Outdoor cooking 101: Safety tips for summer gatherings

(NC) Warm weather means backyard barbecues and hosting on your patio or terrace. And while a juicy hamburger and chicken skewers are seasonal staples, it’s important to make sure to follow food safety precautions to keep yourself, your family and your guests healthy. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Shop carefully. Raw meat may contain harmful bacteria, so it’s important to keep it separated from other grocery items—by using separate bags, for instance—to avoid cross-contamination. Always refrigerate perishable foods as soon as possible, or within one to two hours, especially in warm weather. For longer transport times, consider bringing along an insulated cooler with frozen ice packs to hold your perishables.

Master your marinade. Marinate meat in the refrigerator, not on the counter. If you want to save some marinade to baste cooked meat or use as a dipping sauce, make sure to set some aside in the fridge before you use it on raw meat.

Transport wisely. Bringing food to the park or beach for a cookout? If you’re storing your meat in a cooler before barbecuing, make sure that the cooler is kept cold with frozen ice packs. Keep the cooler out of direct sunlight and avoid opening it too often, because that lets the cold air out and warm air in. If you can, bring a separate drink cooler since it will be opened often.

Prep separately. Use separate cutting boards, knives, tongs and dishes when handling raw and cooked meats. For example, don’t place cooked meat on the same plate used to bring the raw meat to the barbecue. Raw juices can spread bacteria to your safely cooked food and make you or the other diners sick.

Use a digital food thermometer when cooking. Bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria are killed by heat. Colour isn’t a reliable indicator that meat is safe to eat, so cook food to the proper temperatures and check by using a digital food thermometer to be sure.

To check the temperature of barbecued meat, take it off the grill and place on a clean plate. Insert the thermometer through the thickest part of the meat. For hamburgers, insert the thermometer through the side of the patty, all the way to the middle. Make sure to check each piece of meat or patty because a grill’s heat can be uneven.

You can find more tips, as well as the full safe cooking temperature guide, at canada.ca/foodsafety.