Follow Food Safe Grilling Tips When Barbecuing

Marinating foods:

Always marinate your meats and foods in the refrigerator, not in the sink,  countertop or on the picnic table.   Some marinades also make great sauces.  But don't mix marinates used for raw foods with cooked foods.  Separate your marinate into two bowls:  one for raw foods and one for use later as a sauce for cooked foods.  Once you have used marinate, dispose of it, do not reuse it.

 

Partial Cooking:  

If you are cooking part of the food on the stove or in the oven, plan on grilling them right away.  Don't partially cook the food and then wait to grill it later.

 

Cooking Food:

Use a thermometer when grilling to make sure that the food is completely cooked.  See the temperature chart.

 

Hot Foods:

If you have several foods cooking, all the foods you are cooking might not all be ready at the same time.  So when food is cooked and ready to eat but you are not ready to serve it, keep them hot by placing the cooked food to the side of the grill, just away from the coals.

 

Cooking Utensils:  

Separate cooking and eating utensils/platters.  Raw food has juices that can be forming bacteria so you do not want to use the same platter or utensils for cooked foods.  Always use a clean platter and utensils for your cooked food.

 

 

Source:  USDA FDA food safety webpages