Your microwave probably has a defrost cycle. I know some people claim you shouldn’t use it, but I don’t have any problem with it. Newer ones can even operate at low power for the defrost cycle without switching the magnetron on and off like the old ones. I do partition things into smaller packages before freezing them.
The most obvious answer to the question is: stay out of the freezer.
Saran wrap inside a baggie never comes loose, and you have all of one kind of meat together. When I didn’t do this chops or steaks would stick together which increases defrost time.
When I freeze pairs of pork chops I put a sheet of baking parchment between them as I drop them into the bag before hitting the vacuum. When it’s their time on the grill a screwdriver into the seam and a twist makes them part easily. After eight minutes on the grill, it’s time to flip them and they’ve thawed to the point where I can stick my remote thermometer probe in and I simply wait until they reach 160-degrees.
Non ground pork can be safely cooked to 145 now per USDA guidelines. Unless you can’t stomach it.
I have to sniff the stem end of the cantaloupe. Only way to tell if it’s ready to eat. But i also scrub the outer surface of all melons before i cut them. The idea of transferring the crap from the outside of the melon to the inside via the knife blade gives me the heebjeebies.
I’ve only had it twice, but Mett (raw minced pork with onion) is delicious.
Two separate issues: E coli and Trichinosis. E coli infects the surface of meat, but cooks away with heat. Therefore ground meat, whether beef, pork, turkey needs to be cooked on all surfaces, so 160 F. Unless it sourced from meat that has been butchered to avoid umm… butthole juices so that you can serve it raw.
Trichinosis is a worm parasite that infects omnivores like pig, bear. Needs higher heat to kill. But modern practices avoid it because we don’t feed infected meat to pigs anymore. Once it’s in the meat they can “rest” until heat kills them.
I know all of that, but still enjoy Mett, carpaccio, sushi, oysters on the half shell, etc. The times I’ve had Mett I’ve procured the pork from a local source who knew my intent.
Anecdotally/coincidentally, the only experiences I’ve had with assumed food poisoning has been with cooked foods. The vast majority of my meals are cooked, so there’s that.
This. I also smell the peaches and a lot of other produce. I don’t touch my nose to it – that would be gross – but I sniff it.
There’s apparently an increase in trichinosis due to pastured pork on the market. The pigs who can get outdoors can get into stuff the farmer didn’t feed them, and in rare cases, pick up trichinosis. But yeah, most cases of trichinosis these days come from wild animals, like bear, because USDA standards require that any meat product fed to hogs be cooked.
I confess, I really enjoy raw and other undercooked food. And pork is much tastier if you don’t over cook it.
I have a roommate who doesn’t like looking at myoglobin or pork with any pink in it (or beef for that matter). I’m just happy that CostCo pork has the added water so they don’t get all dried out. Those steaks I mentioned a few days ago are 1-1/2 inches thick so I can butterfly hers and cook it until the red is gone while mine is still medium-rare, but even the ‘thick’ pork chops are thin enough I can’t reliably slice 'em thinner.