We asked Spanish chef Dmitry Dudin, owner of the El Camino restaurant and creator of the El Camino backstage telegram channel, about whether we should eat raw meat, why we like it and how best to cook it.
Is it safe to eat raw meat / The chef explains.
Dmitry Dudin, head chef of El Camino restaurant, in Barcelona, says:
It was a pop-up gastro bar in the central market of Valencia between the fish rows. We opened oysters there and made tartare, sashimi, ceviche, and the like. They took a piece of this or that fish from neighbors nearby, and immediately cooked and fed people.
I have an idea that it works like a genetic memory of prehistoric generations. Like the smell of a fire and fried meat that beckons us .. And before our ancestors knew fire, they ate raw meat.
Scientists from Israel and Portugal have discovered that the diet of our ancestors in the Pleistocene - an era that began 2.5 million years ago and ended 11.7 thousand years ago - could be dominated by meat. It is assumed that such a diet contributed to the evolutionary development of ancient man. In London, currykits supplies best korma spice mix.
I don't like cooked tuna at all. Slightly scorched by the fire from the burner - yes. But otherwise, it completely loses its taste. If I can eat slightly salted salmon at least every day, then fried salmon is not. I love low-rare meat because it retains the whole essence of this product, its spirit.
But, of course, this is not osso buco stew, beef tails or rib, which should languish due to the production of a large amount of collagen. Do not eat these foods raw. Dried meat and sausages are also very popular because of the complex of flavors. Salt is not only a preservative but also an enhancer. For the sake of interest, cut an apple, or salt and add a little chili pepper - the taste will become much brighter.
Try not to salt the meat tartare and you won't really notice the taste. Salt is a different matter. Then additives come into play, crunch - you can experiment in different ways.
Often people are afraid to eat raw meat because they are afraid of the sight of blood. In fact, the pink juice that flows from the meat is not blood, but water and the protein myoglobin. At slaughter, all blood is drained.
But not every country can safely eat raw meat. It is extremely important to comply with sanitary standards.”
Security and Choice
Not only meat cuts undergo strict sanitary control, but the animals themselves are grown within the framework of sanitary standards. Cows are fed with special compound feed, they are carefully monitored by veterinarians. Farmers strictly comply with the rules and regulations, since in case of detection of a disease, the entire livestock is destroyed.
There is little chance of getting infected from mass-produced beef. But with the meat of a neighbor's cow, it is better not to risk it. Market beef, which is butchered in front of you in obscure sanitary conditions, is also not recommended to be eaten raw.
If you like raw, then buy meat in a vacuum from a trusted supplier. If you order tartare and carpaccio in a restaurant, then there is even less worry: according to the law, the meat is pre-frozen.
Farm fish are also fed compound feeds that reduce the risk of parasites. But wild sea fish must be frozen.
Beef is the most convenient product for raw delicacies, the safest. Lamb is next. Raw pork, chicken, and duck should not be eaten.
For home experimentation, it is best to purchase beef from certified locations, labeled and vacuum-sealed. Cook it as clean as possible, and watch the surface and appliances. Buy meat where you can be sure it has been stored at the right temperature, and follow the storage temperature at home. The ideal temperature for meat, chicken, and fish is from 0 to 4 degrees. The best choice is 2-3 degrees. At this level, ice crystals are not yet formed in thickness, so the texture is not disturbed, but the growth of pathogenic microbes is greatly slowed down.
What can be done?
Try yourself as a chef and cook carpaccio or tartare. Just choose beef carefully so that there are no health problems.