# How dangerous is raw egg with raw beef? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050 "2007-02-06T06:57:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/1 "2007-02-06T06:57:24Z")
I just got back from a very traditional Korean restaurant. On the menu, they had a dish of raw beef with various vegetables and some fruit. I’ve had raw beef before and I was feeling adventurous again so we ordered it. When it came, it had a big raw egg sitting on the top which the lady mixed in. My Asian companion had no problem eating the mixture. I only had a few bites because I had always been taught never to eat raw egg. How dangerous is this? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/2 "2007-02-06T07:10:34Z")
The chances of salmonella in raw egg nowadays is something like 1 in 20,000. You should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/3 "2007-02-06T08:42:00Z")
I eat raw eggs whenever I have shabu-shabu which ain’t all that often but probably 4 times a year. I have no cite, but I’m under the impression that salmonella poisoning is most dangerous to babies, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Otherwise, it’s just a bad case of food poisoning. If it was really dangerous, I think a lot more people would be dying after eating potato salad on a hot 4th of July. On the other hand, I really dislike that sushi with uni (urchin roe) and raw quail egg. BLEAH! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/4 "2007-02-06T10:12:53Z")
I was going to say it’s no more dangerous than eating them individually on consecutive days, but there are potential dangers in mixing up a bunch of raw meat, fruit & veg and raw egg. Those dangers will only really be manifest if the food is improperly stored after preparing it - meat and egg provides a great growth medium for bacteria; fruit and veg (even if washed) provides a starter culture that may include food poisoning pathogens common in soil and elsewhere. If it’s mixed up and left out at room temperature for a couple of hours, then it’s worry time (although this would probably be true of the raw meat alone); if it’s prepared from properly stored ingredients just before serving, then the risk is probably quite low. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/5 "2007-02-06T10:32:27Z")
Korean Steak Tartare - or raw hamburger. > **[Steak tartare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_tartare)** > > Steak tartare or tartar steak is a French dish of raw ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, mushrooms, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented separately, to be added to taste. It is often served topped with a raw egg yolk. It is similar to the Levantine kibbeh nayyeh, the Turkish çiğ köfte and the Korean yukhoe. > The name tartare is sometimes generalized to other raw meat or fish dishes. In France, a less-common variant called tartare aller-r... The Mexican version (marinaded in lime juice) sounds interesting. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/6 "2007-02-06T12:13:08Z")
When I was a kid, in the 40’s, one of my favorite treats was eating raw hamburger w/ a little salt on it. This was fresh, ground to order, beef from a butcher shop, in the days before supermarkets became so ubiquitious. I wouldn’t do this today unless I knew the beef to be freshly ground under sanitary conditions. I still like eggs w/ a soft yoke, no matter how they’re prepared, but they say even this can be dangerous, as salmonella can survive unless the yokes are hot enough to solidify. I’ll take my chances, as I love the taste of toast dipped in egg yoke. Both my mother, and grandmothers, used to leave eggs unrefridgerated, but I suspect they were used within a few days of being layed. We would also have fresh eggnog every year, during the holidays, but I believe this is now considered unsafe. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/7 "2007-02-06T13:13:04Z")
There’s probably also degrees of resistance depending on your habits. Since I moved from Russia ten years ago I haven’t had a single case of bad food poisoning that I can remember and eat everything, including mystery objects and things-with-no- expiration-date-that-might-predate-the-carter-administration™. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/8 "2007-02-06T13:17:14Z")
Side note: For those who love undercooked/raw egg dishes at home, I’ve seen (in the US) pasteurized whole eggs sold alongside the other cartons of eggs. The egg is still “raw” and works for any typical egg usage, from what I understand. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/9 "2007-02-06T15:28:44Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] I just got back from a very traditional Korean restaurant. On the menu, they had a dish of raw beef with various vegetables and some fruit. I’ve had raw beef before and I was feeling adventurous again so we ordered it. When it came, it had a big raw egg sitting on the top which the lady mixed in. [/QUOTE] Mmm. Yook hwae. Love it. [QUOTE=Darryl Lict] On the other hand, I really dislike that sushi with uni (urchin roe) and raw quail egg. BLEAH! [/QUOTE] I’ll have yours, then. But I prefer mine with tobiko rather than uni. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/10 "2007-02-06T16:25:37Z")
I eat both raw meat and eggs all the time. Whenever someone says it’s dangerous, I always say that I like to let my immune system know who it’s working for. I do occasionally have some gastric distress, but so does everyone else, and there’s never been any indication that it’s related to raw anything. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/11 "2007-02-06T19:53:40Z")
It’s pretty standard in Belgium, too. As a friend used to explain, “Sheesh, it’s not like it’s pork or something!” ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/12 "2007-02-06T21:04:03Z")
Czech steak tartare is awesome! Raw beef with an egg sitting in the middle surrounded by chopped onion, pickle, mounds of pepper and paprika and salt. Mix to your liking and then smear it on deep-fried slices of bread copiously rubbed with whole garlic cloves. Heaven. I’ve eaten this a good 40 - 50 times in the last few years and have never been sick. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/13 "2007-02-06T21:36:33Z")
As others have said, with proper preparation, uncooked beef and/or egg is not especially risky, particularly for adults with healthy immune systems. The key is in the preparation, and so the question you should be asking is: _do I trust this restaurant?_ ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/14 "2007-02-06T21:48:01Z")
I am curious how dangerous raw chicken is. Most people act like it is all, 100% of it, completely saturated in death germs. I am skeptical and think that a majority of time, you could eat fresh raw chicken and be just fine. What say you fellow dopers? Also, that Czech dish sounds awesome! ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-raw-egg-with-raw-beef/391050/15 "2007-02-07T01:02:29Z")
Awesome! It was very tasty so I am delighted to know that the people who told me never, ever to eat uncooked eggs are mistaken. I will be sure to have more next time. :3 Thanks