medallions & didn't notice that the menu description stated "seared." I was grossed out by the texture when it arrived & sent it back to the kitchen.

I eat my steak medium to medium rare. & I love tuna sushi. But I am grossed out by the texture of any other raw or seared meat.

 

[mel&me]

I've eaten it served just seared with pink inside from restaurant, no problem here and it was very good how they did it.

 

[marlynnp]

I was at a restaurant once when I saw pork medallions on the menu. Sounded good, and I was hungry.

When it arrived, the meat looked like it was seared on the outside, with the tenderloin sliced and still very pink inside. If anything, it reminded me of seared ahi tuna. I expressed my concern that it was undercooked to the server, who then tried to assure me that nobody ever got sick.

Anyone cook pork this way or tried undercooked pork? I've always had it drilled in my head that trichinosis is a risk with pork.

and so many better things could have been put in there....


Anyway, there is no need to cook the bejesus out of pork any longer (unless you somewhere like Arkansas and eating feral pigs) as round worms have been almost completely eliminated in modern farming.

 

[Poohlove]

I saw one of the mystery diagnosis type shows where someone got some kind of worm from eating undercooked pork. I don't eat undercooked meat of any kind but this show is what comes to mind whenever I think of undercooked pork.

 

[JimMIA]

I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.

And I do not eat pink pork...or pink chicken. Call me old-fashioned, but this is how I got to be old-fashioned!

 

[anniemae]

I was also surprised, like a pp mentioned, when on shows like Top chef, Master Chef etc. they always seem to serve pork on the med. rare side.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'll eat it medium-well. A little pink is okay with me but not rare.