Ground meat

Ground meat, calledminceormincedmeatoutsideNorth America, is meat finely chopped by ameat grinderor a chopping knife. A common type of groundmeatisground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, includingpork,veal,lamb,goat meat, andpoultry.
In the USA ,ground meat is used in a wide variety of dishes, by itself, or mixed with other ingredients. It may be formed intomeatballswhich are then fried, baked, steamed, or braised. They may be cooked on askewerto produce dishes such asadana kebabıandćevapi. It may be formed intopattieswhich are then grilled or fried (hamburger), breaded and fried (menchi-katsu,Pozharskycutlet), or braised (Salisbury steak). It may be formed intomeatloavesorpâtésand baked. It may also be used as a filling or stuffing formeat piessuch asShepherd's pieandböreks, and also asstuffing. It may be cooked and served as ahashorloosemeat. It may be made into meatsaucesuch asragù, which in turn is used in dishes likepastitsioandmoussaka, or mixed with sauce and served on a bun as asloppy joesandwich. It may also be cooked with beans, tomatoes, and/or spices to makechili con carne.
In theIndian subcontinent, minced meat is used in a variety of dishes such as astewedorfriedcurrydish of mincedbeef,mutton(i.e.,goat meator chevon) or other kinds of meat withgreen peasor potatoes. It usually includesghee/butter, onions, garlic,ginger,chilis, and spices. Minced meat is calledkeemaorqeemain the Indian subcontinent.Keemacan be grilled on a skewer and is then calledseekhkebab, or it is used as a filling forsamosasornaan.
The word ultimately comes from theTurkicwordqıymameaning 'minced meat', and is thus related to thePersianqeyme,Turkishkıyma, andGreekkimás.
Ground meat hasfood safetyconcerns very different from whole cuts of meat. If undercooked, it can lead tofood poisoning.In a whole cut from an animal, the interior of the meat is essentiallysterile, even before cooking; any bacterial contamination is on the outer surface of the meat. This is why, for example, it is typically safe for humans to consume steak that is cooked "rare" in such a way that the interior of the cut remains red in colour - the searing of the exterior of the meat is enough to kill any bacteria on the surface. However, when meat is ground, bacterial contamination from the surface can be distributed throughout the meat. If ground beef is not well cooked all the way through, there is a significant chance that enoughpathogenic bacteriawill survive to cause illness. Moreover, the warming will speed the reproduction of bacteria.UndercookedJack in the Boxhamburgers contaminated in this manner were responsible for four deaths and the illness of hundreds of people in 1993.
To ensure the safety of ground meat distributed through theNational School Lunch Program, food banks, federal food and nutrition programs, theUnited States Department of Agriculturehas established food safety and quality requirements for the ground beef that it purchases. A 2010United States National Research Councilreport reviewed the scientific basis of the Department's ground beef safety standards, evaluated how the standards compare to those used by large retail and commercial food service purchasers of ground beef, and looked at ways to establish periodic evaluations of the Federal Purchase Ground Beef Program.The report found that although the safety requirements could be strengthened using scientific concepts, the prevention of future outbreaks of food-borne disease will depend on eliminating contamination during production and ensuring meat is properly cooked before it is served.