Finally an End to Twice Killed Pigs
May 25, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
I grew up in a kosher household where pork never made an appearance until the day my non-kosher dad brought home sausages, advising my mother to cook them until very well-done.
My mother, suspicious of any sort of pork, broiled them so thoroughly they were charred on the outside with only a 1 cm core of edible meat inside each sausage. When my father complained, she protested that she only had been following his advice to cook them well-done to which my dad said i told you to cook them well-done but not to cremate them"! i was hysterical with laughter and we had to throw out the sausages. That was the last time I remember pork ever entering our kitchen.
When I tasted my first pork hotdog, at the Wollman Memorial Iceskating Rink I was hooked. Bacon, pork roast, pork chops, juicy, flavorful--I couldn't get enough until suddenly pork became a bore. In an effort to bill pork as the "other white meat" it became closer to the other white bread--flavorless with lack of fat and dry also due to the recommended cooked temperature of 160˚F. It was sure death to a formerly delicious meat.
But hold onto your pigtails: big news from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture just announced yesterday: pork chops, roasts, and tenderloins can be safely enjoyed medium rare at a cooked temperature of 145˚F, followed by a 3 minute rest time(during which, presumably, the temperature will rise to 150˚F).
Now, to my knowledge, trichinosis has not been an issue for some time, so we could have (and some have) been eating juicy pork for years, but OK--no point looking back--let's applaud the return of tasty juicy pork products.
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from Jo Hardy
06/04/2011 04:38 PM
helen, maybe when mesheeach (sp?) comes!!!
jo, i agree--i almost always bring pork and veal--it really helps relatively lean meat.
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Helen Walker
06/02/2011 10:50 PM
Still no pork if you are Kosher or eating scriptural!comment
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Jo Hardy
06/02/2011 02:40 PM
Brining pork also makes it ultra juicy and fork-tender. I love pork tenderloin (it's one of the only meats my sister would eat when trying to lower her cholestrol without medication). After hearing of well-cooked pork for years, this past winter my tenderloin came out pink (but perfectly cooked after brining) -- delicious!
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Hector
05/29/2011 11:54 AM
and when will the USDA allow pancetta from Italy?
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Pat
05/28/2011 03:32 AM
"pork chops, roasts, and tenderloins can be safely enjoyed medium rare at a cooked temperature of 145˚F, followed by a 3 minute rest time"
It's safe at this temperature. So, no worries when eating your pork, either fried, boiled or grilled. Enjoy the benefits of eating pork!
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Georgette G
05/28/2011 02:49 AM
Rose,
I thought to let you know, that I have placed you (and your blog) in the top 10 dessert blogs on my blog. You may be interested to see it and if you wish, I could still add a photo of one your creations.
Best regards,
Georgette G
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kyle
05/27/2011 03:58 PM
Rose,
Had you seen that article before? I was amazed after reading it to mention her to 2 of our clients,both of whom had met her. Both of them worked with special needs/autistic children in the GA school system and she had spoken at meetings several times. She is an amazing woman- as you are, also, but please don't start crawling around slaughterhouses on your knees! I'd have to come to NY and stage an intervention if I hear of you trying that.
I haven't yet gotten to see that film, but it's in my queue. It certainly racked up the awards last year and it was fun to see Temple and her mother in attendance at some of the shows.
http://adventuresingoodfood.wordpress.com/
kyle
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from kyle
05/27/2011 03:45 PM
Kyle, by amazing coincidence temple grandin is tonight's Netflix selection!
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from CharlesT
05/27/2011 03:20 PM
I should add that I've heard freezing the meat for 48 hours also makes the pork safe..
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CharlesT
05/27/2011 03:12 PM
In reading the actual USDA press release, I notice that it says nothing about trichinosis:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_052411_01/index.asp
In fact, I think this change in recommendation has nothing to do with the rarity of trichinosis. The press release says that cooking to 145 and allowing a 3 minute rest provides equivalent safety to cooking port to 160 degrees. This implies that the new procedure would kill the trichinosis parasites if they were in the meat.
This is confirmed by this USDA fact sheet on Trichinae:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/trichinae/docs/fact_sheet.htm
This sheet states that Trichinae are killed at temperatures of 131 degrees F, so the original 160 degree temperature was given due to the uncertain heat distribution of the cooked product. The recent changes appears to achieve the desired heat distribution in a different way.
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kyle in reply to comment from Rose Levy Beranbaum
05/26/2011 08:41 PM
Too funny, Rose! The tricks the mind can play on the physical body are phenomenal. I'm sure Dr. Beranbaum has heard a few, too.
For those non-squeamish amongst us, here's a link to an article I read in 2003 in the BUSINESS section of all places of the NYT about Temple Grandin and some of her testing in slaughterhouses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/07/science/when-pigs-stress-out.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fTopics%2fAnimals
I have had some interesting conversations about the slaughter process with people who worked in the chicken plants of GA. As Julia taught us, just bc you think you didn't play an active role in the process, if you consume meat/fish/ poultry, you are part of the process, like it or not. I think if one can eviscerate a fish and cut up a chicken, a little chat is easy.
It seems the issue of tough pork has as much to do with the slaughter process and the chemical released (similar to our adrenalin) as it does the lack of fat, which is what we have all been told.
At any rate, I found her findings of interest and I thought you might also, especially anyone following this thread. BTW, just had a marvelous sandwich tonight of leftover pork tenderloin a la vietnamese with fish sauce and shredded carrots and cilantro.
http://adventuresingoodfood.wordpress.com/
kyle
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from CharlesT
05/26/2011 07:01 PM
reminds me of when i was picking matsutaki mushrooms in japan along with other ppl who, i feared, didn't know not to touch a poisonous mushroom and then touch a safe one.afterwards we were fed a dinner of the mushrooms. i didn't realize that they threw out all the mushrooms we had picked just to be on the safe side and served us ones the professional pickers had harvested. so in the bus going back to the hotel, when i started getting terrible pains, i feared i was poisoned but it turned out to be from eating rice for two weeks in a row. someone explained that when one isn't accustomed to rice at every meal it creates terrible gas pains!
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CharlesT in reply to comment from Bill
05/26/2011 05:58 PM
I was served some pork loin a few years ago that was still a bit bloody in the center and I stopped eating, feeling queasy. The next day, I started feeling sick, and I was convinced I had trichinosis; I spent an hour or two Googling on trichinosis symptoms, but I didn't relax until I had a fully developed flu within a few days.
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Bill
05/26/2011 04:48 PM
If only that would work. I have, under strict direction, pounded beautiful pork chops till they were paper thin, breaded them and fried them...and what did they taste like? Fried bread crumbs
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from Bill
05/26/2011 04:46 PM
i once told a viennese dr. i was dating that it was perfectly safe to eat pork saté bc the peanut sauce killed any micro-organisms. he believed me for almost a full minute--i guess bc he wanted to!
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Bill
05/26/2011 04:40 PM
My other half will not eat pork unless it is done done done done dry and done...convinced that some horrible disease will descend ending in certain terminal intestinal distress.
If there is even the slightest blush of pink...the plate is pushed away.
I can't seem to change this. What to do? What to do?
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Julie
05/26/2011 10:39 AM
Great to see the USDA on board with what many have been doing for years- better late than never!
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CharlesT
05/25/2011 06:51 PM
"pork chops, roasts, and tenderloins can be safely enjoyed medium rare at a cooked temperature of 145"
Cooks Illustrated has been saying this for years; in fact, they recommend it, since today's pork has so little fat.
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