Whoa! Wait a minute, you cannot be serious, writing a post on sure fire ways to die from eating barbecue?!#$% No one is going to want to eat at anyone's BBQ if you write on something like that. Well, it is not all that serious, but there are some very specific guidelines which we all need to follow if we are going to survive the BBQ season. Just a few basic tips which we all need to be aware of.
If we are doing our thing outdoors and we have to travel, then we need to take along our food in a cooler. Remember, cold food cold and hot food hot. At least that was always our motto in serving banquets. Food should not be allowed to drop down below 140 degrees.
We should always wash our hands in hot, soapy water after touching raw meats. I want to say especially poultry (that means chicken) but really, it is all meats. Such as chicken, beef, seafood.
After using our marinade, throw it out. If we had wanted to use some of it as a basting sauce while grilling, then set aside some of it before putting in the raw meat.
Always test our meat with an instant read thermometer to insure that it is cooked to the right temperature.
Here is a good one: if you are taking the raw chicken out to the BBQ out back, great, but after you have put that chicken on the grill, then go back inside and wash the plate. My kids would see me use the same plate taking out and then bringing the meat back in and would accuse me of contaminating everything. They never watched me close enough to see what I did in between. After everytime that I would bring out the raw food, I would always, without fail, take that same dish back in to wash. But then I would leave it in the house for fear of flies landing on a clean plate. It was only when the food was cooked that I would go back inside and get that same plate (Clean!) and then bring the food back in (cooked). And all they ever saw was that same plate being used twice. See, even old people know tricks that we can pull on the youngsters.
People, the experts, say that we should throw away any old, used basting sauce. I have one better. I only put in a small bowl what I think I will need, and always underestimate it. That way I can always add more if I need to. But doing it this way, I never throw out a whole bowl full of basting sauce. It just about always, and I mean always, without fail, comes out perfect. I mean if you really want some sure fire ways to die from eating barbecue then just go ahead and do not plan ahead.
But basically, it is pretty simple. Just use your head, plan ahead, and remember to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. And always remember the tips and hints which we freely give out in our newsletter. It is free to sign up for.
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