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Barbecue
basics for good health
June 26, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
It’s
summertime, and grills are firing up in
backyards everywhere.
If you cook out, take a few precautions
to ensure that you keep foods safe.
Maximize nutrition, too, while
you’re at it.
Outdoor temperatures in the summer create
an ideal environment for the growth of
bacteria that cause foodborne illness.
Take some simple steps to prevent food
poisoning:
• Cook meats thoroughly. Use a meat
thermometer for greatest accuracy, but
aim for burgers and hotdogs to reach an
internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
Whole chickens have to be cooked to 180
degrees F. You can precook foods in the
house to shorten the cooking time on the
grill. If you do that, do it immediately
before transferring meat to the grill.
Don’t let meats sit out for long at
room temperature.
• Place cooked foods on clean
plates. Don’t serve cooked meats on
plates that held raw meat. The plates
could harbor harmful bacteria.
• Keep hot foods hot. It’s a
classic rule in food service. (The other
half is "keep cold foods
cold.") Cooked meats should be held
at 140 degrees F for not more than two
hours – one hour if the outdoor
temperature exceeds 90 degrees.
• Refrigerate leftovers. After two
hours, wrap and refrigerate.
Avoiding food poisoning is one short-term
safety goal when you’re grilling.
The other is a long-term health goal:
cancer prevention.
When you cook meat over an open flame,
you run the risk of charring it. That
causes the formation of substances called
nitrosamines, which have been shown to
cause cancer. To prevent charring and to
reduce the production of nitrosamines, do
the following:
• Minimize fat. Fat dripping from
meat can cause flameups that cause
charring. The smoke produced can carry
nitrosamines back up to the surface of
meats. Choose low-fat meats and cut away
all visible fat from any meat that you
grill.
• Minimize grill time. Precooking
meats in the house immediately before
grilling can shorten the length of
grilling time and lessen the production
of nitrosamines.
• Wrap it. Use aluminum foil to wrap
meats and shield them from the open
flame. Foil also catches dripping fat,
which can prevent flameups and charring.
Of course, you can also minimize the
risks of food poisoning and exposure to
nitrosamines by varying your menu. You
can even cut the cholesterol and
saturated fat, and boost the fiber, too.
Try:
• Corn on the cob. Brush it with a
little olive oil and sprinkle with
minced, fresh herbs. Cook it long enough
to soften the kernels.
• Vegetable kabobs. Use cherry
tomatoes and chunks of bell pepper,
onions, mushrooms, pineapple, and
slightly pre-cooked potatoes. Brush with
olive oil and sprinkle with herbs. Try
serving them over rice or in whole-wheat
pita pockets. Alternatively, you can wrap
the veggies in foil and cook.
• Veggie burgers and hotdogs. They
taste great, they’re not greasy, and
they’re precooked, so they only need
a few minutes on the grill.
Whatever you grill, don’t forget to
round out your meal with plenty of fresh,
seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and
green salads all say, "summer,"
too, and they don’t need any time on
the grill.
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