Good sound advice.

One thing though: I am sure that freezing does NOT kill bacteria in meat. It
does kill larger rganisms such as trichanae (sp?) but not bacteria I am
pretty sure.

You are much better off if you get cuts of meat and cook them at home
compared to any restaurant...it is much safer.

--Richard


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stacie Tolen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2000 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: [P-F] New member, needs some tips.


> My first experience buying and making meats ( most previous experience
> has been in restaurants or with bacon / sausage / deli ) went badly,
> the cuts I got were so tough and rubbery my jaw hurt after eating.
> ( but they were cheap : )   ) , I wasn't
> sure how long to cook to get rid of bacteria, etc....
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
>
> Hi Sam,
> Perhaps you should want to avoid processed meats at least for a while, and
> stick to fresh lamb, bison, pork, etc. You can cut meat into small pieces
> and quickly stir-fry it, this is easier to chew.
>
> The quality and freshness of the meat affects it's flavor and texture, of
> course. I buy meat at Fresh Fields. Once I picked up a steak at Safeway,
and
> just about gagged on it it was so bad. So I stick to Fresh Fields' meat.
>
> I really like brisket, cooked slow in a 300-degree oven for several hours,
> it is very moist, tender, delicious and tastes great cold the next day
too.
>
> My mother I-L has been a vegetarian for about 10 years. It was difficult
for
> her to chew her cheap, overcooked meat so she stopped eating meat
> altogether. Now she has a great deal of pain if she tries to chew
anything.
> When she visits and I serve her meat (she likes the way I cook it), I
stick
> to ground meats or the most tender steaks. Also, if you have never tried
it,
> you should try fresh albacore sometime. Have them slice it nice and thick
> (about 2 inches) and sear it on the grill, leaving it a bit pink in the
> center. My MIL's favorite!
>
> If you are concerned about bacteria, you can do these two things: Store
meat
> in freezer for 30 days to kill bacteria. Thaw meat in refrigerator. Allow
to
> thaw completely. Wash meat well before cooking. Eat immediately after
> cooking. I have left meat pretty rare in the center and never had a
problem.
> I feed it to my kids too, I have no worries about e.coli etc. If you have
> any leftovers, and they are pretty rare, you should warm them throroughly
> before eating to kill any bacteria that may be present.
>
> There is a fascinating article about the discovery of an "ice age
> refrigerator", see
> http://www.discoveringarchaeology.com/webex/webex030900-iceage.shtml
> This article doesn't get into it, but when my husband read about this
> elsewhere (he can't remember where, maybe Discovery or SciAm?) it was
noted
> that though the meat (the experimental horse meat) was full of bacteria
once
> recovered from the icy water, it was completely safe to eat. Fisher even
> tried a piece, and did not get sick.
>
> The only time I have ever had an obvious case of food poisoning, I had
eaten
> a chicken burrito supreme (chicken, cheese, sour cream) from Taco Hell on
> Christmas Eve (on my way to NY for the holiday...I was one very sick gal
by
> that evening. I think the red wine I drank actually helped kill some of
the
> bacteria, because I did not DIE, though I felt like I would.) I can just
> imagine what this chicken burrito went through before I ate it. I never
> treat my food that way, and have never eaten fast food take out since.
>
> Salud,
> Stacie
>
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