JL21 wrote:I don't think the type of restaurant really matters. Rare or medium rare ground beef is a gamble that you're going to get some type of stomach issues, and I'm not just talking about an upset tummy. If you want to disagree with pretty much every single reputable source on the subject, then by all means- go ahead. Of course you're not going to run afoul of these stomach issues every single time. But the risk enhances greatly when you venture into the rare/medium rare category.
It doesn't have to be well-done but I'd argue that going with rare and gambling with things like e-coli is stupid, unsafe, whatever you want to call it. If someone wants to firebomb the hell out of the risk by having it well done, that's their choice. It's clearly not a problem for them to order their burger that way.
As for the "silliness" of what I'm saying, no, I don't think it's silly. Yes, O'Connells and plenty of other places have a great burger. These burgers are definitely better and more flavorful than any number of other places. But in terms of flavor, burger is pretty low on the list compared to, say, steak. If you're concerned about getting more flavor to the point that you eat ground beef rare, you can probably save yourself the trouble and just get a steak. You can even order it rare without anywhere near the same risks that you incur with ground beef.
The type of restaurant makes a huge difference - different quality meat = different levels of bacterial risk. And it goes without saying that restaurants store their meat in different ways that also effect bacterial growth.
I never once argued that ordering hamburger under well done wasn't a risk - so I'm certainly not disagree with the experts - I'm only saying that in the big picture that risk is a minor one. I don't consider eating a pink hamburger "gambling with my health", if I'm comfortable with the circumstances. Am I risking infection? Certainly. Is that risk a great one? I don't consider it to be.
It does have to be well done according to every reputable health source if you're talking about fully eliminating bacterial risk (160 degrees must be reached, and that's well done). If you order anything but well done you're risking infection.
No one here is a talking about rare ground beef, so I'm not exactly why you keep taking it to that extreme...
Listen, eating sushi is risky, eating raw oysters is risky, eating produce is risky, even eating a medium-well hamburger is risky... hell, ordering a well done hamburger is risky (how do YOU know it reached 160 degrees?), but any health expert out there isn't going to tell you to stop eating those things, only to use a little common sense. What they'll probably tell you is that the risks of a high fat diet are FAR more deadly than a random bacterial infection.
