How do you handle cooking raw meat and kitchen utensils?

[J-rap]

Specifically, the utensil you use to cook with.  I don't know why I never thought too much about this for 30+ years -- haha...  But suddenly, I'm thinking:  How many times do I need to change or clean my cooking utensil (generally a spatula) while cooking meat?  So, I usually first plop the meat in the pan without any utensil.  Once I begin turning it, I use a spatula.  At some point, the meat begins to cook but the spatula of course now has raw meat germs on it.  So I change it out or wash it.  I maybe change or wash it twice even.  But I figure at some point during the turning, I probably still got raw meat germs on a cooked portion so then I turn and cook it again just a little more on each side to kill off anything left.  It all feels way more complicated than I ever remember it feeling!   How does everyone else do this?  I don't think I ever thought about this at all when I first began cooking and probably used the same spatula throughout the whole process, and never got sick!

[Carrie12345]

I usually change them out toward the very end. Sometimes I forget. We’ve never gotten sick. (But dh would eat a cow standing in the field, so...)

[HomeAgain]

I cook with one utensil and serve with another.  I never really thought about it before.  Yesterday I cooked chicken pieces.  I used tongs all during the cooking process, but when I added the vegetables and sauce I switched to a serving spoon and put the tongs in the wash.

[CTVKath]

I generally change them out toward the end of cooking. Sometimes, if I really like the utensil, I'll wash it before the end and finish out with it.

[Pawz4me]

13 minutes ago, CTVKath said:

I generally change them out toward the end of cooking. Sometimes, if I really like the utensil, I'll wash it before the end and finish out with it.

Same here.

[Melissa in Australia]

I use the same one right from the beginning through to the end. I use tongs to take the meat out of the frying pan

I have a plastic chopping board that is only used for raw  meat. We have never had any problem at all.

[Cecropia]

I usually use a wooden spoon or a wooden spatula for cooking meat.  I leave it sitting in the pan as the meat cooks, so I figure that the heat is cooking the contaminated end of the spoon enough to make it safe to serve with.  Utensils that haven't been left in the pan get replaced with clean ones.

[marbel]

If I'm doing ground meat, I use one utensil to stir it around until it's all cooked, then do a final stir/toss/turn with the serving utensil.  If I'm browning pieces of meat, I use tongs. I use the same set all the way through the browning process, because the meat is not fully cooked at that point, even if the outsides are browned.  If I'm sauteing meat that won't be cooked further, I use two tools, one for turning the uncooked meat, one for the uncooked meat.

 

[J-rap]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

I usually change them out toward the very end. Sometimes I forget. We’ve never gotten sick. (But dh would eat a cow standing in the field, so...)

Yeah, I'm probably way overthinking this!  I never used to change them out so much (often never), and we never got sick...

[AK_Mom4]

We don’t change them out at all.  And we use the same cutting board for everything - just wash well between raw meat and other stuff.

But I don’t wash chicken now before cooking - I learned that here!

[Arctic Bunny]

Add me to the list of “I don’t”. If I’m bbqing, I wash the tongs at the same time as the dish.

[J-rap]

36 minutes ago, AK_Mom4 said:

We don’t change them out at all.  And we use the same cutting board for everything - just wash well between raw meat and other stuff.

But I don’t wash chicken now before cooking - I learned that here!

I use the same cutting board for everything too.  

[bensonduck]

I use one utensil for cooking, and then a different thing for serving. I have separate cutting boards for meat. Oh, and I have one particular knife I use to cut meat (that’s not really a hygiene thing though, I just prefer that knife). 

I am not super rigid about this though. If my husband was cooking meat and did not switch utensils before serving, it wouldn’t bother me or anything. 

[alisoncooks]

I cook with the same utensil all the way through. Serve with it, too (if I'm serving right out of the pan). I figure it's getting hot while I'm stirring, so...it's fine. No one has gotten sick yet...?

[Ellie]

Meh.

I figure the raw meat germs also get cooked by the end of the cooking time.

[J-rap]

Okay, I think I'm going back to using one utensil throughout.  😄 

[Bootsie]

It depends upon on how much heat the utensil is coming in contact with.  I would not use a utensil to place meat in a pan, cook the meat without the utensil, and then remove the meat using the dirty utensil (or put the meat back on the original platter that was used when it was raw).  If I have a spoon that I am using to stir ground meat as it cooks, I will use the same spoon throughout the process.

[Pawz4me]

Zombie thread

[Carol in Cal.]

I don’t switch utensils until I’m setting the serving dish on the table.

The concession I make to the raw meat kills idea is that I don’t use the same plate for raw meat as for cooked, and also I don’t save and reuse cooking oil that was used for raw meat.  But I don’t worry about the utensils.  

I also taste test the meat for hamburgers once I have mixed in the egg, milk, bread crumbs, and spices.  So basically I’m old school or barbarian or something.