How Should Steak Be Cooked When Pregnant?
Only steak that has been cooked to a “safe temperature” should be consumed by expectant mothers. This means that undercooked, raw meat should be avoided.
Undercooked meat can carry the risk of Toxoplasmosis and other harmful bacteria (Sources: NHS and FDA).
The issue is that a lot of pregnancy manuals fail to define what a “safe internal temperature” is, how to reach it, what it resembles, and whether it varies depending on the type of steak (it does!).
Eating Out: How Should I Order My Steak When Pregnant?
Of course, you don’t always cook steaks yourself at home. You must know what to order when dining out at a steakhouse or similar restaurant.
Pregnant women should order steak well done. If the restaurant can cook the steak to a precise temperature, medium well is an option.
Here is a quick guide to standard steak cooking requests, including information on whether or not they are safe during pregnancy and what to do. This applies to beef, pork, veal, duck, and lamb steaks.
Expecting chefs and kitchens to automatically understand how pregnant women should consume steak is unrealistic, in my experience. They’ll probably want to know why you’re placing this order and how you want it prepared.
| Steak Order | Safe in Pregnancy? |
|---|---|
| Blue (or raw e.g Steak Tartare) | No |
| Rare | No |
| Medium Rare (also called “à point”) | No |
| Medium | No |
| Medium Well | Yes – if the restaurant can be relied upon to check the internal temperature. See below. |
| Well Done | Yes |
The official advice on eating steak in pregnancy
Good news! Steak is safe to eat when pregnant. But you should never eat a rare or medium-rare steak; always make sure it’s well done.
This is because the NHS says that all meat, including steak, should be well cooked with no trace of pink or blood when youre pregnant. If you eat raw or undercooked meat theres a small risk of getting toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite that lives in raw meat, soil and cat poo, and can cause miscarriage and complications in pregnancy.