26 May, 2011

USDA Announces New Pork Cooking Guidelines

The USDA has finally updated their guidelines for cooking pork, announcing that an internal temperature of 145 degrees F is quite sufficient for cooking pork.

It's well known that Trichinella is killed at 137 degrees F; I and many others have been saying for years that it is unnecessary to cook the living hell out of pork.  Old cookbooks often advised people to cook pork to a temperature of 180 F, which makes it inedibly dry.

For me the issue with doneness of pork is a matter of texture.  When I make a pork roast, I generally cook it to an internal temp of about 155 F or so.  I find pork that is too rare to be uncomfortably "slimy" in mouthfeel.  (That particular quality disgusts me; it's why I hate gumbo and many types of sashimi.)

So, Huzzah! to the FDA for this sensible new guideline!

3 comments:

Leeanne said...

News of this new guideline struck me as funny, because my husband and I always argue over the "doneness" of pork loin. He likes it pink, like a medium-rare steak. And I like it much more "medium," because I equate pork tenderloin with chicken and lord knows you don't want pink chicken.

I hate it when he's right.

Steve said...

My mom ingrained overcooked pork chops into my head for 18 years. That lasted for six or seven more years until I worked (ever so briefly) in a high-end restaraunt.

There, I was served a medium pork chop and (at the time) I realized that hey! these things aren't awful!

TommyA said...

I normaly cook pork to 155 degrees and only above that when someone was a little squimish towards pink. My wife was the worst about a pink color but, now I have some good info to pass on. Thanks for the post!