Grilling Tips
Before you fire up that grill for the first football tailgate or head out to a family picnic to celebrate the last days of summer, here are a few tips to prevent food poisoning:
Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Discard the marinade after use because it contains raw juices, which may harbor bacteria. If you want to use the marinade as a dip or sauce, reserve a portion before adding raw food.
Don't cut up vegetables or fruits on the same board just used for raw meat or poultry. Doing that on the same surface can lead to contamination and possibly a food-borne illness.
After grilling your burgers, don't put them back on the same plate you used when they were raw.
Keep cold things cold and hot items hot. That means that cold food should be kept at 41 degrees F or less and hot foods at 140 degrees F or higher.
Grilling and Barbecuing
Grilling and summer sometimes seem synonymous — even though many cooks use their grills year round, whatever the weather. Whenever or wherever you’re grilling, keep these hot tips in mind.
Grilling your food is a delightful way of cooking food. It reduces the fats from the food we eat like chicken meat, pork or beef. Grilling, the act of cooking food directly over glowing coals or fire at high temperatures (usually between 450 and 650 degrees), is what most people think of when they say barbecue. Barbecue, made famous throughout the South, is the act of cooking food at low heat over long periods of time (18 hours for brisket), and making generous use of wood smoke. Grilling pizzas is the new fun and original way to get together with friends and family for a great summer party. Patella Info
Grilling Guidelines:
- Remember your food thermometer! Meat and poultry cooked on a grill can brown quickly on the outside — use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe minimum internal temperature.
- Consider partial precooking. Partial cooking in the microwave, oven, or on the stove is a good way to reduce grilling time. Just make sure that the food goes immediately onto the preheated grill to complete cooking. Never partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking it later.
- Use a clean platter for cooked food. Don’t put the grilled food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry because any harmful bacteria present in the raw juices could contaminate safely cooked food. eZine Articles
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