May 12

May 12 Bar-B-Que 101

Tips for Food Handling and Safety

Nothing says welcome to warmer weather than food on the grill. To ensure a tasty spring or summer barbecue, just follow these guidelines on food handling and safety when you're prepping and grilling:

Prepare all ingredients before you begin grilling. A hot grill cooks fast. Being prepped and ready makes grilling a lot less frantic.
Don't let raw meat and fish come into contact with other foods. Use separate cutting boards for raw and cooked meats, or thoroughly sanitize mixed-use cutting boards. Wash with hot soapy water, spray with a 5 % solution of chlorine bleach, and air dry. Plastic cutting boards can be sanitized in the dishwasher.
Do not carve cooked meat on the board used to hold or cut raw meat. For more, check out Top Tips for Safe Summer Grilling.
Cut the fatty edge of steaks and chops to prevent curling. Slice through the fat at 2 to 3 inch intervals, cutting just to the meat.
Most basting sauces can be brushed on any time during grilling. The exception is sugar-based sauces, which include many commercial barbeque sauces. These tend to burn if applied too early; so apply these only during the last few minutes of cooking.
Boil marinades that you will be using as basting sauce at the table for 3 minutes.
Use long-handled tongs or spatulas to turn the meat. This will help keep your meat moist and tender. Poking and stabbing the meat releases juices into the fire. For more info on essential tools, check out The Grilling Tools You’ll Need To Tame The Flames.