Recently after talking to my dad about an excellent burger that I got at a local restaurant, my dad told me that " You really should get your burger cooked more than medium-rare." I told him that I am perfectly fine with my burger the way it is and if I get sick than it is my own fault, but I will still continue to order it that way even afterwards because it tastes so much better.
It got me thinking and I figured I would pose the question to "Burger Authority"; have your ever gotten sick from ordering an "undercooked" burger or do you ever wonder if it could happen to you?
--Josh "Loving the Medium-Rare" S.
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Dear Josh "Loving the Medium-Rare" S.,
Oh yeah. I even remember the burger and the place (Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta). Raw in the middle, and around 12 hours later I had the second worst gastrointestinal distress I've ever had. Got diagnosed as salmonella.
Still get ill thinking about Hard Rock Cafe burgers.
NO. I don't eat hamburgers that are half raw. Took one back at McDonald's once. Just before, I heard the punk kid cook yelling about a special order- "What the hell is this, Grill Night!" They took my burger and the kitchen crew gathered around it and laughed while the space cadet that took our order danced with a broom behind the counter.
I'm a medium-rare guy and so far the only burger that ever made me sick was from Wendy's. And they don't serve their burgers any less than "almost black."
Once as a kid, before a family drive to Las Vegas, my mother got me Carl's Jr. as a "treat." I ate about half the thing before realizing the center was totally raw and cold. This was during the e.coli scare on the West Coast. About 10 minutes into our drive I began to feel ill, and was laying down in our mini-van's back seat. I tried to relieve some of the pressure in my stomach by letting out a little gas and it came out wet. I let out a panicked yell to my parents: "I think I soiled me trousers!" I was a a weird kid. After buying me new underwear, my parents drove me as far as Baker before calling a hospital which said I showed all the signs of e.coli. My parents decided to see how I was faring once in Vegas. I'm somehow still here.
The worst case of food poisoning I ever had was from a plate of nachos. Worst day of my life...England went out of the World Cup, I was up all night being not very well, and I had to cancel a trip to Italy because of my gastro-intestinal distress. Anything can give you food poisoning. Take simple precautions and otherwise don't worry about it.
About 15 years ago, I got food poisoning from a burger I ordered at a Friendly's. The problem wasn't the meat, it was the mayo that had sat out all day. I was in so much pain that I thought I was going to die. Never ordered any regular food from them again (ice cream is ok). I typically get all my burgers medium-rare and have never got anything bad from the meat. However, I try to only go to reputable places.
Oddly enough, mayo isn't responsible for many cases of food poisoning. The vinegar is enough to kill most microbes. The problem generally is with the things people mix in with the mayo...eggs, chicken, ham. I'm not saying mayo shouldn't be kept cold, but it gets a bad rap.
Red Robin will let you order a burger pink or well done. I got the burger pink and spent the afternoon worshiping the porcelain gods. After that I would go back with co workers but this one time when I ordered a well done burger it came out pink. Only time I have ever sent food back...
funny story, i was in my early teens still living in israel and my family went on vacation to Eilat, it wasa nice 5 hour drive from my home 20km north of tel aviv to eilat, 2 and a half of those straight line through the desert,
now as i was leaving, i started getting snotty and insisting on eating a burger before we get on the road, we stopped in a local isareli burger chain called burger ranch, and i had a normal burger, and off we were on our way, 30 minutes later, we were stopping every 10 minutes so i could have a puke, add to that, that our means of travel was a mitsibishi lancer Evo going at 110 MPH and you dont get a pretty picture,
Maybe I missed one or two, but most of the people who seemed to get sick from a burger, got sick from a burger made at a chain/fast food place...did anyone else catch this? Obviously that isn't the case with everyone, as I am sure that there are people who have gotten food poisoning from the fanciest places. But, it would be interesting to see if there is any correlation. If you order a rare or med-rare burger from a fast food/chain place are you more likely to get sick than if you ordered a burger the same way from an upscale dining restaurant?
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Recently after talking to my dad about an excellent burger that I got at a local restaurant, my dad told me that " You really should get your burger cooked more than medium-rare." I told him that I am perfectly fine with my burger the way it is and if I get sick than it is my own fault, but I will still continue to order it that way even afterwards because it tastes so much better.
22 Comments:
The only time I've ever gotten gotten sick from eating a burger was at a Hardee's in the early 80's. I solved that problem by never going there again.
Gregg at 3:15PM on 06/29/09
Sorry, im a medium kinda girl! Only sick from bad chicken at fast food!
Lvn4life at 3:24PM on 06/29/09
Oh yeah. I even remember the burger and the place (Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta). Raw in the middle, and around 12 hours later I had the second worst gastrointestinal distress I've ever had. Got diagnosed as salmonella.
