With the holiday weekend fast approaching, I’m sure families all over the Puget Sound Region and across America are preparing to BBQ. Summer is here!
Earlier this week, Health Power for Minorities sent out some outdoor cooking tips in their July newsletter – to keep us all healthy and safe. Below is information directly from HPM’s newsletter. To sign up for their newsletter, click here.
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Outdoor cooking can be great fun when one considers everything that goes into:
- The Cooking, especially different styles of grilling, barbecuing, and adding other seasonings, and
- The Eating, including adding the sides, dressings, trimmings, and social activity.
These tips will help you in Cooking Good and Eating Healthy!
Physical Safety First:
- When carrying food to another location use cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40oF or below
- Be sure the grill is in a well-lit area.
- Be sure the ventilation is good, and the grill is not near trees, shrubs, or buildings.
- Keep children and pets away from the fire
- Have water nearby in a squirt bottle in case the fire flares up
Food Safety Next:
- Keep all perishable foods, like foods with dairy products meat and poultry cold to limit bacterial growth.
- If the outdoor temperature is less than 90oF, they should not sit out more than two (2) hours.
- If the outdoor temperature is higher than that, perishable foods should not sit out for more than one hour.
Preparing the Food:
- Wash hands before and after preparing foods.
- Completely thaw meat and poultry before grilling so it cooks more evenly.
- Thaw food in a refrigerator or microwave, but if a microwave is used; cook as soon as thawing is done.
- Marinate (soak in a savory sauce to enrich the flavor or tenderize) meat in the refrigerator, not at room temperature
- Don’t use the same plate or utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. The juices from raw meat can contaminate the cooked food
About the Cooking:
- Use a thermometer to be sure the food has been cooked to a safe temperature inside (You can’t tell from the outside).
- Desirable Internal Temperatures (in Fahrenheit Degrees) for poultry, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks and more are provided in our related blog post.
- There are also tips about marinating food including reusing marinade, what kind of containers to use, and how long to marinate different foods;
Grilling Hamburgers
- Don’t keep uncooked ground beef in the refrigerator in the supermarket wrapping for more than two (2) days. . .
- Be sure the grill is hot before cooking burgers to avoid their sticking to the grill.
- Don’t salt burgers before they’re cooked because it draws the juices out, and More.
Enjoy cooking out, while staying safe!
Principal Outdoor Cooking Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
For more Health Power Cooking Good and Eating Healthy Tip Sheets, click here.
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