Here’s something you may not know about the steaks you buy at the store. Many of them are mechanically pounded to make them more tender. Sounds like a good thing, right? Well here’s the problem:
When meat is mechanically tenderized, they use tiny blades to break the meat’s muscle fibers. These blades can drive pathogens like E. coli deep into the meat. So deep, in fact, that just throwing the steaks on your grill is not enough to kill the pathogens.
Indeed, there have been numerous E. coli outbreaks attributed to mechanically tenderized meat. They have left hundreds of people sick and even killed people.
As a result, the FDA has mandated that all mechanically tenderized meat be labeled as such. So if the label on your meat says it’s mechanically tenderized, here are 3 ways to make sure you’re safe.
If you don’t like to marinate your meat, do not eat it rare or medium rare. Make sure you cook it to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees to kill all the bacteria.
If you like a good marinade, try a whiskey marinade. Not only will it add to the flavor of the steak, it will also kill the bacteria. I like to pull on the meat and stretch it while it’s in the marinade to get the whiskey down into the meat.
You can also add some spice to your marinade. One study showed that the best spices were garlic, onion, allspice, and oregano (they kill everything). The study also found that thyme, cinnamon, tarragon, and cumin could kill up to 80% of bacteria.
You can also add hot peppers and chilies, which kill about 75% of bacteria. I’ve always found it interesting that countries with the hottest climates almost always add hot peppers to their meats.
Whether you use spices, whiskey, or a combination, make sure you marinate your steak for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before cooking. That gives the marinade time to soak into the steak and kill all the bacteria inside.
Finally, if you like your steaks rare or medium rare and don’t want to use a whiskey marinade, buy your steaks at your local butcher instead. Local butchers cut and tenderize meat by hand.