Get Grilling
By Nancy Honig
It is the time of year when grilling outdoors is in full swing. And while it is a great way to keep from heating up the kitchen, food safety is just as important when cooking outdoors.
Proper food handling and food safety are other important aspects of grilling and keep cookouts safe. Begin with a clean grilling workspace and safe food preparation. Be sure to wash hands before and after touching raw meat, poultry, or seafood. If cooking away from home pack clean, soapy sponges, cloths and wet towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands. Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters for separately handling the raw foods and the cooked foods. Never use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Any bacteria present in raw meat or juices can contaminate the safely cooked meat.
Use long-handled tongs when placing or turning meat on the grill to avoid the loss of juices that keep meat moist and tender. Piercing meat with a fork or knife can also affect food safety. Bacteria are normally found only on the external surface, so roasts and steaks cooked to an internal temperature of 145 °F will be safe because the outside will reach a temperature high enough to kill the surface bacteria. However, if a steak is poked or stabbed, these bacteria can be pushed inside, and then the meat must be cooked to 155 °F. Wash tongs that have been used on raw meat or use a separate set of tongs for removing cooked meat, poultry, and seafood from the grill.
When carrying food to a picnic site, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth. Place raw meat packages in plastic bags and pack separately from canned drinks and ready-to-eat foods that might otherwise become contaminated. Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food below 40 °F or colder. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home. Pack beverages in one cooler and perishables in another cooler.
Food safety when grilling means cooking food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Cook all poultry to 165 degrees, fully cooked meats like hot dogs to 165 degrees and hamburgers to 160 degrees. Beef, pork, lamb, veal steaks, chops and roasts should be cooked to at least 145 degrees. For safety and quality, however, allow these foods to ‘rest’ for three minutes after removing them from the grill before serving. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe internal temperature. Foods on a grill can brown quickly and look as though they are sufficiently cooked when they are not, so a food thermometer is the only way to ensure foods have been cooked to a safe internal temperature. NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later.
After cooking, be sure to keep the food hot until it is served – at least 140 degrees — otherwise, eat or refrigerate it right away. Keep food covered and never let it sit out for more than two hours, and if the weather is 90 degrees or hotter, eat or store it within one hour.
So, fire up the grill but be sure to keep it safe!
