How to be sure meat, poultry, and fish is thoroughly cooked?

Question

I always cook meat thoroughly but lately for some reason my husband always believes that its undercooked and wont eat it, no matter how long i cook it.

I know that i am cooking it thoroughly?? When I cook ground beef, I get all of the pink out of it and get it evenly dark brown all around. When I make chicken I make sure the inside is white and you can peel it apart with your fingers. When I cook fish, I cook it until its nice and flaky. Isnt this right?? I'm confused.

Thanks for the helpful answers. My husband is a sweet wonderful guy, and he's not a germaphobic person in the least, so I dont know why he's worried so much about the meat but i'm sure he has a good reason. :-)

Answer 1

i think that the way that you handle the meat, from purchase to serving it is really important. cooking a piece of meat to the correct temperature that might have been mishandled prior to cooking might not be enough to make it safe to eat. if it's frozen, make sure it's thawed under cold running water, in the refrigerator(the best way), or in the microwave(the worst way, but still safe). if it's fresh check for appearance and smell. if it is overly slimy, or smells funny take it back, or throw it out. it's important to note though, that meat can still look and smell fine, but be contaminated. these are just strong warning signs. so if it looks good and smells good, then cooking it to the correct temperature will do the trick. make sure though to wash hands, utensils and cutting boards that have touched the raw meat before using them again to touch the cooked meat. a thermometer that's calibrated(reads 32 degrees in a cup of half ice/half water) will help. but, make sure for small pieces of meat like a fish filet, burger, or chicken breast for example, that you shoot for about 5 degrees below the desired temperature. the reason is that everything continues to cook even after you remove it from the heat source. small pieces like those will only go up around 5 degrees before cooling. larger roasts and whole birds will continue to go up around 10 to 15 degrees after pulling them away from the heat. lastly, let the meats rest for a couple of minutes before cutting into them. if you cut into something right out of the oven or out of the pan, a lot of the juices that keep it tender will run right out.

Answer 2

.What you need is an instant read thermometer not a meat thermometer and calibrate it as Art described.
Since fish can be eaten raw what degree you cook it to is entirely up to you
The same goes with steaks
American farm raised pork can be cooked to155 and then allow carry-over cooking bring it up to temp
Because of the peculiarities of a birds reproductive/ digest systems and the conditions that they're raised in chickens must be cooked to 165
All ground meat products must also be cooked to 165. One part of the reason that that temp is necessary is that it's called ground beef, not ground steak and contaminants can be on the meat itself .The other part is that the actual grinding process offers many opportunities for cross contamination to occur. The machinery for grinding may not have been cleaned properly or the guy handling the meat didn't wash his hands when he got done using the toilet-that is usually the reason for most E.Coli outbreaks.

Answer 3

Get a meat thermometer. It will show the different kinds of meat..roast pork, chicken, beef, etc. and the temp. for when that food is fully cooked. Then after cooking, stick in the thermometer, if the temp. comes up to or above the correct temp. then it is fully cooked. Ask your husband if that would be proof enough, and if so..that sounds like an easy way to do it. And meat thermometers are found in most stores incl. Walmart, for about $5.00. Good luck. :)

Answer 4

Try investing in a 'digital' food thermometer(around 12-16 bucks)

Cook or roast meats:
beef....150-160*
pork.....155-165*
fish........145-150*
chicken..165-175 )same w/ turkey)

Note most large roasts like prime rib or pork roasts continue to cook after you pull them from the oven.Just set them on the counter for 15-20 min and let them rest.Then slice.

If the thermometer is accurate,you should cook all foods to their perfect temp.

Hope this helped.

Answer 5

Chicken must be cooked to at least 165 degrees. Beef 165 fish i believe is 155 is usually cook all the 165 to amke sure it is safe.

Answer 6

One way to make sure is to make sure that the oven temperature is above 150 atleast (which isnt that hard to do cuz u do it anyway with meat) and you seem to be doing a fine job. I dont know about your husband. How does he know that it is undercooked or why does he believe that? If you cook all the pink out it should be fine

Answer 7

temperature tells the tale. Invest in a quality food thermometer (you can get one at any good kitchen store) and you will know, for sure, your food is cooked to the proper degree...

you, by the way, are right on your estimations, but to make your husband less paranoid - get the thermometer.

Does he cover his toothbrush in saran wrap too, to avoid germs from when you flush the toilet? LOL

Answer 8

every thing if cook more than 1 hour under high fire is consider cooked.the flesh of fish will stick together if not thoroughly cooked.u can't chew the meat if uncooked.

Answer 9

Since your husband seems to know so much about cooking- maybe HE should take over that job. Afterall, it's a LOT easier to complain about the food- than it is to make it yourself. :)

Answer 10

just get a meat thermometer and he will have nothing to say