Avoid Foodborne Illnesses When Grilling Out

Lots of people will be hauling out the grill during the three-day weekend.

It's important to ensure you come home from cookouts this weekend with lots of memories, full bellies and maybe a little sunburn – not foodborne illnesses.

Clemson University's Home and Garden Information Center has lots of helpful information to make sure your cookout goes off without a hitch – and without people getting sick.

If you're marinating your meat before slapping it on the grill, make sure you do so safely.

Foods should be marinated in the refrigerator, not on the counter.

If you plan to use some of the marinade as a baste or as a sauce on the finished food, reserve a portion of the marinade. Don't put raw meat or poultry in the reserved marinade.

If you plan to use the marinade that had raw meat or poultry in it, it's essential that you bring the marinade to a roiling boil for at least a minute, before pouring it on the food. This will kill harmful bacteria.

If some of the marinade is to be used for basting during cooking or as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade. Do not put raw meat and poultry in it. If you want to reuse the marinade from raw meat or poultry on cooked food, you must first bring it to a rolling boil for at least one minute to kill harmful bacteria

If you're going to partially pre-cook food before grilling, do so safely.

Here's what the HGIC Fact Sheet has to say about it:

Some like to partially grill meats to give it that smoky flavor, and then refrigerate or freeze the food to complete the cooking at a later date. Holding partially cooked food is not recommended because any bacteria present would not have been destroyed. If you choose to pre-cook meat or poultry, do so immediately before grilling. Once food is on the grill, cook until it reaches a safe temperature as determined with a food thermometer.

If you're transporting food away from home to your cookout spot, keep some tips in mind.

When carrying food to a picnic site, be sure to keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth.

Place raw meat in plastic bags and pack them separately from drinks and ready-to-eat foods.

If you're bringing takeout food that you plan to reheat on the grill, such as chicken or barbecued beef, and you're not going to eat the food within four hours of picking it up, chill the foods thoroughly before reheating.

It's important to keep foods below 40 degrees Fahrenheit – use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to do so. Pack food right from the fridge into the cooler – don't leave anything sitting out. Pack drinks in one cooler and perishable food in another.

Once in the car, keep the cooler in an air-conditioned part of the car. Once at your picnic spot, put the coolers in the shade or the picnic shelter.

Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food below 40 °F or colder. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home. Pack beverages in one cooler and perishables in another cooler.

In the car, keep the cooler in the air-conditioned passenger compartment; at your picnic, in the shade or shelter. Avoid opening the cooler's lid, which lets cold air out and warm air in.

When you are ready to cook the raw meat, remove from the cooler only the amount that will fit on the grill.

Pack clean, soapy sponges, cloths and wet towelettes for cleaning surfaces and hands.

Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters for separately handling the raw foods and the cooked foods.

Never use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Any bacteria present in raw meat or juices can contaminate the safely cooked meat.

Cooking time depends on many factors. Use a thermometer to be sure foods reach proper temperatures to destroy any bacteria present. Cook beef, lamb, pork and veal steaks, roasts and chops to 145 °F for medium-rare with a 4 minute rest before carving or eating, or 160 °F for medium. For both safety and quality, allow meat to rest for 4 minutes before carving or eating. Cook ground meats, injected meats or mechanically tenderized meats to 155 °F. Cook all poultry to at least 165 °F. These temperatures ensure that foodborne bacteria have been destroyed, but if preferred, meats may be cooked more well-done.

Use the HGIC's table to find more approximate cooking temperatures for a variety of meats and poultry. 

When serving the food, make sure you serve it on a platter that did not hold the raw meat.

In hot weather, it's best to refrigerate perishable foods within two hours. Do not keep food that have been sitting out off the grill for more than four hours.

For the complete Clemson University Home and Garden Information Center's Outdoor Cooking Safety Sheet, which includes tips on building a fire, smoking meats and more, click here.

Don't forget to check our Ways to Save Money on your Memorial Day BBQ too!