Conventional cooking in an oven at 176 ± 6 C proved to be more destructive than microwave cooking when individual strains of Pseudomonas putrefaciens, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Streptococcus faecalis were inoculated and grown in aseptically obtained meat tissue and then heated and compared at similar final internal temperatures. P. putrefaciens was the most heat sensitive microorganism in both cooking techniques. S. faecalis was the most heat resistant strain when cooked by conventional means but L. plantarum proved to be the most resistant when heat was applied by microwave energy.