Invite family or friends over to prepare a feast and you’re likely to find that everyone has an opinion (or four) about how the meat should be cooked. You know how it goes: amid the kitchen clamor come shouts of “poke it to see if it’s done!” and “there shouldn’t be any pink in that pork loin!” And because everyone is an Internet-trained culinary expert these days, it can be difficult to separate sound advice from hogwash.

But adhering to a certain meat-cooking practice just because Grandma said so can prevent you from enjoying your carnivorous cuisine to its fullest, and that’s a real tragedy. To help prevent this, I reached out to a bona fide meat expert Dr. Ryan Cox, associate professor of meat science at the University of Minnesota, to get his take on myths often associated with the act of cooking meat.

In no particular order, here are five meat-cooking myths and why they should be laid to rest for good.

Myth #1: You can judge your meat’s doneness by poking it.

We’ve all seen the dramatic made-for-TV moment on food-reality shows when the judge pokes at a contestant’s steak. But the ubiquitous touch test, according to Cox, should be regarded as a do-not-try-this-at-home practice. “While a chef who works with the same cuts of meats every day may be able to accurately judge the degree of doneness by touch, it’s not a fail-safe approach,” he explains. That’s because different cuts and types of meat exhibit different muscle structures and textures, and therefore differ in firmness. “Scientifically speaking, we define degree of doneness by temperature range,” Cox says. In other words, if you don’t own a meat thermometer, it’s time to go shopping.

Myth #2: Don’t salt your meat before you cook it.

While some may worry that seasoning raw meat with salt will dry it out, Cox says this isn’t the case. “In addition to enhancing flavor, salt partially solubilizes protein on the meat’s surface, helping to create a nice crusty shell—known as a pellicle—when it’s cooked at high heat,” he says.

What about using other seasonings, such as ground peppercorns, herbs or spices? Cox cautions that most herbs and spices will burn on high-temperature grills; however, pepper, he says, will actually stand up fairly well to heat because it’s a ground seed. When it comes to seasoning raw meat, stick to salt and pepper, and consider adding any herbs and spices once the cooking is complete.

Myth #3: Flip meat only once when grilling or sautéing it.

According to Cox, this myth has been perpetuated for two different reasons: aesthetics and simplicity. In explaining the former, he notes that refraining from repeatedly flipping your meat gives it a good hard sear, allowing for the Maillard reaction—a heat reaction between the protein and the very small amount of sugars found in the meat itself—to take place. “The Maillard reaction is responsible for giving your meat that desirable mahogany color as well as its grill marks, and it also contributes to flavor,” Cox says.

In terms of simplicity, Cox notes that recipes generally call for meat to be cooked for a certain number of minutes on each side. “This is to keep the least degree of doneness even throughout the center of the meat,” he says. Nevertheless, Cox doesn’t believe this myth should be considered a hard-and-fast rule. “Flip your meat as often as needed to achieve your desired degree of doneness,” he recommends.

Myth #4: Pork must be cooked to well-done.

In discussions about cooking pork, the word “trichinosis” is sure to make an appearance—especially if multiple generations are in the room. After all, that’s why those pork chops should be fully cooked, right?

Cox disagrees. “I like to call it Grandma’s rule,” he says of the old adage that declares undercooked pork to be dangerous. “Decades ago we did have to worry about trichina in pork because pigs were fed random things like table scraps,” he says, “but today’s pigs eat a safe, clean, wholesome diet, which has drastically reduced the concern about trichina.”

According to Cox, modern cooking guidelines call for pork to be cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit followed by a three-minute rest, which achieves an approximately medium level of doneness. “It’s okay to see some pink in the middle of your pork chop as long as it’s never been tenderized or needled in any way,” he says. That’s because these practices push the external environment into the meat, which Cox notes leads to increased food-safety concerns. “Tenderized or ground meat should always be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit,” he adds.


Myth #5: Your grill grates need to be oiled.

We grease our kitchen pans, so why not our grill grates? Not so fast, says Cox. “The oil on your grill grates burns off very quickly, creating volatile compounds that have a really nasty flavor,” he explains. If you’re set on using oil, consider oiling the meat instead of the grill. Cox notes another benefit of this practice: Because oil is the opposite of water, it’s almost like drying the surface of the meat, allowing for optimal flavor and browning to occur.