And that’s why I said I like my fish dishes hot and cooked through (or sushi from a reputable place). Heat to 145F or higher kills fish worms; unfortunately, not all freezing does. My child was recently traumatized when a live worm poked out of a piece of cod that she bough frozen and defrosted for cooking She made pasta for dinner that day.
I use sous vide for certain dishes so I tend to be precise in terms of how I like things done.
Steak at 130-132F, when I’m ordering in a restaurant I describe it as medium rare and confirm with the server that means “warm red center”. Fattier steaks are better at slightly higher temps, so ribeye at 132, NY strip at 130.
Salmon I cook to 123F, that’s a slightly pink center with a moist, flaky texture.
Pork I want falling off the bone, e.g. ribs, pulled pork, etc, so color isn’t a factor. If I need a knife then never then never mind, I’ll have something else.
Burgers I would love dark pink but I really don’t trust ground beef so I order medium-well.
Eggs I like with the yolk intact, with a roughly over-medium or poached texture, lightly-set yolk. Similar to what you get with a good ramen. Around 146F for those keeping track.
Properly freezing fish is just as safe as properly cooking fish for killing parasites.
My favorite way to cook pork is to sous vide pork tenderloin, a nice tender pink (plus I can just throw it in the shrink wrap frozen or defrosted into the pot).
Sure. Did I not say so?
My point is: if you are buying frozen fish, you don’t know if it is ok to eat raw without further heat treatment or freezing. Besides, fresh fish properly cooked tastes so much better than same fish that was frozen and cooked after defrosting.
Do we need a new thread on killing parasites🤣
The key is “properly”. Home freezers typically do not get cold enough. Example from Canadian requirements for safe sushi fish:
(-4°F) or below for 7 days (total time), or freezing at -35°C (-31°F) or below until solid and storing at -35°C (-31°F) or below for 15 hours, or freezing at -35°C (-31°F) or below until solid and storing at -20°C (-4°F) or below for 24 hours.
I wouldn’t count on home freezing as a good method, but major distributors have safety measures. I do not like my fish completely cooked so counting on the freezing for me is more important than leaving it up to me to cook safely. If we are donated fresh fish from fishermen friends, I will definitely make sure it’s cooked even if frozen first.
I have a phobia of uncooked meat, probably instilled by my father always worrying that meat hadn’t been cooked enough, so I cook all my meat to the death and like to order it cooked that way. I don’t force anyone else to eat it that way though, so don’t judge.
A meat thermometer (Thermapen is best!) is your friend. Saves any angst about undercooked and definitely keeps from overcooked. The difference is dry tough meat vs moist and tender. And that goes for chicken, meat, pork and fish too.
Steak and lamb: medium rare
Chicken: no pink
Turkey: no pink
Duck: med rare
Pork: slightly pink
Salmon if not sushi, medium
Tuna, if not sushi, rare (a quick sear on both sides)
mahi mahi, other white fish: medium I guess, until just cooked through
Eggs: love them any way except sunny side up
Steak: Medium
Chicken, pork, fish: Cooked thoroughly please! My meat thermometer is my best friend. LOL
Sushi: No way!
Eggs: Scrambled or hard boiled
Steak: medium well, I’ll go down to medium. No pink runny juices.
Chicken and turkey: cooked properly please
Pork: don’t eat
All fish: preferably just cooked through. Not a big fan of seared.
Sushi: only salmon and hamachi and maybe tuna. I will do poke and ceviche too (like ceviche a lot. We have a local Peruvian restaurant which does amazing ceviche)
Eggs: preferably not scrambled, in order of preference for eating hot: poached, fried, soft boiled, always with the yolk a little runny. Hard boiled are fine for snacks, salads and sandwiches.
When I cook salmon at home, if I have the time I have discovered the beauty of slow roasting it. I have a few such recipes, all good enough for entertaining and they always get compliments.
I prefer the taste of most meats well done, which I suspect relates to the lower fat content. The meat that I notice the greatest positive difference is probably rotisserie chicken. With chickens, I find reducing fat content tremendously improves taste. When choosing among the rotisserie chickens, I try to pick out the most overcooked and leanest chicken I can find. The meat that I notice the least positive difference is probably salmon or trout type fish. In this case, I notice no significant improvement in taste with increased cooking beyond many restaurants’ default. I also also appreciate when fish is textured such that it easily breaks apart and can be only eaten with only a fork, which does not occur when overcooked. Beef/steak falls somewhere in between.
Steak. Rare plus. ( between rare and medium rare)
Salmon: charred on the outside, medium inside
Turkey. Never brined (to me it tastes mushy). Very juicy. Cooked to 165 degrees which is like one minute past any pink. Same for chicken.
Don’t eat pork.
Steak: rare to medium rare
Chicken: no pink
Turkey: no pink
Pork: no pink
Tuna: raw or lightly seared
Salmon: rare
Oysters: raw, sautéed, or grilled
Snails: smothered in butter and garlic
DW agrees with all of the above, except she only wants her tuna raw.
Any marine fish - for many I like them cooked as little as possible, raw is best. Sometimes seared can add flavor, though. I don’t like any type of tuna which is cooked more than rare. Salmon, though, can be really good roasted, though medium is best (IMO). White fish like cod or flatfish can be good fully cooked or in a stew. Mackerel fully cooked.
For full disclosure, though, I do like some stuff made with canned tuna or salmon.
Fresh water fish should be fully cooked, because they’re the ones who have the largest number of parasites that can infect humans.
I avoid mammals these days, but before that - pork fully cooked, so slow cooked is best, while beef depends on the dish. Usually anything from blue to medium rare. Some beef dishes use slow cooking, including stews, so these will always be well done. Lamb, venison, etc - like beef, but I like lamb even when it was medium. I like beef tartare as well.
I still eat poultry, and chicken need to be fully cooked because of things like salmonella, but not overcooked. I like duck breast rare, but the rest can be cooked more. Turkey - fully cooked, but overall, I’m not a fan. Other poultry - depends, but usually I like the breast medium rare, and the rest can be fully cooked.
Shellfish - oysters raw, the others grilled or in a stew. Ever so often, I’ll eat them raw (as sushi or sashimi).
Insects - fully cooked.
Steak: very rare, but not raw
Chicken/turkey: Just north of pink (no pink but juicy)
Pork: cooked but juicy, sadly American pork usually ends up too dry unlike in Germany
Salmon and Tuna: Raw or seared is best, but just don’t cook till dry and nasty
Most other fish: Just cooked through
Lobster: cooked through
Sushi: Yes please
Snails: I make them every year for Bastille Day, honestly they are just a vehicle for garlic and butter.
Eggs: I like them every way except raw. It was a real problem in Hong Kong because their idea of cooked enough was not my idea. Since I was usually eating at the university cafeteria, I couldn’t really demand them made my way. I always order fried eggs over easy so the tops are cooked.
I’ve eaten fried insects, most are pretty good fried except silkworms - they were disgusting.
Some of the major arguments I have with my DH are over whether things are cooked enough. He and my kids are definitely judgemental over my worry about “doneness”. Even with the thermometer (which we now use) I find that not every part is as done as the temperature in one area suggests. I do not eat uncooked fish as part of sushi or otherwise.
We were just in Italy and were warned that rare steak is barely cooked so we ordered it medium. It still seemed basically raw to me and I could not really eat it. Was delicious however.
Steak Medium rare (some pink OK)
Burger - no pink
chicken/turkey no pink
pork/lamb - medium, slightly pink ok
Salmon - cooked through flakey but not undercooked
Eggs - over hard or well done scrambled
You could always try well done with ketchup.