Week Three

For the longest time, cooking raw meat has scared me. When my mom was teaching me how to cook while I was in high school, that was the one thing that I refused to do. Now, I can brown up some hamburger meat like a boss, but cooking chicken? No, I am going to cut the chicken into the tiniest bites to make sure they are fully cooked. And, if it even tastes chewy or is moist in a non-appetizing way, then that food is going in the trash, and I cannot eat meat for a week. 

This week, we will be tackling how to cook meat and not be afraid. My biggest fear when it comes to cooking meat is raw chicken and salmonella. This fear is so bad to the point that I do not even buy raw chicken, I buy pre-cooked chicken to avoid salmonella overall. I also do not attempt cooking other meat, unless it is in the crockpot and cooking over the span of six hours. 

To prepare for getting over your fear of chicken or any meat, I have gathered some tips and tricks to make the process easier. 

My biggest recommendation for getting over your fear of touching, cooking, or handling raw meat is gloves. I am not talking about the plastic ones your mom uses to garden. I am talking about the black gloves you see the TikTok chefs using to make random fried sandwiches. Though you are not going to be doing daily ASMR videos with food that would probably leave you in the bathroom for a week, you are going to be able to touch raw meat without actually touching it. These gloves are the start to keeping me in the same kitchen as raw meat.

For a bigger list of meat thermometers under $20 check out this list from Tools Nova. Having a thermometer in the kitchen makes me less afraid to cook meat and is such a useful tool if you love a protein packed meal, which in college I feel like is something we all lack. 

Finally, something that I think is beneficial to have is a guide of what temperature different types and cuts of meat should be cooked to. I have a guide on my fridge that has basic temperatures for each type of meat. A basic rule of thumb would be: 

There are plenty of websites that have this information on it, so keep it bookmarked on your devices. Or, you can find a magnet guide to keep on your kitchen appliances. There are also various meat thermometers that you can connect to your phone that can automate your thermometer to check specifically for that temperature and will tell you how much longer that piece of meat needs before being fully cooked or cooked to your liking. There are tons of options on Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Find what is best for your personal liking and what will help you trust that your meat is cooked. 

Trust me, I know how daunting and frightening it can be to cook meat, especially chicken. I am SO afraid of salmonella. Please get all uncooked chicken away from me. However, chicken alfredo is really good and especially with homemade chicken and not premade. Learning to cook meat is one of the basics of cooking, especially in college. Do not let the raw meat scare you, at the end of the day it is not going to bite you, you are going to bite it. 

To prove to you how stressed cooking chicken makes me, watch this video from my personal chicken journey: 

I hope you can relate to this entry, and it helped you a little bit. Do not be afraid to cook meat. Next week, I am going to talk about my favorite fall recipes and just how easy they are. Have a good week and keep cooking!