Flippin' Sweet

Here are some grilling tips that will make you feel like you know secret ninja moves from the government.

 

Smell that flame-grilled deliciousness!
Photo courtesy simplebbqrecipes.com

July is here and that means grilling season is in FULL swing! At my house grilling season is 12 months long but we all know summer is the BEST time to enjoy the weather, have a cold drink with friends and family and fire up the grill.

 

What better to toss on the Traeger than some juicy burgers?  You can never go wrong with a hunk of ground beef! Or can you?

 

Making sure your meat is at the proper temperature is important for ALL cuts and species, but it is especially crucial when cooking hamburger because of the surface area exposed to potential bacteria. If pathogens are present when the meat is ground, it will cover more surface and mixed throughout the meat.

 

Bacteria is not exclusive to ground beef, of course. They are everywhere in our environment; any food can harbor bacteria. In animal products, pathogenic (illness-causing) bacteria, such as Salmonella, Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STECs), Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, can be present. These harmful bacteria cannot be seen or smelled.

 

Not to worry, though, because properly cooking the meat will kill the bacteria. However, it is still important to keep cold meat cold and hot meat hot. The “Danger Zone” or temperature range where bacteria multiply the most rapidly is between 40 and 140 °F. This means you should store ground beef at or below 40 °F and then cook it to a safe internal temperature of 160 °F to destroy any harmful bacteria. Even if you think it’s okay to eyeball it, it’s not. You can’t read temperatures or see bacteria by looking at your burger, so just don’t risk it. Anyone else have Danger Zone stuck in your head now?

Always use a meat thermometer
photo courtesy wikihow.com

In the U.S., beef you find in the store (and what you get from the meat locker if you get your own cattle butchered) is treated in a USDA-inspected plant to reduce bacteria. Methods like organic acid washes, water washes, steam pasteurization, steam vacuuming, and other antimicrobials are used so we can be confident that we are buying the safest product out there.

Now, if you’re looking for new grilling tips to try here are some of my GO TO tricks to get great burgers every time.

• Crack an egg in the ground beef before forming your patties. It helps the meat stick together when they’re cooking so you don’t have to fuss with crumbly burgers.
• Want your burger to still be juicy, not dry, at 160°? Me too.
• Don’t over-handle the meat while preparing it. It could make it tougher
• Try waiting until your patties are formed to salt or season the meat. Not only do you avoid over-handling the meat, it prevents the salt from dissolving muscle proteins and turning your burgers from moist and tender to sausage-like and springy. (This will also help create an awesome carmelized crust on the patty, which is great!)
• Unless you just can’t live without them, don’t add junk like onions, herbs, eggs, breadcrumbs, etc. to your ground meat. It FORCES your to over-handle the mix. With the right seasoning, you won’t need that extra stuff anyway! But again, this is totally up to you.
• You know how burgers shrink when they cook? Poke your finger in the center of them making an indention. This will help it hold its shape.
• Don’t squish the burgers with a spatula while they’re cooking. It will squeeze out the bit of fat that make them thick and juicy.

The perfect patty
Photo courtesy: Landolakes.com

P.S. If you’re looking for a new grill to try out your new tricks on, my favorite grills are Traeger. They use wood pellets so they rock if you’re not in love with the taste (or smell) of charcoal.

Happy summer grilling!
¬
–Kenzie Curran

We Meat at Last

Memorial Day Weekend, The 4th of July, and County Fairs, the age of BBQ is upon us and there’s nothing as American as grilling on the back porch with friends in summer. Today the American food supply is among the safest in the world, however that doesn’t mean that foodborne illness isn’t a major risk for consumers. In fact, the Federal Government estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually—the equivalent of sickening 1 in 6 Americans each year. And each year these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. In order to prevent foodborne illness it’s important to remember safe meal preparations, and some of these listed on this blog may not be as common as you think.

Premature Browning and Persistent Pink

Myoglobin is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates  and plays a large role in determining beef color in the raw and cooked state or meat. When exposed to air, myoglobin forms the pigment, oxymyoglobin, which gives meat a cherry-red color.
Premature Browning occurs when meat appears brown on the outside, but hasn’t achieved a safe internal temperature. Some ground beef patties can develop an internal, brown cooked color and look well-done at temperatures as low as 131 ̊F.

Consumers view ground beef patties that are pink in the middle as being undercooked and unsafe when these patties may be fully cooked and safe to eat, this process is called persistent pinkness. As long as the internal temperature on meat products has reached 160 ̊F (165 ̊F for Poultry Products) then it’s safe to consume. Remember, you can’t tell whether meat is safely cooked by looking at it, always have a meat thermometer ready to use.