Still get ill thinking about Hard Rock Cafe burgers.
kaszeta at 4:52PM on 06/29/09
NO. I don't eat hamburgers that are half raw. Took one back at McDonald's once. Just before, I heard the punk kid cook yelling about a special order- "What the hell is this, Grill Night!" They took my burger and the kitchen crew gathered around it and laughed while the space cadet that took our order danced with a broom behind the counter.
mrbadideasdotcom at 5:00PM on 06/29/09
Same as Adam: double nope!
Robyn Lee at 5:15PM on 06/29/09
I'm a medium-rare guy and so far the only burger that ever made me sick was from Wendy's. And they don't serve their burgers any less than "almost black."
Spanno at 5:44PM on 06/29/09
Once as a kid, before a family drive to Las Vegas, my mother got me Carl's Jr. as a "treat." I ate about half the thing before realizing the center was totally raw and cold. This was during the e.coli scare on the West Coast. About 10 minutes into our drive I began to feel ill, and was laying down in our mini-van's back seat. I tried to relieve some of the pressure in my stomach by letting out a little gas and it came out wet. I let out a panicked yell to my parents: "I think I soiled me trousers!" I was a a weird kid. After buying me new underwear, my parents drove me as far as Baker before calling a hospital which said I showed all the signs of e.coli. My parents decided to see how I was faring once in Vegas. I'm somehow still here.
thesteveroller at 5:55PM on 06/29/09
Wait...they actually cook meat at McDonald's?
UncleDave at 6:42PM on 06/29/09
Nope I also only eat burgers med.
pjracz10 at 8:23PM on 06/29/09
I don't think any beef products (steak or burgers) should be ordered over medium or medium well if you want the best flavor!
Rare to med rare is asking for trouble nowadays!
jlew911 at 10:33PM on 06/29/09
The worst case of food poisoning I ever had was from a plate of nachos. Worst day of my life...England went out of the World Cup, I was up all night being not very well, and I had to cancel a trip to Italy because of my gastro-intestinal distress. Anything can give you food poisoning. Take simple precautions and otherwise don't worry about it.
NotAmerican at 12:41AM on 06/30/09
About 15 years ago, I got food poisoning from a burger I ordered at a Friendly's. The problem wasn't the meat, it was the mayo that had sat out all day. I was in so much pain that I thought I was going to die. Never ordered any regular food from them again (ice cream is ok). I typically get all my burgers medium-rare and have never got anything bad from the meat. However, I try to only go to reputable places.
brashdom at 7:49AM on 06/30/09
McDonalds did to me once when I was a kid, 1990. Back before anyone really knew about e-coli. I was sick for about a week.
EazyB at 5:11PM on 06/30/09
Oddly enough, mayo isn't responsible for many cases of food poisoning. The vinegar is enough to kill most microbes. The problem generally is with the things people mix in with the mayo...eggs, chicken, ham. I'm not saying mayo shouldn't be kept cold, but it gets a bad rap.
NotAmerican at 2:41AM on 07/01/09
Red Robin will let you order a burger pink or well done. I got the burger pink and spent the afternoon worshiping the porcelain gods. After that I would go back with co workers but this one time when I ordered a well done burger it came out pink. Only time I have ever sent food back...
MadDogCO at 10:39AM on 07/01/09
funny story, i was in my early teens still living in israel and my family went on vacation to Eilat, it wasa nice 5 hour drive from my home 20km north of tel aviv to eilat, 2 and a half of those straight line through the desert,
now as i was leaving, i started getting snotty and insisting on eating a burger before we get on the road, we stopped in a local isareli burger chain called burger ranch, and i had a normal burger, and off we were on our way, 30 minutes later, we were stopping every 10 minutes so i could have a puke, add to that, that our means of travel was a mitsibishi lancer Evo going at 110 MPH and you dont get a pretty picture,
Aevum at 11:02AM on 07/01/09
Yup... RARE in The West Villiage NYC....
burgerboy at 1:42PM on 07/01/09
Been eating ground beef very rare to medium rare my whole life. Never have had a problem [/knock wood].
Amandarama at 5:20PM on 07/01/09
I've never gotten sick from a pink burger. The only food poisoning I've had was from a raw (previously frozen) scallop.
Sakura at 6:23PM on 07/02/09
Yes, got sick at camp on spoiled burger. Haven't eated an even "pink" burger since. Do you think it's all in my mind???
duncan1205 at 4:20PM on 07/03/09
Maybe I missed one or two, but most of the people who seemed to get sick from a burger, got sick from a burger made at a chain/fast food place...did anyone else catch this? Obviously that isn't the case with everyone, as I am sure that there are people who have gotten food poisoning from the fanciest places. But, it would be interesting to see if there is any correlation. If you order a rare or med-rare burger from a fast food/chain place are you more likely to get sick than if you ordered a burger the same way from an upscale dining restaurant?
milkyway4679 at 4:26PM on 07/03/09
Nah..I never get sick, partially due to the hot sauce I usually douch my burgers in. Kills all the bad stuff.
burgerbanquet at 12:32PM on 07/05/09