When it comes to cooking any kind of meal, food safety should always be paramount.
But, when you’re cooking a meal, you want to be able to serve everything all at once. Fresh and hot.
So, if you’re wanting to serve both beef and pork for a meal, it’s a fair question to ask: whether you can cook it all together.
Here’s whether you can cook beef and pork together, whether it’s in the same pan or on the grill, or if you’re mixing ground beef and ground pork.
If you’re planning on cooking both beef and pork for your meal, then we’ve got good news coming your way.
This is because both whole cuts of beef and pork have the same USDA recommended safe-to-consume internal temperatures of 145°F.
So, as long as you ensure both your pork and beef have reached a minimum of 145°F then they will be safe to consume, no matter what cooking method you’re using.
But, before taking either of the meats off the heat you should ensure BOTH the pork and beef have reached at least 145°F, so there’s no undercooked juices from one of the meats cross-contaminating the other.
For this reason, you should still take into account the different size and cuts of both meats, as well as the cooking method to ensure both types of meats cook at the same time.
Can You Cook Beef And Pork In The Same Pan?
While cooking both beef and pork in the same pan it’s inevitable that the juices from each will mix with one another. This means you’ll get a bit of pork flavor on the beef, and a bit of beef flavor on the pork.
Although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing from a flavor perspective, you just need to be sure that both meats have reached at least 145°F before removing either from the pan.
This is because although one of the meats might have reached your desired doneness, the other may still be at an unsafe internal temperature and therefore any leaking juices may cause cross-contamination.
Although this is generally a low-risk, you should always be extra prudent when it comes to food safety.
So it’s absolutely safe to cook beef and pork in the same pan so long as both meats reach an internal temperature of 145°F before you remove either from the pan!
Can You Cook Beef And Pork On The Same Grill?
It’s common practice for any backyard barbecue to cook all sorts of meats on the same grill.
When it comes to cooking beef and pork on the same grill, It’s generally completely safe so long as they each reach at least 145°F internal.
What’s more, juices from the pork and beef don’t tend to mix when you’re cooking on a grill, unlike when you’re cooking them in the same pan or in the same oven dish.
This is because any juices normally evaporate from the heat, or fall down the grill grates!
This makes it extra safe, almost eliminating any chance of cross-contamination.
Can You Mix Ground Beef And Ground Pork?
At first thought, you might think it’s strange to mix ground beef and ground pork together. After all, they come with their unique flavors and textures.
But, in fact, there’s something magically when you mix them together. This is because, generally ground pork has a higher fat content than ground beef.
This means not only will your ground mixed meat taste more delicious, but it actually remains more moist too. This also helps to avoid your ground meat going tough and rubbery!
In the case of cooking ground beef or ground pork, the USDA recommends to cook them up to 160°F internal temperature to be food safe.
You don’t need to wash your ground meat first either, whether it’s pork or beef or both.
Does Beef And Pork Taste Good Together?
We’re not saying you have to take a bite of both at the same time, but serving both beef and pork together is actually more normal than you think.
The rich savory taste of beef and the natural sweet and saltiness of the pork.
It’s for this reason that cooking beef and pork in the same pan or oven dish together, where their juices inevitably mix, actually creates a rather nice, palatable flavor.
Still, if you’re looking for the true taste of a nice, juicy steak, or the nice fatty sweetness of a pork chop, then it’s best you cook them separately!
What Should You Be Aware of?
Admit it, you might want to have your beef cooked to one desired doneness and your pork cooked another.
So although it sounds easy enough, cooking your beef and pork together, there’s a few things you should be prepared for to ensure your meat comes out exactly how you want it:
- When cooking on one pan or one dish, you can’t set the temperature for each piece of meat. So, just make sure you’re prepared to cook both pieces of meat at the same temperature.
- Meats with bone-in will naturally take longer than boneless ones. Even if the pork and beef are the same widths, if either has a bone-in, they are going to take longer to come up to temperature!
- Cooking pork and beef together that are different thicknesses can be a rather difficult task. Remember, you’d rather cook them perfectly, separately, than cook them both together if it’s going to turn out mediocre.
- When cooking pork and beef together, always use a meat thermometer. This way you remove any guesswork of whether each piece of meat is cooked or not!
Quick Summary
You absolutely can safely and successfully cook beef and pork together, regardless of the cuts of meat you are working with.
The key is to cook them both to 145°F internal for whole meats, or 160°F for ground meats.
When cooking beef and pork together in the same pan or oven dish, to be extra prudent you should ensure both your beef and pork reach 145°F before taking either off!
When done correctly, cooking beef and pork together is both safe and absolutely delicious.
