maybe bit old for weaning section but still... rare meat

[ladymixalot]

Apologies to any veggies - you may wish to look away now.

Ds is 19 months old and has the appetite of a small horse. Dh took him out for lunch last weekend and apparently as well as his own meal he gobbled down quite a lot of the steak on dh's plate (which was rare). I told dh off as I worry that ds is too young to cope with E-coli or whatever it is that can be in it (I know the chances are small). Now I am not worried atm as I am assuming that any ill effects would have shown up by now, but I do wonder about the earliest age you are supposed to let them have rare meat. It was good quality steak btw, no worries about dodgy sources or anything like that.

I'm afraid I gave my kids rare meat (never ground, always steaks or whatever, always good quality) from weaning. They aren't immunocompromised.

The thing is, e. coli etc tends to be on the outside, from handling etc, which is always well cooked. The rare inner bits are not exposed to these bacteria, from what I know.

I don't know what the chapter and verse is but I let DS have rare meat from about 12 months on.

I wouldn't give him steak tartare or anything hopping off the plate, and I pay attention to the source but I think that whether you trust the supplier or not is more relevant than the child's age.

Also of course how well the child is - I wouldn't give DS rare meat if he had a tummy upset.

NQC is spot on - burgers etc made from minced meat should always be done a bit longer as the inside has been 'handled', but rare steak should be fine

one of dd's first finger foods was medium-rare steak - she loved it and still does. Lots of iron too

DS much prefers rare steak to well done. I lovingly remember him sitting in a restaurant aged 7 months with a slice of steak in one hand and a chunky chip in the other, having the time of his life. We did get some very funny looks.

Rare steak is much more tender and easier to chew, anyway.

I have fond memories of both mine with blood running down their chins from steak. (Afraid I like mine properly blue!)

Oh, wonderful! I will apologise to dh then - and we'll go there for lunch all together as apparently the steak was amazing.
Thanks all.