# Burger season is getting here again



## culpepersmoke (Apr 1, 2021)

I've always cooked burgers to 155 - 160 degrees internal. My wife prefers them to be thick and  medium rare around 135-140 which I've always considered unsafe. She will point out all the cooking shows on the food network (DDD, GGG and chopped) where they are serving clearly mid rare burgers with judges saying it was a perfectly cooked.
I never have a good answer for her except things like "everything i've read says..... ".  Clearly when you are grinding the meat any bacteria on the surface of the meat is going to be introduced throughout but is this something that is such a low risk that food experts are willing to overlook? Am I being overly cautious?


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## normanaj (Apr 1, 2021)

When it comes to burgers I like just a hint of pink.


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## gmc2003 (Apr 1, 2021)

As long as you cook it at temps above 225* and bring it to 140* you should be fine. My wife and I also like some pink in our burgers.

Chris

Edit: with hamburgers, meatloaf and such go straight from the fridge to the grill. They do not need to sit on the counter prior to cooking.


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## SmokinAl (Apr 1, 2021)

Have you ever heard of tartar. It’s raw beef. We like our burgers rare & rarely cook then past 125-130. Don’t know if it’s safe, but I do grind my own from brisket, so I know what’s in the burger. The best burger I ever had was when I used 2 1/2 lbs. of ground brisket & 1 1/2 lbs of ground pork belly. Ground them together & made 6 oz burgers. They were so greasy, that I cooked them to medium, had Swiss cheese on top too. The ultimate greasy cheeseburger!!
Al


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## SmokinVOLfan (Apr 1, 2021)

I love a good med rare burger as long as its decent meat. Usually cook mine to 145. That's where all the flavor is. 

 sawhorseray
 has put out some of the best burgers I have seen and they are all cooked perfectly. Maybe he can chime in.


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## sawhorseray (Apr 1, 2021)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> I love a good med rare burger as long as its decent meat. Usually cook mine to 145. That's where all the flavor is.
> 
> sawhorseray
> has put out some of the best burgers I have seen and they are all cooked perfectly. Maybe he can chime in.



Why thank you John! I did just run a 13 pound brisket through my grinder two days ago, turned out to be almost six pounds of fat I had to toss, bad deal. I did a 3/4 pound bacon cheeseburger on my flattop last night for dinner, hit the spot. I don't like them overcooked, never had a problem. RAY


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## Murray (Apr 1, 2021)

SmokinAl said:


> Have you ever heard of tartar. It’s raw beef. We like our burgers rare & rarely cook then past 125-130. Don’t know if it’s safe, but I do grind my own from brisket, so I know what’s in the burger. The best burger I ever had was when I used 2 1/2 lbs. of ground brisket & 1 1/2 lbs of ground pork belly. Ground them together & made 6 oz burgers. They were so greasy, that I cooked them to medium, had Swiss cheese on top too. The ultimate greasy cheeseburger!!
> Al


Perfect cure for a hangover


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## bregent (Apr 1, 2021)

I like thick burgers medium rare - again one of the benefits of grinding your own is that they should be safer because you can cook them much sooner after grinding and you control the cleanliness of your equipment. 
Smash burgers you can cook more well done. Because they cook so quickly, they stay juicy even when cooked to higher temp.


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## robrpb (Apr 1, 2021)

Nothing like a good cheeseburger.


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## rc4u (Apr 1, 2021)

i grind my own burgers so i worry not!! whole roll chuck cyros about 19# cut a few steaks off n ground the rest. they get cheaper in a month, always in spring


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## Smoking Allowed (Apr 1, 2021)

If it's burger that I've ground, no problem with med-rare to rare, because I know what's in it. Never at a restaurant regardless, it's got to be done....


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## smokeymose (Apr 1, 2021)

Never thought about taking the temp of a burger. Toss em on a hot grill and when they look good on the outside take em off. We don't care for well done beef.
We like a little warm pink, just like a steak. Been doing it that way for years and we still breathe....


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