I just had a rare steak

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Just about to have a curry and now wish I was dead.

Just cooked this bastard. Don't wish I was dead though so hope it doesn't kill me.

[Cerys]

You'll probably avoid food poisoning.  I'd be more worried about parasites, to be honest.

[Glebe]

(Seriously though, hope you okay Curious.)

[Janie Jones]

Mate of mine years ago got woken up by his mum asking if he'd eaten the barbecue chicken when he'd got in the previous night. He admitted that he had then his mum told him that it was raw and was marinating. He said he could immediately remember the texture and went into a 3 day hangover, throwing up each time he thought about it.

This has absolutely haunted me since I read it.

[flotemysost]

Ate some rabbit in Krakow, the day before a wedding, which had full on ligaments and veiny bits and other viscera poking out - probably should have been a warning sign. Got through the next day on sips of water, dry bread and Immodium. Not my best experience of getting fucked by a veiny rabbit eh lads

Used to have a fairly gung ho attitude to sinister meats but that did traumatise me somewhat.

[sponk]

Had an undercooked cottage pie when I was 14. Don't think I've had one since.

[Brian Freeze]

This has absolutely haunted me since I read it.

It has given me flashbacks to the chicken kievs I only partly cooked a few years back. Didnt make us ill thankfully.

Cooking some Tuna steaks for tea, hoping not to overcook them.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Had a go at making scotch eggs at home once. Deep fried one but found it a bit greasy so had the next one cold when I came back from the pub later. Raw sausage meat and packet breadcrumbs surrounding a hard boiled egg isn't as nice as it sounds.

[Paul Calf]

Ate some rabbit in Krakow, the day before a wedding, which had full on ligaments and veiny bits and other viscera poking out - probably should have been a warning sign. Got through the next day on sips of water, dry bread and Immodium. Not my best experience of getting fucked by a veiny rabbit eh lads

Used to have a fairly gung ho attitude to sinister meats but that did traumatise me somewhat.

You weren't unlucky. All rabbit meat is like that; exceptionally poor and low in nutrition. It's one step up from rat and squirrel and people only eat it when they can't afford anything else.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I think I had hare in a mixed game and venison pie once. It was lovely.

[Icehaven]

Had a beef and Stilton pasty from some bakery in Warwick years ago, bit into it and it was cold in the middle, which was a bit disappointing but didn't think too much of it. Started puking in the middle of the night and didn't stop for 2 days, probably lost about a stone in 48 hours. The undercooked pasty diet.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Just cooked this bastard. Don't wish I was dead though so hope it doesn't kill me.

Looks tasty enough! When mine arrived it became very clear they thin the sauces out on busy nights. SHITE.

[Icehaven]

I want that. What's the green stuff, Coriander?

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Looks tasty enough! When mine arrived it became very clear they thin the sauces out on busy nights. SHITE.

An Indian friend gave me his curry recipe many years ago and the Indian and Pakistani friends who have tried it tell me it's the sort of thing they grew up eating (but they're all very polite and might have just been kind to the gora). Authentic or not, I still prefer the takeaway curries that are all made from the same base gravy from a huge simmering pot, although I've had a few piss-poor watery ones too.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

I want that. What's the green stuff, Coriander?

Yes, it's coriander leaves - I chuck them in just before dishing up. I use the stalks too, finely chopping and adding them to the onions, garlic, ginger and chillies at the initial frying stage. Ooh, get Nigel Slater over here!

[Icehaven]

Yes, it's coriander leaves - I chuck them in just before dishing up. I use the stalks too, finely chopping and adding them to the onions, garlic, ginger and chillies at the initial frying stage. Ooh, get Nigel Slater over here!

Yeah I use the stalks too, no point wasting them.

[Twit 2]

Can I have a rare steak?
You're in luck, it's our last one.
Perfect!

[Noodle Lizard]

As someone who's a bit obsessive about food safety and also a seasoned(!) meat-eater, here's my take:

Your chances of getting poisoning from a rare steak are so small they're not even worth worrying about. If the outside is seared (on all sides) you can have it still cold and mooing in the middle and you'll be fine, since the outside is the only place bacteria are likely to be - cross-contamination from handling in the slaughterhouse, butchers etc. That's why you shouldn't really eat ground beef/hamburgers rare or even medium - all that nonsense on the outside of a cut gets mixed the whole way through. But again, your chance of getting properly sick from it isn't especially high with beef, so people take the risk.

Some people do have a sensitive stomach to meat the rarer it is - probably partly psychosomatic, partly something to do with the composition making it harder to digest or whatever. My sister and stepson are people like this. Nothing to worry about, mind you, maybe just a difficult shit or two.

And yeah, as said, you can handle pork about the same way you would beef now! I personally don't like it rare because the texture is a bit mushy like wet paper, but medium and above you're having a good time.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Spot on, Noodle Lizard. And despite assurances that U.S. slaughterhouse practices are such that it's supposedly safe to eat rare burgers, when I've been over there I still haven't been able to bring myself to order them any way other than well done.

[Twed]

It's got fuck-all to do with the slaughterhouses, in the case of burgers. Even the best quality beef mince can poison you if doesn't go straight from grinder to pan. Like NL says, it's about exposure to air. Cook all the parts that air touches and you're good.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Which is why I don't accept the line about better slaughterhouse hygiene. I've encountered some very suspect reasoning in twenty plus years as a food hygiene inspector.

[Sebastian Cobb]

That and mince isn't a steak. It's shit rare and only a dilettante trying to show off would think it's a good idea.

[Twed]

Which is why I don't accept the line about better slaughterhouse hygiene. I've encountered some very suspect reasoning in twenty plus years as a food hygiene inspector.

My experience is just as a little pig farm boy 25 years ago, but I suspect the real biggest change is in feeds, hormones and drugs given to the animals that prevent the diseases and worms that used to be a problem, so advice can generally be reduced to "it's fine if it the raw parts didn't touch air and wasn't left on a shelf for a week" now. It's the animal equivalent of how people live past their 60s now due to modern medicine.

[Icehaven]

Isn't steak tartar(e?) raw mince? Does that make people ill often?

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

Yes it's raw minced beef and just to make sure you don't dodge a bullet the silly fuckers often serve it with a raw egg yolk. Gastroenteritis-tastic!

[Icehaven]

Yes it's raw minced beef and just to make sure you don't dodge a bullet the silly fuckers often serve it with a raw egg yolk. Gastroenteritis-tastic!

I just read the Wikipedia page for it and it says the dish has reduced in popularity due to health concerns, then lists the various bacterias and parasites you're most likely to get with it. Bon appetit!

[idunnosomename]

You weren't unlucky. All rabbit meat is like that; exceptionally poor and low in nutrition. It's one step up from rat and squirrel and people only eat it when they can't afford anything else.

not like that when i got it from Booths

Like chicken thigh throughout really

[idunnosomename]

Isn't steak tartar(e?) raw mince? Does that make people ill often?

i first learned about it from the mr bean sketch

[Icehaven]

I'd like to see it turn up on Masterchef, see Greggg's face as he has to try it, and maybe a DVD extra of him having the resultant tapeworm pulled out of his nose.

[Twed]

Just to reiterate, steak tartare would be fine if it is freshly ground and they don't keep it hanging around before serving.