Earlier today, the USDA published a press release that revised recommended cooking temperatures. The new temperatures are 145°F for whole meats, 160°F for ground meats and 165 °F for poultry, measured with a food thermometer at the thickest part. To this I say, "It's about damned time!"

I know. I know. There are those food safety people who will balk at these lower temperatures, because bacteria are killed off at 154°F(68°C). And there are two major problems with this. For one, the majority of bacteria present will be on the cut surfaces of the meat. Which is why the rules still require a higher temperature for ground meats, blades touch every part of that meat, distributing all the fun stuff everywhere. On the obverse, higher temperatures are only needed to kill bacteria quickly. If you're willing to wait, and preserve flavor, you can use a lower temperature for a longer time. Such as using an immersion circulator or water bath, or a bain marie a low temperature oven. Sear the meat on all sides. Then seal in a plastic bag that can withstand the temperatures in the water bath, or place in a proofed dish in the low temperature oven. The oven method is a little harder to pull off. And as I mentioned before, water is the enemy of Maillard. Sous vide in the plastic bag will achieve the same effect without the addition of anymore water. You just have to either salvage a bath from a closing lab or shell out $1000 for a unit at Williams Sonoma (or some other home kitchen supplier).

Another problem that people overlook is the temperature at which common proteins in meat denature and become tender. Typically the major proteins in skeletal meats, actin, myosin and collagen, denature around 131-149°F. Below this temperature, those proteins are still wound up. Above this range, and you start forcing out what moisture is left inside the meat. This is why a rare steak is still chewy, and why a well done steak is so much tougher, than a perfectly medium rare steak.

Food is supposed to sustain and nurture us, but shouldn't it also taste good too? With these revised changes, I hope to see more people actually enjoy a steak or roast lamb shanks. None of these overdone, dry, briquettes which could be used to start another summer bbq.

Now, if only they'd let me legally purchase and bring in raw milk cheeses instead of getting creative with my smuggling...