This is why rare steak is ok, but rare ground beef hamburgers are not. Although less cooked through burgers are sometimes served in restaurants that grind their beef fresh right before cooking
replyIt also doesn't help that the quality of ground beef in the US is much poorer than other countries, so those who may regularly eat rare ground beef internationally would experience a level of shock if eating it in the US.
replyI mean, rare ground beef hamburgers are pretty much fine too. They have a higher risk of contamination, yes, but that does not make it a particularly high risk. I eat burgers, made from pre-ground beef, cooked rare all the time and I have yet to get sick from it even once.
replyGreat answer. Just to add, this is with red meat where E. Coli is the main concern. That exists in the gut of the animal and that bacteria can travel to the surface of the muscles during the butchering process. Poultry on the other hand is mainly concerned with Salmonella which does live in the muscles of the animal. That's why people aren't ordering rare chicken breast.
replyAlso, rare chicken breast is apparently pretty unpleasant to eat. Kenji Lopez-Alt did an article where he discussed how you can use sous vide to pasteurize chicken while still keeping it at a low temp, but the result (while perfectly safe to eat) was not enjoyable.
reply"bacteria can travel to the surface of the muscles during the butchering process"
replyThis way undersells what's actually happening: fecal matter from the intestines gets onto your meat. This shouldn't happen with proper practices.