Danger Zone: Keep Your Food Bacteria-Free
Summer may be ending, but I'm sure many of you are still planning outdoor festivities of some sort, and that usually involves food. Whether you're having a backyard barbecue, a tailgate party, or a picnic in the park, it's smart to keep a few food-safety tips in mind so that no one ends the weekend on an unhappy note.
For grillers
The great thing about grilling is that it's so darn easy. And it lends itself to kicking back with a nice bottle of rosé or a few Hefeweizens. Sometimes that combo can lead to a few lapses in food safety though. Stick with these basics and you won't go astray.
1. Keep it cool: Don't leave your steaks sizzling in the sun for hours before you're going to cook them. Keep your meat in the fridge (which should be set below 40°F) until about 10–15 minutes before you're ready to cook it. It does need to warm up a bit so that it cooks evenly, but keeping it outside till you're ready to cook is a bad idea. Bacteria starts to multiply when food is in the Danger Zone: 40°-140°.
2. Avoid marinade mishaps: You've made an amazing tequila-lime marinade for your shrimp, and you want to serve some along with the cooked shrimp. Do not use the marinade that the shrimp was taking a bath in. Instead, make a double batch of marinade and use half of it to marinate the shrimp, and the other half (which should go in the fridge till ready to serve) for serving. One more word on marinating: Do it in the fridge, not on the counter or outside where bacteria can have a field day.
3. Cook it right: I know, you've been grilling for years and no one has gotten sick yet, so what's the big deal? Well, you never know if this batch of ground beef is going to be the one with E. coli in it, so better safe than sorry. This is especially true when you're cooking for people who are immunocompromised, like kids, the elderly, people with cancer, or pregnant women.
A meat thermometer with a digital probe is the best thing to do to keep all the juices intact in your meat. Ground meat needs to reach 160°, chicken breasts should be 165° (though to get rid of the pinkness, you may want to go higher), and fish should be 145° and totally opaque inside. If you take the temp and it's not quite there yet, make sure to clean the thermometer with either hot, soapy water or another disinfectant before sticking it back in the meat. For more on proper cooking temps, click here.
4. Change plates: One last thing. If you start with your raw burgers or shish kebabs on a plate, you'll need to exchange the plate with the meat juices on it for a clean one to transfer your cooked food to. If you're not at home and plates are nowhere in sight, clean foil or a paper plate will do the trick.
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Frances Largeman-Roth, a registered dietician, is the senior food and nutrition editor at Health magazine. She has worked with many top chefs, putting a healthier spin on their recipes. A member of the American Dietetic Association and the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Frances has appeared on numerous local and national radio and TV shows. She lives in Brooklyn, with her husband, Jon, and their flat-coated retriever, Millie.
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