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Can You Eat Raw Steak?

By: Author William Thomas

William Thomas

Editor-in-Chief & Pitmaster

I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.
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Can You Eat Raw Steak?

Food is an amazing thing. It can be consumed in a variety of ways, and either you cook the food or just eat it raw.

The great thing about cooking food is that you can grill it, cook it in an oven or stove, fry it, or stick it in the microwave. When it comes to eating it raw, it’s such a convenient and quick way to do so.

Sometimes, however, you need to take care with raw food because not all food can be eaten raw. One such food that falls under these criteria is steak.

In this article, we’ll discuss if you can eat raw steak, what are the possible benefits or risks, and how you can safely do it.

Is It Possible To Eat Raw Steak?

We will tell you right off the bat that it is very possible to eat raw steak, but it needs to be under certain conditions.

Several meals all over the world use raw steak. This includes:

  • Carpaccio, which is an Italian Dish that uses thinly sliced beef.
  • Steak tartare uses raw minced beef served with raw egg yolk.
  • Pittsburgh Rare is a steak heated at a high temperature with the inside still raw.
  • Amsterdam Ossenwrost, which uses raw beef sausage.

And these are just a few of the more popular ones. So, having a meal with raw steak is not uncommon at all. It even comes with benefits.

What Are the Benefits of Eating Raw Steak?

There are several benefits to eating raw steak, believe it or not. One of the biggest ones is all the nutrients that steak contains.

It has Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Iron, and Protein, to name a few. Both cooked and uncooked steak have this.

Some say that cooking meat does take away some of its nutrients, so by eating it raw, you are getting more than you would if it was cooked. There is some evidence to back this up.

The protein in steak can become less digestible when meat is cooked at high temperatures, so the lower the temp, the more digestible protein there is.

Other benefits don’t have enough evidence and require more studies. Still, it can get more protein in your body if it’s raw or rare is a pretty good thing.

What Are the Risks of Eating Raw Steak?

Where there are benefits, there are risks. This is just how it is. Some risks of eating raw steak include:

  • Salmonella is a bacteria that affects your intestines. It can cause diarrhea, cramps, fever, or nausea/vomiting.
  • Coli is another bacteria that also live in the intestines. It causes cramps, diarrhea, and fever.
  • Food poisoning is a common illness that can cause gastrointestinal issues and can last for a few days.
  • Shigella is a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, cramps, and fever. The symptoms don’t start until 2 days after you become infected.

The groups that should not eat raw steak are those whose immune systems are on the weak side. This includes pregnant individuals, children, the elderly, and those who have compromised immune systems.

How Can You Safely Eat Raw Steak?

Despite the risks involved with eating raw steak, there are several things you can do to ensure that you lower the risks. This includes:

  • The first thing you can do is find meat of good quality. This means you don’t want to use pre-packed raw meat. You want to find a butcher or a trusted online company.
  • Once you have gotten the meat, you need to keep it cold. It needs to be kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Eat the steak right away. What you don’t want to do is wait a few days.
  • Always check to see if the steak is bad before you consume it. This can be done by smelling it and looking at the color. If it has a foul order and is brown or grey on the outside, then you need to throw it away pronto.

Doing these four things increases your chances of not falling ill while eating raw meat. It’s not perfect, but it helps.

How Can You Cook Raw Steak?

Now, if you would prefer to cook your raw steak, there are several ways you can do so. This includes:

  • Cooking your steak in a pan on the stovetop. Just add some oil or something to the pan and start cooking it up.
  • You can always grill your steak, which is one of the more old-fashioned ways to cook your steak. Just keep an eye on it, so it doesn’t burn too much.
  • Want to do it in a way where you don’t have to constantly stand around in one spot? Well, by sticking your steak in the oven, you can do just that. Set the temp on the oven and once it is preheated, stick it in the oven for whatever amount of time you prefer.
  • The reverse sear is a method that combines cooking it in the pan and then in the oven. First, put it in the oven at around 275 for about 45 minutes and then grill it.
  • Finally, you don’t have to cook it and can just eat it raw, which is really what this whole article was about!

And these are the top five ways to cook or eat your steak. Just do it in whatever way you prefer.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it, all your steak lovers out there. You now know that it is very possible to eat steak raw and the benefits and risks that come with it.

Despite the risks, there are steps you can take to ensure that the meat is at its healthiest before you consume it raw.

If that doesn’t fit your fancy, then cook it with one of the four methods we mentioned. The most important part is to just enjoy the steak because this is what we all want when having a meal.

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