Food Safety
Food safety is an important part of enjoying the outdoor cooking experience. To keep food safe from harmful bacteria, follow these four basic steps:
Clean: Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot soapy water before and after handling raw meat and poultry.
Separate: Separate raw meats from
Cook: Cook meat and poultry thoroughly to kill bacteria. Use a thermometer to ensure proper internal food temperatures.
Chill: Refrigerate prepared foods and leftovers promptly.
How to Tell if Meat is Grilled Thoroughly
•Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Use a meat thermometer to be sure food has reached a safe internal temperature and cut into food to check for visual signs of doneness. NOTE: Do not cut into food while it is on the grill’s cooking surface. This may damage the cooking surface. Move food to a plate to check, then return it to the cooking surface if necessary.
•Poultry should reach 180° F; breasts, 170° F. Juices should run clear and flesh should not be pink.
•Hamburgers made of any ground meat or poultry should reach 160° F, and be brown in the middle with no pink juices. Beef, veal, lamb, steaks, roasts and chops can be cooked to 145° F. All cuts of pork should reach 160° F.
•NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later. Cook food completely to destroy harmful bacteria.
•When reheating takeout foods or fully cooked meats like hot dogs, grill to 165° F, or until steaming hot.