Independence Day generally means 3 things— checking out the local Fourth of July Parade, having a cookout and watching the fireworks. It seems the perfect time to talk about tips to make grilling healthier and safer.
Somehow when we cook out, the usual food safety tips we use in the kitchen fly out the window. “It’s even more important to think about the four food safety rules when doing a barbecue: Clean, Don’t Cross Contaminate, Cook to the Right Temperature, and Refrigerate Promptly” says Flor Esnayra, MS, RD, LD, President of the El Paso Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly The El Paso Dietetic Association.)
Washing Up:
In the kitchen it’s easy to remember to wash hands, use separate cutting boards for raw and cooked foods and using an antibacterial wipe to clean up spills. In the great outdoors, you might not think twice about petting the dog or wiping your nose, then putting buns on the grill to heat.
- Keep some wipes and antibacterial gel outside as a reminder.
- If you’re packing up your picnic, bring separate cutting boards and plates for putting the cooked and raw meats on. Ditto with spoons and tongs that you use for the raw vs. cooked food.
- If you want to clean as you go, make your own outdoor cleaning station. Using 2 empty tubs, fill both with water and add unscented bleach to one: 1 tablespoon bleach to each gallon of water. Dip utensils, rag or paper towels in the bleach solution to sanitize, then rinse utensil with water.
- Keep paper towels handy—using sponges to wipe up bloody spills only means you’ll be spreading those same germs around later!
Cook Properly: How to Know if It’s Done?
"Forget about relying on 20/20 vision to let you know when the hamburger or the chicken is done," says Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Spokesperson. Eyeballing it is a quick way to end up sick from undercooked meat. For example, when it comes to hamburgers, looks can be deceiving. According to Salge Blake, about one out of four hamburgers will turn brown prematurely before they've reached the safe internal temperature of 160°F. "Make sure you use a food thermometer to determine when dinner is ready," she says. Sadly, only 20% of people use a food thermometer according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Check out this chart for safe internal temperatures.
Cooking outdoors is tricky since cooking temperature varies-- a lot. Flare-ups often cause charring and the impression that the food is cooked, only to find out that it’s raw on the inside! To prevent flare-ups, trim visible fat off of chicken and meats. Consider pre-cooking chicken pieces and immediately pop them on the grill for final cooking to prevent the charred/rare effect. If the outside gets brown before the internal temperature shows it’s ready, put it off to the side (with that portion of the grill turned off) to use indirect heat to finish cooking.
Speaking of charred—those char marks and smoke may add a unique flavor to your BBQ, but it can also expose you to potentially cancer-causing heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Preventing grease from dripping on the heat source, and avoiding charring can keep your grill menu healthier for your guests. Besides the tips above, using a marinade can decrease the production of both HCAs and PAHs—and they make your food tastier and more tender.
The sky's the limit for what you put in a marinade--the basic ingredients are something acidic (vinegar, citrus juice, wine) plus herbs and spices. Putting turmeric and rosemary in your marinade help too, as those herbs have been shown to decrease the production of HCAs. Check out this basic marinade recipe.
Keeping Food Cool or Hot
Yeah, it’s really annoying to eat cold borracho beans or warm potato salad—but it’s even more annoying if you spend the next few days in bed (or worse) due to food poisoning!! Keep in mind that when the temperature is over 90 degrees, cold food should only be kept at room temperature for an hour. When it’s over 100, make it 30 minutes or so.
Use a crock pot, hot plates or heating pans with sterno (you can buy at the dollar store!) Or think about serving from the grill where food will stay warm for a while—you can also turn the grill back on low for a few minutes to re-heat. Keeping food in aluminum pans and covered with foil will help keep things warm for a while.
For cold foods, think about double-plating. Fill a container or bowl bigger than the one you plan to serve in with ice and put your serving container on top. Better yet, invest in some serving dishes that have this feature built in. Don’t forget to replace the ice as it melts!
Refrigerate Promptly
When the crowd moves on to dessert, it’s time to start putting away the perishables. You can always bring them out later for the late-comers or for the second go-round! Refrigerate in shallow containers so the food cools faster.
There’s nothing quite like celebrating our country’s independence with an old-fashioned barbecue. Take those extra steps to keep your friends and family healthy this Fourth of July!
