Bacterial Control and Safe Barbequeing

Long ago, barbequing was primarily a summer activity.Which was understandable considering all the grilling done was done on charcoal and it took 30 minutes or better for the coals to “gray out”. Then another 20 minutes to cook the meat.

Now with modern gas grills, a grill can come up to perfect grilling temperature in a couple minutes flat – basically cutting the prep time in half. Along with this efficiency has come a longer grilling season that now even includes winter. Now that people are barbequing out all year long, safely preparing and barbequeing foods has become more important.

So Here are Some Important Safety Tips for Barbequing.

Firstly and probably the biggest safety tip is to carefully inspect the expiration dates on meats you purchase. I kid you not, supermarket managers do make mistakes and old meat often winds up going home with some unlucky family. Let it not be your family. It only takes a second to check so make the effort.

Secondly, always marinate meats in the refrigerator. Don’t leave your marinate and meat out on the counter. Bacteria multiply rapidly. So it’s a good idea to be safe and marinate your meats in the refrigerator – especially if you’re thinking of doing an overnight marinate.

Thirdly, separate juicy meats like chicken from the other foods you buy. Separate meats from vegetables and potato salads etc with plastic bags. Chicken and poultry in general are especially a “dirty” meats. Juice in packaged chicken will very quickly cross contaminate other foods in your grocery bag.

Lastly, don’t let your meats come up to room temperature. Take them directly from the fridge and throw them on the grill. And never let them sit in the sun while you’re prepping other things for your barbeque. Again, baceria multiple with blinding speed in favorable condiions: read warm temperatures.

Following these simple tips will ensure that you have delicious but more importantly safe barbeque.