another "rare" burger story...help?

[andee]

Okay, I am freaking myself out right now....we had dinner at an older friend's house tonight. She cooked hamburgers on the grill for our family, her hubby and her 94!!! year old father. Well, the lights were kind of dimmed and with all the talking, etc, I didn't realize that the burgers were pinky red!!! And I didn't want to really say anything either (stupid). So now I am all nervous and paranoid that we are doomed. Only consolation is that I am pretty sure she got the meat at a family market in town, and their website says they carry freshly ground angus beef, etc...
I am kind of thinking that maybe that's the way they cook because why would she risk her very old father's health, and our kids as well? Do you think we are okay? I am looking up e. coli and all that...it's only been 5 hours...also, I am getting a gaggy feeling in my throat. Probably nerves but who knows, otherwise I feel okay. What do you think, please???

[m0ndaymay]

All ground meat should always be cooked "well done" as you know BUT I really think you're going to be okay. I have a friend who eats ground beef RAW as she prepares it!!! She picks at it!!! She's never been sick. Maybe she's just been lucky?

The gaggy feeling in your throat is your anxiety about the situation. If the meat was making you sick, you'd feel it in your stomach too. Honestly, I think you'll be fine.

[person54321]

I didn't even realize you weren't supposed to eat them medium or rare until like a month ago. I've been eating pink centered burgers my entire life without issue (well OK maybe since I was like 4), and many family members have been eating them rare for years and years without a single problem. A lot of the news media and some posts on here would make you think e.coli is infesting and lurking in all undercooked ground beef, but it's really really rare. You'll be fine!

A gaggy feeling is entirely anxiety.

[ann32]

I eat all my burgers and meat rare, they dont have taste otherwise! Never gotten sick!

[Mrs.Wise]

I was going to say the same thing asDo u remember the name of the hot girl the filled out the app? I'm going thru them now a previous poster.. I also have a friend who eats plain raw hamburger meat and I always remind myself of this when I get a pinkish burger. I think you'll be just fine!

[Mrs.Wise]

Oh god I'm so embarrassed Im on my phone and accidentally pasted one of my text messages ... Oops! At least it wasn't one of the ones to my hubby haha

[stephenie]

Hahaha mrs wise you made my night

[KaydeeJayde]

Meh, we eat our hamburgers like that a good 90% of the time, you'll be fine. I really don't see a problem with it, to be honest... The gaggy feeling in your throat is probably anxiety!

Mrs. Wise, Oh my goodness! That's so funny! You gave me a good giggle :P

[emmalinda]

im with everyone. its beef...red meat, not chicken. you'll be fine!

mrs wise your talking abaout a 'hot girls application' im glad you didnt accidentally put your husbands messages in there either..who knows what that would of said!! lol

[fibigrey]

i think you will be fine. if it was fresh meat, cooked that day, and then ate, I think you are okay. Older meats (while still okay to eat when cooked) probably have a higher chance of passing e.coli around.

I have gotten sick off beef before, but it was cooked THOROUGHLY, the problem was the meat itself, not the cooking.. not that that helps you lol, but I think you will be fine.

[Mrs.Wise]

Haha.. I would just like to clarify .. I work with mostly guys, and they begged me to hire the "really hot chick" that came and filled out an application... what can I say I aim to please!

[andee]

Thanks everyone...well it is now over 24 hours, although e.coli can happen days after. We all seem fine. Yeah, I took compazine, and then .25 ativan to get to sleep last night. HATE WORRYING.

ALSO!!! Today we went to a church reception. I know the woman who made the little sandwiches, very nice. She made them that morning, she said. Well, we went into the hall before the mass and she already had the sandwiches out!!! Chicken salad, tuna, and seafood. Wrapped, and it was cool in there, but we still had to go to the mass for an hour! So again I was freaking out. When we got there, she was unwrapping them. They were still cool but not real cold from the fridge. Everyone ate them. That was 7 hours ago. Man, I am tired of worrying. Do you think those are okay too??? What a weekend.

[Emma Rose]

Food can safely stay out at room temperature for a couple of hours. The only time it has to be refrigerated within one hour is if it's in direct sunlight or if it's a crazy-hot day without air conditioning, like 90 degrees.

[fibigrey]

as for you sandwiches, relax..and hour is FINE!! How many kids go to school with lunches? My son gets a lunch packed, and the only time we use a cooler pack in his lunch is when we make his sandwiches with mayo, or he has yogurt packed. Bologna, ham, turkey, as long as we used mustard, we dont put a cooling pack in it, and those are made at 7am, and he doesn't eat lunch until 12. The lunch meat is AOK.. think of picnics where the food is left out, etc.

[cinque]

An hour or so really isn't very long, and churches (at least in the UK because they're usually pretty old) are usually quite cool places (freezing in the winter but refreshingly nicely cool in summer!). That'll definitely be okay, and I really do not think you will experience any ill-effects from the hamburger either.

It is recommended for them to be cooked all the way through because mince has 'surfaces' all over it because it's essentially smaller pieces of beef, and the 'edges' of beef should be cooked, as in a steak, even if the middle is rare. So that's why they say to do it, but in practice I don't think it's actually THAT dangerous - not like eating undercooked chicken. I think beef is often not contaminated, perhaps?

[andee]

Thanks again all! We are all still here and functioning. Part of me knows all this about the safety, but the worrying part of me, which is HUGE, makes me crazy.
And yes, fibigrey, we all did the same thing with the lunches back in the day. But now I would never do that! Don't know why... (crazy head).