Why it's safe to cook poultry to a lower temp with sous vide

[TentHunteR]

Anything cooked at 130F and above can be made safe to eat if in the bath long enough.

Most important you can safely eat a med-rare ground burger.

Actually, ground meat, and cold-smoked meats carry some additional risks (especially cold-smoked ground meat), and requires some different temps. This is because of the temperatures required to deactivate possible toxin from C. Botulinum spores - not the bacteria.

At Tim's request, I have gathered research and am getting ready to do a post on this.

[muebe]

Any meat that has been left out long enough to grow bacteria or is already contaminated cannot be made safe to eat by any form of cooking. As with any form of cooking safe handling of food is required.

So jn other words anything you would not cook conventionally due to possible contamination should also not be cooked Sous Vide. Things you buy from the store can be unsafe to eat already.

When in doubt throw it out.

[TentHunteR]

Mike, you are absolutely right; if you suspect that any food is contaminated beyond safe levels, no matter what the cooking method, then it should be discarded.

But, my point was that ground meat, and uncured cold-smoked whole cuts of meat can carry ADDITIONAL risks not taken into account in the sous vide time/temp tables that we've seen.

Again, are we being overly cautious?  Perhaps, but our main goal for this is that we want folks to be safe!

[muebe]

I have been sick before from eating a under cooked ground beef burger from a restaurant. I asked for medium rare and it was cooked medium rare. The burger was grilled like any other burger but I ended up getting sick anyway. So I would trust a properly cooked Sous Vide burger over a regular grilled burger any day.

For those who are a little confused about the way thermal transfer is different between water and air just think of it this way. Boiling water is at 212F. If you boil something it cooks much faster than 212F air temperature. If you stick your hand in boiling water you will instantly be burned. 212F air would take awhile. This is due to the thermal transfer of liquid is much faster than air. So Sous Vide does not require the higher temps needed to bring the internal temperature of the meat to target temperature. It also brings the temp up fairly quickly. The key is exposing the meat to the temperature long enough to kill any bacteria and get the texture that you want.

I know Sous Vide goes against everything we were taught about safe cooking methods but it is an entirely different way to cook.

I look forward to Cliff's research and information he will provide to this forum.

[drholly]

For those who are a little confused about the way thermal transfer is different between water and air just think of it this way. Boiling water is at 212F. If you boil something it cooks much faster than 212F air temperature. If you stick your hand in boiling water you will instantly be burned. 212F air would take awhile. This is due to the thermal transfer of liquid is much faster than air. So Sous Vide does not require the higher temps needed to bring the internal temperature of the meat to target temperature. It also brings the temp up fairly quickly. The key is exposing the meat to the temperature long enough to kill any bacteria and get the texture that you want.

I look forward to Cliff's research and information he will provide to this forum.

muebe - one of the best explanations / demonstrations of the unique feature of sous vide cooking. Makes it easy for even me to understand.

I'm looking forward to Cliff's write up as well.

Thanks!

[spuds]

sparky, sparky, sparky... We buy you books and we buy you books and all you do is look at the pictures and eat the pages.

heh, I have feelings ya know.  it was funny though.   

[spuds]

I know Sous Vide goes against everything we were taught about safe cooking methods but it is an entirely different way to cook.

Im discovering the same thing in food,nutrition and health.What we think we know,and what weve been taught.... that is wrong....well,there is a Lot of that in life apparently.

A friend said...I try to learn something every day....good advice.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

[Las Vegan Cajun]

I know Sous Vide goes against everything we were taught about safe cooking methods but it is an entirely different way to cook.

Im discovering the same thing in food,nutrition and health.What we think we know,and what weve been taught.... that is wrong....well,there is a Lot of that in life apparently.

A friend said...I try to learn something every day....good advice.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Ain't that the trurth!!!