So I watched this documentary and the way ground beef is made is that tons of meat from thousands of cows are just thrown into a gigantic grinder, mashed together, and then patties come out the other end.
Seems dangerous to order a medium rare burger, should you always get them well done?
Did not know that cows participate in track and field . . .
clearly you haven’t heard of Moosain Bolt.
Yup, though Medium should be cromulent enough.
Or, not order one at all. Get a steak. Less exposure to the elements, as ALL of the grinded meat, inside and out, has been exposed to the elements.
If you are going to eat a burger anyway, you can greatly reduce this exposure by buying whole cuts of beef and grinding it yourself. When I order a burger at a restaurant, I often order it medium well even though my personal taste preference is medium rare. I don’t order it well done, because in a lot of places that means cooked to a briquette as that’s the preference of many that like well done meat.
Alton Brown has said this, Arthuritas
Yeah, but that requires acquiring a grinder and then cleaning that grinder. And I mean cleaning it very well. One that can go in a automatic dishwasher might be optimal.
You and I should go for medium well burgers some time. 
I cooked up some bacon wrapped filet mignons for NYE, medium rare!!! So good!!! 
Burger shop next door to us grinds their own meat daily and will cook to any temp you like. I usually get them medium as I’m not a fan of medium rare burgers, though medium rare is the perfect steak temp IMO.
Why is it bad if the meat comes from a buncha different cows?
Because if one is contaminated it and contaminate the whole batch of ground up beef that it’s mixed in with.
One bad, bacteria tainted cut could get mixed up with a ton of clean meat. If there is bacteria on 1 piece of meat it can get mixed and spread out into 1000lbs or more of raw hamburger meat.
Cooking to 165* solves this problem because it kills all the bacteria. If you want your hamburger cooked to 130* then you exposure yourself to potentially living bacteria. Fresh cut steaks or roasts do not have nearly as much potential for bacteria as ground beef. So grinding your own steaks into hamburger meat is a way to make ground beef that is safe to eat when cooked to 130* (medium rare)
You can use a food processor to grind meat instead of a grinder. It might not be the best method, but many people already have food processors. And for the effort of a couple of pounds of fresh ground beef once a month, it is a sufficient tool. If you were making 50lbs per month, then invest in a grinder.
Contaminated beef is for suckers.
Sous Vide sounds like a perfect way to improve the process. Someone posted a chart that showed how high of a temperature along with a time keeping at that temp to kill the bacteria. Not sure what the lowest temp was that would still kill the bacteria but would think that it is lower than 165*.
Just say “no” to sous vide.
Yes, sous vide may work to kill bacteria by exposing the meat to 135* for 24 hours.
But Maillard >>> Sous Vide every time.
How do I get an invite to that NYE dinner!?
you usually only eat less-than-well-done burger when you grind a whole piece of meat.
Be it from a grinder or molars.
I have never done a burger sous vide, but often do steaks. Agree you do need to get that maillard reaction. Could sous vide the burger, then give it a sear on a screaming hot grill or cast iron pan like I do with a steak.
Not sure I’d bother with a burger, but steaks done this way turn out well.
If it’s a thin patty, I’d think it would heat up the center quickly and blow right past med rare. But if you had a half-pound sized patty, I’d think you could sous vide, then sear, and it would work out all right. Right?