Food safety precautions begin while you're still at the grocery store. If you plan on spending a lot of time at the grocery store that day, purchase the meat last, right before you are ready to check out, so it can remain as chilled as possible for the trip home. While shopping pick up a few of the handiwipes that are offered to wipe off the handles of the shopping cart. Use them to wipe off your hands after you've picked up chicken, pork, or fish.
If you live in a hot climate place the meat, frozen vegetables and diary items in a cooler for the ride home. This is especially important if you plan on completing another errand, such a picking up the kids at swim club after shopping. Even with the air conditioner the back seat can start to get warm. Keep in mind none of the air conditioned air reaches the trunk.
Meat should be refrigerated immediately when you get home, in the coldest part of the refrigerator or in the meat compartment. If you purchase frozen beef, it should be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator, not a room temperature. The same goes for chicken or turkey. If the poultry is large, over 15 pounds, you can jump start the defrosting by immersing the still wrapped turkey in the bathtub or large kitchen sink filled with cold water. Don't use hot. The hot will raise the outside of the turkey to unsafe levels while the inside still is frozen. After an hour remove the poultry from the water and let it finish defrosting in the refrigerator.
Remember to wash your hands before and after you handle raw meat or poultry. In the kitchen, don't use the same work surface, cutting board, etc. to get the raw meat or poultry ready for the grill as you do for other foods. If more than one person is in the kitchen during the prep stage, make sure you coordinate with them so you know which utensils and which surfaces have come in contact with raw meat or poultry.
Trimming excess fat from meat can help avoid flare-ups during the grilling process. This can have three benefits: leaner meat is healthier for you and your guests, a flare-up can potentially burn and ruin the dinner you've so carefully planned and prepared, and can be dangerous for the outdoor chef as well. The risk being burned while grilling can also be lessened by using long handled tongs and spatulas.
If you are grilling other items along with the meat, make sure they do not come in contact with the meat while it is in a raw state. Give the meat and the other items their own separate zones on the grill. Use separate tongs or spatulas to handle these items. When the meat is ready to be removed from the grill, put it on a fresh, or freshly washed, platter and use a fresh set of tongs or spatulas to handle it. Make sure you wash all utensils, cutting boards and your counter tops after they have come in contact with raw meat or poultry.
It is also important to refrigerate leftovers from grilling promptly. Don't leave them on the counter top, at room temperature, for very long after you have finished eating.
Food Safety & Quality
To be honest I think some of them probably just drank too much but clearly there's enough of a belief out there that food hygiene is a problem at a barbeque for either a genuine day off work or a cast iron excuse.
In many of the barbecue articles that I've written I've concentrated on the phrase ?sizzle is hot, flames are not? which focuses on the need to be patient and control the barbecue flames. If however you still haven't mastered this point then maybe it's time to resign yourself to buying a barbecue thermometer?
Why do I need a BBQ thermometer? Take this barbecue hamburger example:
Many folks assume that when barbecued hamburger is brown in the middle, it is well done but according to USDA research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature. The internal temperature must be 160'F before its safe to eat.
The bug we're trying to protect ourselves against is e-coli, and bacterium that live on the surface of meat. This is an important point and essential to understand because we can happily eat a rare steak without any chance of food poisoning. Provided the steak is cooked well on the outside, the bacteria are killed.
This is not the case with a hamburger however because the burger is made from ground meat so surface bacteria could be anywhere inside the hamburger.
The signs and symptoms of food borne illness range from upset stomach, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration, to more severe illness?even death, but having said all this, please don't be put off having some hamburgers at your next BBQ cookout. With a few simple precautions that follow the rules of basic food hygiene and barbecue food poisoning will be a thing of the past.
Use a food thermometer. Instant-read food thermometers are good for checking the internal temperature toward the end of the cooking time.
1. The food thermometer should be placed in the thickest part of the food and should not be touching bone, fat, or gristle.
2. Make sure to clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water before and after each use!
The other option is to use a large-dial oven-safe or oven-probe thermometer and these can be inserted in the meat and used for the duration of cooking.
There are many types of food thermometers, so it is important to follow the instructions for your food thermometer to ensure the correct reading. When happy with the method of use you can refer to the USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures to ensure a safe barbeque cookout.
? Steaks & Roasts - 145 ?F
? Fish - 145 ?F
? Pork - 160 ?F
? Ground Beef - 160 ?F
? Egg Dishes - 160 ?F
? Chicken Breasts - 165 ?F
? Whole Poultry - 165 ?F
That's the main one, but to finish off here are a few more tips to help you avoid food poisoning at your next BBQ:-
1. Wash hands and surfaces often
Use warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food and wash you're cutting boards after each food item is prepared
2. Don't cross-contaminate, always keep raw and cooked food separate. Never place cooked food on a plate which previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
3. Refrigerate promptly ? but do not cover (e.g. with stretch wrap) if the food is still hot
Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours or sooner.
Be Food Safe! Prepare With Care
Know how to prepare, handle, and store food safely to keep you and your family safe. Bacteria can grow on meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products, as well as cut-up or cooked vegetables and fruits.
Follow the above and food poisoning should be a thing of the past. Why not pass this onto your employees? You may see a marked improvement in Monday morning attendance ? or maybe just a different excuse.
Both Brian Hill & Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Brian Hill has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Energy Healing and Build Online Business. More grilling tips, techniques, recipes, and menus. Brian Hill is the author of several nonfiction books and an avid grill master. He also loves to. Brian Hill's top article generates over 12100 views. Bookmark Brian Hill to your Favourites.
