Smart Cook-out

Well, the weather's heating up and that means that many of us will be having periodic cook-outs with friends and family.  It's one of the joys of this time of the year.

Unfortunately, some people tend to let basic food safety rules fly out the window when they move

from cooking in the kitchen to cooking outside.  That's too bad, because no one wants their guests or themselves to get sick from their cook-out.

So let's take a quick look at some basic, but very important, tips for making your cook-out a safe time for everyone.

• The first thing you should always do--no matter where you're cooking--is to make sure your hands are washed well.  Do this before, during and after cooking. 
• If you haven't already, before you grill any kind of meat, go out and buy a food thermometer.  Measuring the temperature is the only true way of telling if something is cooked enough or not.  Yes, there are all sorts of tricks to test doneness by touch or sight, but they aren't foolproof.  Take the temperature and you can't go wrong.  Burgers should be cooked to 155 degrees and steaks/roasts to 145 for medium-rare or 160 for medium.  Poultry should always be cooked to 165.  The thermometer probe should be inserted into the thickest part of the meat to get the best reading.
• Hot food should be kept hot until it is ready to be served.  So if it's done, move the stuff you're cooking to a cooler side of the grill until ready to be put out for your guests.  In the same way, cold foods should be kept cold as long as possible.  Keep them in the fridge until ready to be set out or at least in a cooler with ice.
• The food you use should be bought no earlier than a day or two before your cook-out.  Using the freshest ingredients is a great way to combat food-borne problems. 
• Perishable foods should not be set out for more than 2 hours before being refrigerated.  (No more than 1 hour if it's 90 degrees or more.)  No big deal.  Let every take what they want, put it in the fridge or coolers and bring it back out if you need to.
• Speaking of coolers, always have separate coolers--one for food you will or have prepared and one for drinks.  The drink cooler will be opened again and again so any perishable food in there won't stay cold as long.  Full coolers stay cold longer, so be sure to have extra ice or ice packs to help keep the cooler as full as possible.
• The biggest thing you need to do is avoid cross-contamination at all costs.  Have separate cutting boards for raw meat and other items.  Never put cooked meats back on the plate that held it while raw.  (I always put a sheet of foil over a plate to hold the raw meat, then remove it when you put it on the grill.  Voila!  Clean plate!)  Don't use the same utensils--knives, tongs or whatever--for raw meat and other items.  Don't reuse marinade that has had raw meat in it (although you can use it to baste the meat on the grill).

Get familiar with these simple rules and you won't have any problems when hosting your summer cook-outs.  Have fun!

For a few good grilling recipes, check out my June newsletter, which can be found on my Facebook page.

Food Safety

I've never had food poisoning, thankfully.  It's funny, though, that as soon as someone thinks they may have food poisoning, they immediately think about the last meal that they ate out in a restaurant. 

Truth is that most food poisoning occurs from foods prepared at home.  Most of them don't get reported because people think it must have been the flu or some sort of stomach bug.  But the fact remains that the lack of food safety in the home contributes to a lot of illness.

There are those who say, "Oh, I've never sanitized my cutting board and I don't get sick" or something like that.  That may be true.  But new pathogens show up all the time and your old ways of doing things may not keep you from getting sick for much longer.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has come up with 4 simple terms to keep in mind when thinking about kitchen safety.  (Thanks to China Millman's article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for many of these ideas.  Find out more from the CDC at www.cdc.gov/foodsafety.)

• CLEAN
• Wash your hands completely (20 seconds in hot, soapy water) before cooking and often during the cooking process--especially after handling raw proteins.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables in water.  Yes, even organic and items that you'll be peeling.
• Don't rinse meats or poultry.  You're not going to wash off many of the bad microbes and you'll just be contaminating your sink.  Pat them dry with paper towels if you wish.
• Clean cutting boards and countertops with a solution of diluted bleach (1 Tbsp bleach to 1 gallon of water). 
• Sponges can be home to a bunch of microbes that can make you sick.  Sterilize them by microwaving for 1 minute on high or run them through the dishwasher.  Do this frequently.
• Change your dish towels frequently as well.  If you accidentally get some chicken juice on one, that won't help things when you go to dry your hands later on.
• SEPARATE
• Cross-contamination is the biggest concern in your kitchen.  Any contact from raw meats or poultry with foods that aren't going to be cooked can be dangerous.
• Always use separate cutting boards--one for meats/poultry, one for other items.  Be sure to wash your cutting boards, knives, etc after cutting raw proteins. 

• Store these foods separately in your fridge as well.  Try to store raw meats/poultry at the bottom of the fridge so there's no danger of them dripping on other items below them.  Be sure to keep them well wrapped.
• COOK
• Be sure to cook proteins to the recommended temperature.  To be safest, don't use visual cues to tell you this.  Use a thermometer to be sure.
• CHILL
• Refrigerate foods promptly when you get them home. 
• Be sure your fridge is no warmer than 40 degrees.  Use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure.
• If you don't use raw proteins in a few days, freeze them until ready to use.
• If something in your fridge doesn't look or smell good, toss it.  Better to err on the side of caution than get sick.

Here's another article for you to check out on a similar topic.  It helps to dispel some myths that many believe to be true when it comes to kitchen safety. 

Does it take a little extra work on your part to make sure you are preventing food-borne illness in your kitchen?  Sure.  But the alternative is a lot worse!

Eat Off the Floor

We've all been to a restaurant that was...how can I put this nicely...um....well, gross.  Dirty silverware, yucky bathrooms, maybe a bug or two running around.  No way you'd go back to that place, right?  How did they ever pass inspection?

Well, a new study has shown that most people's home kitchens probably would not pass a typical restaurant inspection.  Is your refrigerator at the correct temperature?  Do you store meats properly?  Is there pet hair near preparation areas?  Do you rinse off all vegetables and fruits? 

While most restaurants rate an A or B with these inspection criteria, most home kitchens would not do so well.  In fact, according to the survey, 14% would fail.

"I would say if they got below a C, I'm not sure I would like them to invite me to dinner," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

These results were compiled from an Internet survey, not actual home inspections.  So, because most of the respondents were probably people interested in food safety and related topics, the actual results are probably much more negative.  If you had a fridge that didn't work right and bugs running around your kitchen, would you want to complete this survey? 

Read more about the survey in this AP story.