Is it ok for a 1pd pork roast to be a little pink when done cooking?

Question

Its a 1 pd pork roast, i cooked for an hour and 20 mins. they say to cook it for 30 mins per pound. I thought pork was white when done...Help?

Answer 1

It's safe to eat pork that is still pink inside if it has been cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Pink doesn't always mean undercooked.

Answer 2

I was a chef in Canada for 20 yrs and refused to over cook any pork product, as some of the others have said todays pork is so well feed and maintained that food borne illness issues are now a thing of the past, especially if your cooking something like a loin, crown roast, tenderloin or leg of pork (also known as a fresh ham), to well done is just a waste.

100 years ago when the meat inspection industry was not as effecient as today then there could or might have been issues with pork not fully cooked.

And also to the flavour and tenderness are sacrificed with the overcooking of any meat, poultry is the only thing that because of the contamination issues possible, not always but it wise to make sure it is done fully, pink pork is no threat to your health.

Answer 3

It depends where you live and how the pork was raised. Trichinosis from commercial market pork is no longer a problem in most of Europe and North America but remains in much of the rest of the world and from pigs with open range and/or fed scraps.

In today's fine restaurants in Italy and France cooking pork to when it is still slightly pink is the gastronomic rage.

Answer 4

I use a meat thermometer, and I have found that sometimes pork will still have a pink tinge at 160'. Stick an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, without touching a bone, and if it's at least 160', you're fine. In fact, USDA has modified its safety recommendation to 145'. If you have an especially large piece of meat, you can stick the thermometer in two or three of the thickest areas, just to be safe. But it's the temperature that matters and not the color.

Answer 5

More details would make this better; i.e. cooking temperature, placement in the oven, other things in there with it, covered or not, etc.

It used to be that pork was full of microbes, hence the cook it till it's dead thing. These days, with all the bug killer that gets pumped into them, it's unlikely that medium-well done pork is going to hurt you. I still think it's better completely cooked without any hint of pink but that's my taste thingys working.

Answer 6

Temperature is always a much better indicator of doneness than color. Get a good meat thermometer and cook to the recommended temperature and you will be fine. Also, remember that residual heat will continue cooking the meat once you take it out of the oven.

Answer 7

pink pork isn't going to hurt anyone, in fact it may have been injected with TCM, a mix of nitrates and salts that are dyed pink to preserve a pink color when finished cooking, even when its cooked to well done. but even if thats not true, pork now a days are so squeaky clean its not a good chance of it having anything bad in it

Answer 8

A little pink is okay. Overcooking pork is not very good taste wise. People say you should always make pork welldone because of trichinosis, but it can be killed at 140 degrees F.

Answer 9

No, both pork and chicken should be thoroughly cooked to prevent food poisoning - that means no pink. It needs to go back in the oven to cook for longer.