Seems like there was a recommended temperature by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service for preparing pork (yeah, well, call me an ignoramus, but I always thought that’s some sort of consensus by cooks and stuff). And, according to HuffPo, it’s now officially been lowered to 145° F (roughly 63° Celsius). Here’s my favourite bit from the article:
“I’m glad they have the sense to make that change,” said Rob Weland, a chef at Poste Moderne Brasserie, an upscale restaurant in Washington.
Weland said he has always cooked pork to the lower temperature because chefs knew it was safe and the meat clearly tastes better. But he said it could take years for backyard grillers to adjust to the change.
“People have been taught this for generations and it’s going to take a long time to get this removed,” he said. “It will be good for the next generation not to be so fearful so they can enjoy pork in a way they may not have been able to in the past.“
(emphasis mine)
I wasn’t aware of how deeply rooted that sort of thing was with passionate backyard grillers, but apparently it is. Good luck to you, and may your future generations be able to enjoy pork the way it was meant to be!
