trimmed and chopped up some boneless lamb leg a few days back, marinated it in a bunch of spices and herbs and olive oil and worcestershire sauce. Chopped up some bacon this morning and half-cooked it to get some lard out and used that to sweat the onions and garlic and sear the lamb. Added some potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, tomato paste, beef broth, more spices and bay leaf.

It feels good to cook again.

    • DyingOfDeBordom [none/use name]
      ·
      2 months ago

      viruses aren't magic and should be denatured by the cooking process. If you're eating beef tartare sure you're fucked but... that's why we cook things

      • anarchoilluminati [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 months ago

        No, viruses aren't magic. But neither is cooking.

        There are viruses and diseases that can remain present and transmit from the meat even after cooking.

        • DyingOfDeBordom [none/use name]
          ·
          2 months ago

          if you are cooking it to the proper temperature then no, they won't, their proteins will be denatured by the temperature of the cooking process

          h5n1 survives for like, a day at room temperature

          anybody getting sick from "viruses in the meat" will be getting sick because it was improperly cooked

          Avian influenza virus H5N1 retained its infectivity at 4°C for more than 100 days although HA activity was decreased. Virus lost its infectivity after 24 h when kept at room temperature (28°C). Virus tolerated 15 min exposure to 56°C however it was inactivated at 56°C after 30 min of exposure.

          so if you're really super worried stop eating your beef anything less than medium I guess but for real, it's dumb to worry about, whenever this pandemic starts it's going to be from people infected through like literally just working with the fucking animals

          • anarchoilluminati [comrade/them]
            ·
            2 months ago

            Of course it'll start with people working with the animals, I agree. It already has.

            We just still don't know how this might mutate, for example, if it transfers to pigs and back. But, look, I'm not a biologist and I'm not going to pretend to be one. I'm not sure if you're a biologist. My girlfriend is a biologist, she just goes to a different school so she isn't on Hexbear, and we just want to be careful as this thing progresses. We are already going through one pandemic that the world totally mishandled so it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

            • take_five_seconds [he/him, any]
              ·
              2 months ago

              you're misunderstanding the cooking process. it literally kills bacteria and virii; that's kinda the point of cooking food.

              • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]
                ·
                2 months ago

                Can you imagine how insane the gut bacteria our hominid ancestors used to have back before we discovered fire could cook meat? I think about that whenever I am cooking something that requires a thermometer

                We probably had like miniature full blown wars between our bacteria and whatever was on our food. Like some sci fi alien invasion of a million enemies and our little gut buddies put on their helmets and go "let's get 'em boys!" And then millions die on both sides.

        • CDommunist [they/them, comrade/them]
          ·
          2 months ago

          Cooking isn't magic but it is science

          And science says when you heat a bacteria/virus/whatever to a certain temperature that thing will die