Top 10 Mistakes! Cooking & Grilling Beef
- Over cooking steaks!
- Undercooking ground beef.
- Smashing your burgers with your spatula.
- Salting your steak BEFORE it is cooked.
- Placing your burgers or steaks on a cold grill.
- Defrost your beef in a microwave — DON’T!
- Using a fork to flip your steak
- Marinating meat in an attempt to create tenderness.
- Providing your family and guests with dull steak knives!
- Cutting into your steak to check for doneness
- Over cooking steaks! It’s ok to prefer your beef to be completely cooked. However, cooking beyond medium-rare toughens any steak cut and typically removes all the juiciness and flavor! Internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit should be the limit, use a meat thermometer—to use, grab the steak with tongs and lift it a few inches off the fire, then insert a “quick read” meat thermometer in the steak from the side.
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- Undercooking ground beef. Ground Beef merits some special considerations. The bacteria present on the surface of meat are distributed throughout the entire mixture as the beef is ground. For food safety reasons, ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
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- Smashing your burgers with your spatula. Ok, admit it. You’ve smashed your burgers in the past in an effort to shorten the cooking time. The problem is you are pressing out the juices and the flavor! Our pre-made lean burger patties maintain a perfect shape and thickness during grilling.
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- Salting your steak BEFORE it is cooked. Salt pulls out the juices! Wait until your steak is cooked before adding the salt.
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- Placing your burgers or steaks on a grill that has not reached a hot temperature! Be sure the coals are medium ash (approximate 30 minutes after lighting) and at their maximum heat BEFORE you begin grilling. You will be glad you did!
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- Defrost your beef in a microwave — DON’T DO IT! Defrosting in a microwave inevitably cooks the outer edges of your beef and contributes to unevenness in the texture and flavor — and will most likely leave you with a tough piece of beef!
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- Using a fork to flip your steak instead of tongs releases the juiciness from the beef each time you pierce your meat with a fork.
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- Marinating meat in an attempt to create tenderness. Marinades will not turn a tough piece of meat into a tender steak. Marinades are best used to add flavor.
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- Providing your family and guests with dull steak knives! A dull knife can convince the user he/she has a tough steak!
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- Cutting into your steak to check for doneness—releasing the juices! Use a meat thermometer (see mistake #1) to test for doneness.
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