Cross Contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when harmful bacteria from one food crosses on to another. Cross contamination occurs when handling raw meat, especially poultry meat, because it contains more liquid than other meats. Unfortunately, there is no way of telling that meat is contaminated with Campylobacter or Salmonella. Therefore, it is advisable to treat all meat as potentially contaminated. When handling meats it’s important to have separate utensils that handle the meat in both raw and cooked state, this includes plates, tongs, and other utensils. Also, it’s important to keep other foods away from raw meat when preparing foods including using separate chopping boards.

Defrosting

It’s common to forget to thaw something for dinner and some consumers grab a package of meat or chicken and use hot water to thaw it fast. And for some consumers who remembered to take food out of the freezer, leave the package on the counter all day. Neither of these situations is considered safe, and these methods of thawing may lead to foodborne illness. Raw or cooked meat, poultry or egg products, as any perishable foods, must be kept at a safe temperature during thawing. As soon as meat begins to thaw and become warmer than 40 °F, bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to multiply.

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter, or in hot water and must not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Even though the center of the package may still be frozen as it thaws on the counter, the outer layer of the food could be in the "Danger Zone," between 40 and 140 °F — temperatures where bacteria multiply rapidly. When thawing frozen food, it's best to plan ahead and thaw in the refrigerator where it will remain at a safe, constant temperature — at 40 °F or below. There are three safe ways to thaw food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave, cook meat that has been thawed in the microwave immediately.

Grilling meat is fun, and shouldn’t cause problems for your family or friends this summer. Follow these tips and your BBQ and smoking days should be a breeze, don’t and you’ll make a “missed steak."

Cheers,
Conrad
 

 

Fourth of July Safety

This post has a double meaning: food safety and fire safety.

 While we all know that July is in the heat (literally) of the summer and is the perfect time for grilling and fireworks, we need to be mindful of two points.

1. Remember to use a food thermometer when you're grilling. Sure, it's hot and you want to get the meat off the grill and onto your plate. But you could be in another kind of rush later on if  you don't make sure that your foods have been cooked to proper temperatures to kill any bacteria that may exist. Here are the proper cooking temps for your 4th of July activities:

      Ground beef/pork/lamb - safe and savory at 160 °F
      Ground turkey/chicken -  165 °F

      Steak - Medium - Rare 145 °F
                  Medium - 155 °F
                  Medium - Well 165 °F
                  Well Done 170 °F - I included this for reference sake, but it hurts to do so!

       Poultry - Chicken & Turkey, Whole 180 °F
                  Breast Meat 170 °F
                  Thighs, Wings & Legs 180 °F
                   **Salmonella is killed at 165 °F

       Pork - roasts, tenderloins and chops - 145 °F  (no higher; nobody likes dry pork)! 

2. Fireworks are awesome. I'm actually a pyromaniac and am one of the first people to buy fireworks on the day the stands open. But we're in a drought now and we all know that fire + dry pastures/hay fields = horrible fast-spreading disaster. If you are in a county with a burn ban in place, consider driving to a neighboring county and watching a sponsored fireworks show. I'm likely going to the Wamego, KS show (it's one of the best in the state). One night of fun shooting off bottle rockets and roman candles isn't worth the devastation of charred fields.

With these safety steps in mind - have a great holiday! And as always, remember the true reason for the season. We are a free country thanks to those who have gone before us and those who continue to fight for our freedoms.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Safe Grilling this Memorial Day Weekend

With Memorial Day weekend approaching I plan to spend some quality time outdoors. What better to do than grab a few steaks and hamburger from the freezer and prep the grill for some cooking!

Throw some friends and family into the equation and I think it's a party! If you and your family are planning on firing up the grills this weekend I thought I would remind you of a few important tips to ensure your Memorial Day cookouts will be a fun and safe start to the summer.

• Use a separate cutting board when prepping raw beef. Wash the board thoroughly in hot, soap water before using the same board for any other ingredients.
• Never put cooked beef back on the same plate you used for raw meat, and make sure to use clean utensils as well.
• Don’t leave cooked food sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Use an ovenproof or instant-read thermometer to prevent over- or under cooking. Refer to safe cooking temperatures below.
• Always use an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the side of burgers and steaks to check doneness. And remember, the thermometer should penetrate the thickest part or center of the burger or steak. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the thermometer to register the internal temperature.
• Cook steaks to 145°F (medium rare) or 160°F (medium). Cook burgers to at least 160°F.

3 Easy Steps for Grilling
Step 1: Prepare gas or charcoal grill according to manufacturer’s directions for medium heat.
Step 2: Remove beef from refrigerator and season with herbs or spices as desired. Place on cooking grid.
Step 3: Grill according to chart, turning occasionally. After cooking, season beef with salt, if desired.

Keep your family healthy when cooking outdoors this summer...Grill it Safe!

Have a safe Holiday!
Kiley Stinson