With Graduation, Father’s Day,
and many other summer activities approaching many of you are sure to fire up
the outdoor grill to help with food preparation for the celebrations.
Outdoor
grilling is a popular way to prepare food during warmer weather while enjoying
the company of family and friends.
However, grilling does “open the door” to food borne illness if proper
cleanliness and preparation measures are not followed.
To
make your cookout a fond memory rather than a regretful experience, follow
these simple steps:
Food
Preparation:
• Select
fresh meat, poultry, or seafood that is high quality for best cooking results.
• Keep
these perishable products at 40° F or colder, until immediately before grilling.
• Thaw
frozen food in the refrigerator and discard leftover marinade.
• Wash
your hands before and after working with raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
• Wash your work surfaces and cutting
boards with hot, soapy water before and after preparing food. To sanitize, use 1 tsp. bleach per quart of
warm water. If possible, use a separate
cutting board for fresh produce and raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
• When away from home, keep your meat
and poultry away from other food in a separate cooler with ice. This prevents cross contamination.
• After placing raw meat on the grill,
wash utensils and platters with hot, soapy water before using them to serve
cooked food.
• Cook foods to an internal temperature
that destroys harmful bacteria. Check
the temperature by placing a thermometer in the center-most part of the meat,
not touching the bone.
Internal
temperature for thorough cooking to prevent food borne illness are:
• Whole
poultry - 165°
F
• Poultry
breasts - 165°
F
• Ground
beef patties - 160°
F
• Ground
poultry - 165°
F
• Beef,
veal, lamb steaks, roasts, or chops - 145° F (yields medium rare
doneness)
• All
cuts of pork - 160°
F (yields medium doneness)
Safe handling of
cooked food:
• Serve
food immediately after grilling, or keep at 135° F or above until served.
• Place
on a clean platter.
• Refrigerate
on a clean platter.
• Refrigerate
all leftovers immediately at 40° F or below.
Discard any food
left out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour if temperature is above 90°
F. Note: These temperatures are
recommended for consumer cooking. They are not intended for processing,
institutional, or food service preparation. Food Service Workers should consult
their state or local food code, or health department.
And finally, if
you are looking for a recipe to ensure that your chicken is moist and tender,
try this marinade recipe featured at our Path to the Plate Grilling Workshop
last month.
Grilled Chicken
Marinade
Ingredients:
¼ cup red wine vinegar ½
teaspoon dried oregano
¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup olive oil ¼
teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
½ teaspoon dried basil
Directions:
Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, olive
oil, parsley, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and black pepper together in a
bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, coat with the
marinade, squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. Marinate in the
refrigerator, at least 4 hours.
Preheat grill for medium-low heat
and lightly oil the grate. Drain and discard marinade.
Grill chicken on the preheated
grill until no long pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should
read at least 165 ° F.
1 Serving
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 233
Calories from Fat: 122
% Daily Value *
- Total Fat: 13.6
- Saturated Fat: 2.3
- Cholesterol: 65
- Sodium: 482
- Total Carbohydrates: 2.4
- Sugars: 0.3
- Dietary Fiber: 0.3
- Protein: 24.3
- Potassium: 246
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
For more information about safe outdoor
grilling or food safety call Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Wise County
office at 940.627.3341.
