Pink burger

[Catastropheeee]

Please help settle an argument.

DH just cooked burgers and I noticed part-way through dinner that 5 year old DSs was pink on the inside.

I mentioned it was pink and DH said it would be fine. I disagreed and DH got all defensive saying they're always like that and we've eaten them pink before (not me, I have my steak well done!) and it would be fine.

I said I'd rather he didn't eat any more and got up to make something else for DS and DH said I was being ridiculous.

So MN jury, would you serve your kids pink-in-the-middle burgers, and AIBU for not wanting to??

no I wouldn't serve them to anyone or eat them myself.

We always have pink burgers.

Yes I would serve them
Yes you're being U
I'm not surprised your DH was cross.

All the people who like their steak rare, medium rare and medium are eating 'pink in the middle'. It's OK, really it is!

My understanding is that steak is fine to eat rare because the dangerous germs etc are on the outside so cooking the outside kills them. Burgers on the other hand have been minced so the germs are now all in and around the burger so the burger needs to be cooked through

Just a matter of taste. Pink in the middle burgers aren't harmful, and wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Bit like rare steak, I suppose.

If the burger is homemade with quality meat then pink is fine. A supermarket burger served pink is absolutely not nice

That was my point to DH. Steak is ok (although I don't like it) rare/medium rare as it's a single cut of meat and any bacteria is on the surface, but minced meat in burgers means bacteria can be all the way through, and more thorough cooking is required.

Gormet burger kitchen always serve pink, it says on the bottom of the menu that they’re pink unless you ask otherwise. I had to have mine well done when I was pregnant but otherwise yeah always pink!

Steak is fine pink but burgers need to be cooked through so I would have dinged a pink burger so my DC could continue to eat it. The meat inside steaks has not been exposed to air and bacteria the meat inside burgers has and in rare cases can be extremely dangerous. I recall a burger chain had to pay huge damages to a customer with kidney failure.

If it was beef then I would hate it if it was brown - too overcooked. Pink is how it should be in the middle unless you like it done to death! (But obviously other meats like chicken should be cooked through)

Steak yes, burger no.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37174082

No it's not safe pink. As others have said, it's not the same as a steak because the beef is minced so all areas are potentially covered in bacteria.

My DH is a vet and knows what bacteria inhabit which animal species. He would NEVER eat a pink burger. (I know this because he's sent them back in restaurants before).

I know it's "trendy" to eat them rare. But it's not safe. Especially for children.

(for a proper burger obviously, not a supermarket one)

Was it a frozen burger? If not I can’t see a problem with pink.

You’d faint flat if you saw the ribeye DS ate last night. You could hear gentle mooing.

It depends on where you got the meat - I like my burgers pink so we mince our own meat. Also it depends on the temperature inside as well if its 160 its fine

But if its a packet of mince or bought burgers I wouldnt - steak is completely different - you need to cook the area that has been in contact with air at any point fine for steak different for mince

Tough one, some burgers you can eat rare if they are freshly done. Were hours fresh? I mean, streak minced at home?

I agree Dogsrbarking but I wouldn’t have made something else and I would have eaten it myself.

Unless I had reason to believe the meat was actually off I would eat it. I think your reaction was OTT and his reaction was in response to that. Although you were technically right

Yes if it's good quality meat. Our local Byron Burger always serves pink and you have to ask for well done if you want it.

Eating steak rare and eating burgers rare are completely different things unless is fresh mince!

I know I am a bit prone to catastrophic thinking, that's why I've asked MN.

Restaurants have to ensure cooking methods for pink meat ensure a certain temperature is reached (which kills off any bacteria present), but at home we don't do that obviously.

DH and I have both worked in very similar professions linked to food production and safety, but have very different attitudes to these things regardless of having the same education/qualifications!

Pink and sometimes just shy of bloody if not pregnant. Taste is far, far superior.

Steak yes, burgers have to be cooked through to prevent food poisoning. However if someone prefers their burger pink it's their choice and a risk they take. I do believe it's only a small risk, but a risk nevertheless.

Burgers need to be cooked through.

YANBU.

Steak and mince are not the same.