On Sat, 9 Sep 2000 12:52:37 EDT Denise LePage <[log in to unmask]>
writes:

> I use my microwave to reheat meats but not cook them, since I like
> my meat
> browned.  Not that this makes any difference one way or another to
> the debate. :)

I am amazed that anybody is taking Siobhan seriously about these
allegations, or continuing to try to get her to make sensible
substantiation...

There is one, and only one important point to consider about cooking
fresh meat in a microwave oven.  That is that in a very thick piece of
meat, heating can be uneven enough to allow some parts of the meat to
remain at an "unsafe" temperature (in terms of current public health
guidelines...) while some or even most of the meat is "fully cooked."
Even using a temperature probe, or "instant read" thermometer would
not
necessarily identify this unless you happened to stab the right
spot(s).

While I don't like cooking most fresh meat in a microwave for esthetic
reasons, there are ways to prevent this problem.  One is to move the
food
around in the oven several times during the cooking (even if it's on a
turntable).  Elevating the food by an inch or two (with an inverted
plate
or other microwave-safe container) will also help by allowing greater
exposure of the bottom of the food to the microwave energy.  Another
is
to cook at a reduced power level, microwaves only penetrate about one
inch into meat, so any parts deeper than that will be cooked by
conduction of heat from the surface.  Using lower power will allow
more
time for this conduction heating to take place, which will help to
assure
even cooking.  This second method has a further benefit of eliminating
the toughness that can result from the rapid cooking of a microwave.
For
the best results, raw meat should never be cooked at over 50% power in
a
normal consumer type microwave oven.

An exception to all this is moist cooking like a pot roast, which
might
be done in a covered dish or "oven bag."  The added liquid, confined
"steam," and slightly longer cooking times will make it highly
unlikely
that any part of the meat would remain "under cooked" once the meat
was
cooked enough to pass the conventional "fork" test for doneness.