Burgers

[plug]

I just read an article that in Canada you can only get a burger well done. Is this a real thing?

[lobo1969]

I just read an article that in Canada you can only get a burger well done. Is this a real thing?

Yes.... this Reddit quote explains it best:

"Food safety guidlines are set by provinces and municipalities, but as far was I'm aware, everywhere in Canada there are rules that ground beef has to be cooked to 71 degrees to kill off any harmful bacteria, specifically e-colli.

In the states they get around this because most menus have a disclaimer about undercooked foods may be harmful. In Canada, that's not allowed."

It's a quirk of Canadian food bylaws that everyone follows and rarely questions though I'm sure if you went to a higher end dining establishment and asked for your burger MEDIUM RARE than the chief may accommodate you.

When most Canadians travel to the USA and order a burger for the first time they almost get alarmed that having ground beef patties cooked to optional doneness is an actual thing, lol.

[Axeman33]

I just read an article that in Canada you can only get a burger well done. Is this a real thing?

Thankfully yes.

[dejeanneret]

That's how the idea for hockey pucks was born

[finnys_fanatsy]

That's how the idea for hockey pucks was born

Lol. That a whole Nuther level of well done. I can easily cook a burger to done and be juicy. Not that big of a deal. I do however like my steaks Med. anything more is just nutty.

[Axeman33]

Lol. That a whole Nuther level of well done. I can easily cook a burger to done and be juicy. Not that big of a deal. I do however like my steaks Med. anything more is just nutty.

Agreed with all of this.

[2014olympicgold]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aE6...fastTelevision

Imagine getting slipped a waiver while you are about to eat a burger lol.

I also (being from Ontario) have never understood eating a burger medium/medium rare. I've been at restaurants in Ontario and have been asked "bit of pink in the middle ok with you?" so I'm guessing this is the legal loophole for places to cook something under 71C.

[PenguinHunter]

Lol. That a whole Nuther level of well done. I can easily cook a burger to done and be juicy. Not that big of a deal. I do however like my steaks Med. anything more is just nutty.

Yup, exactly.

I wonder if you can order Hamburger Helper at different levels of doneness as well!

[2014olympicgold]

Yup, exactly.

I wonder if you can order Hamburger Helper at different levels of doneness as well!

Go to Taco Bell and ask for their beef to be cooked medium lol. Or even cooking ground beef tacos to medium (bit of pink) would be a hilarious concept.

[PenguinHunter]

Go to Taco Bell and ask for their beef to be cooked medium lol. Or even cooking ground beef tacos to medium (bit of pink) would be a hilarious concept.

Yes!! That's a way better example than the Hamburger Helper one I came up with.

I guess it just goes to show that I have never eaten at a Taco Bell.

[2014olympicgold]

Yes!! That's a way better example than the Hamburger Helper one I came up with.

I guess it just goes to show that I have never eaten at a Taco Bell.

I haven't either haha. But I do eat ground beef tacos and just thought of taco bell haha.

And I do get like the culinary science behind grinding really good beef fresh, and that the potential of harmful bacteria being present is lower in that than low grade scraps that Taco Bell uses, or not freshly ground beef. But it's just the idea of a medium rare burger...blah.

[joe jones]

This is accurate only with respect to ground beef. Some place will do a medium rare burger but it is ground up steak.

[2014olympicgold]

This is accurate only with respect to ground beef. Some place will do a medium rare burger but it is ground up steak.

This is kind of not the reasoning. Bacteria grows on the outside of food. A steak has 6 outside parts, so you kill the bacteria on the outside instantly. Ground beef, you're taking that outside bacteria and distributing it throughout the meat.

The food sanitation of handling a piece of steak is also much better than ground beef. Just the handling and things that touch ground beef make the exposure to bacteria exponentially higher. If you have scraps, it's been handled more, sat out longer, smaller pieces means more surface are which means more bacteria.

However, food safety is more "put a seatbelt on" than "don't shoot yourself in the head". It's about doing as much as possible to avoid getting sick, but you can do everything right, and still end up sick.