I have read several places that the trichina is killed at 137F. So as an experiment, I cooked some pork to 137 using my digital thermometer. I let it rest for a few minutes which allows the temp to continue to climb a bit in this case another 8 degrees or so.
I cut into the meat, and it was what I would call rare. I did not care for it at that doneness level.
I now cook the meat to about 145 and pull it off, and allow it to rest. It comes out the equivalent of medium beef. A tiny hint of pink, very juicy, very flavorful.
Do you cook the rubbish all the way through?
I always cook my pork loins to mediumish and they are delicious. Although, I’d never heard that you were “supposed” to cook it through - so what do I know. I have a “the other white meat” fridge magnet that states pork is safe to eat at 140.
Trichinosis used to be spread among swine because they were fed garbage – including uncooked meat products. The practice now in the U.S. – which may actually be law, I’m not sure – to feed them grain and other vegetable matter or at least any animal byproducts are fully cooked. Thus the pigs can’t carry trichinosis, so you can’t get that from them. Other stuff, same as any other meat.
“Hackepeter” or “Mett” in Germany and it’s not that bad really.
Served on toast for breakfast !
He’s my secret boyfriend, and I saw that episode too. He made a point of how commercial pigs aren’t fed scraps and trash anymore, so you can have “medium” pork and be just fine.
I now cook my pork loin till there is just the slightest hint of pink in the middle. It’s very juicy and tender and delicious. Years ago my mom would cook pork chops till the curled up in dryness. Even as a very small child I wondered why a person would bother eating something that couldn’t be eaten unless it was ruined. I should make a pork loin for Easter and freak her the hell out. I always say that pork is a different meat than when I was a child. It’s safer, leaner and comes in different cuts.
Practical question: How does one take the temperature of a pork chop? The cuts I get tend to be pretty thin, and there’s no way I’m going to get my probe into the middle of something that skinny.
(cue the sex comments)
Simple solution: buy thicker pork chops. 
And as long as it’s still thicker than the probe itself, why can’t you slide it in sideways?
lordy, i seem to be the only one who doesn’t use a meat thermometer.
how long would you recommend baking a chop at say 325 degrees or a little higher before it was medium?
I don’t care about the science. The thought of under cooked pork or chicken makes me want to puke.
I always cook pork loin to the point where it’s still a bit pink in the middle (about 150). It’s somewhere in the range of what you would call medium in a steak. If I cook a loin accidentally until all traces of pink are gone, I consider it a failure. Pork should be, in my opinion, still slightly pink. It tastes much, much better that way, and is much juicier. There’s really nothing to be squeamish about. If you don’t mind medium rare beef, you shouldn’t mind medium pork. It’s very similar in that respect in terms of what overcooking does to the flavor.
Other cuts I will cook differently (I normally BBQ shoulder, so that I cook to what seems like the ungodly high temp of 190-195, but because of the fat and collagen/gelatin, it ends up nice and juicy and moist.
And as to the question since when? Well, I’ve been cooking for about 10-15 years, and pretty much all the sources I learned from (my mother excluded) recommended pork roast to still be slightly pink in the middle. If I’m cooking for people who are very squeamish about pink pork, I will brine it to help preserve the juiciness and cook to 170, otherwise, it’s 150F I aim for.
I love this board.
now I have to go make a pork roast of some kind or another and not cook it all the way trough just to see what its like.
pot roast pulled out when it hits 135/140 is sooooooooooo good compared to well done I bet the pork is the same way.
RE cooking poultry, the color doesn’t tell you as much as you think it does, from the USDA’s, Food Safety and Inspection Service / Fact Sheets / Safe Food Handling / The Color of Meat and Poultry
I used to panic every time I’d start carving the T-Day bird and still see pink breast meat near the bone, despite the fact that my accurate instant read thermometer said the internal temp was 175°F+!
CMC +fnord!
Oh yeah, remember that during the after cooking rest, the temp can go up as much as 10°, so pull that meat out before it actually gets to your desired finished temp!
I went to a large pub in Germany about seven years ago and everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) was gorging themselves on raw ground pork mixed with salt, pepper and raw onions. I thought they were freaking crazy. But, I thought, “When in Dusseldorf…”, so I tried some, and, Holy Hell was it delicious!
Psst. Brine your turkey and pull it off the heat at 161 in the breast. It will be the best turkey you ever had.
Years ago I had a landlady who was a German war bride. When we were looking over the pork in the grocery across the street (it was a small town) she mentioned how she missed nibbling an occasional piece of raw pork when she was cooking. I told her it was probably safe by now (30 years ago) but I would psychologically be unable to do so.
Short answer: no.
Complete answer: it ain’t the same tjhing at all. Comparing beef to pork is like comparing apples to, well, pears. Pork that’s pink inside is undercooked. Beef that’s pink inside isn’t undercooked, it’s medium rare.Or just medium, depending on just how much pink you mean. Many people prefer for their beef to have some blood still in it. Until recently it was unheard of to treat the other meat that way. And I think you probably know that already and are trying to rip on me for some reason…
If I’m making a pork loin, I want the inner third or so to still be pink. Whatever the health issues, I find the taste of rare pork to be pretty revolting.
[QUOTE=DLuxN8R-13 Pork that’s pink inside is undercooked.[/QUOTE]
I disagree. It shouldn’t be pink and cold, like a rare beef, but it should be pink. Many people agree (read all the posts above.) I can’t remember the last time I’ve had pork roast that’s completely gray on the inside at a decent restaurant.