subject: Healthy Bbq Cooking Tips [print this page] With avian flu on a rage some time ago, safe cooking methods, especially regarding animal products, are the norm of the day. Healthy BBQ cooking tips ensure your barbecue party does not become a breeding ground for deadly diseases. These healthy BBQ cooking tips are easy to follow and guarantee healthy, tasty grilling delights.
Healthy BBQ cooking tips encompass the entire gamut from storage of the animal product through cooking to its serving. Store the meat in airtight containers or tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, so that the juices do not seep and contaminate other food items.
Before grilling, defrost the meat and fish either in a refrigerator, or soaked in water or heated in the microwave, so that it gets an even grill and no part is left even semi-cooked.
An oft-neglected tip regarding healthy cooking is not to keep the marinated food that you would grill, on the kitchen counter. After all, it is still raw and can taint other foods. Before grilling, you should always keep the marinated meat in the refrigerator.
Contamination can also result if raw meat is not moved around safely. You should always carry the meat in an insulated cooler at temperatures below 40-degrees Fahrenheit to inhibit bacterial breeding. After taking out the meat from the refrigerator, stash it immediately in the cooler and keep the cooler in a shady, cool place.
However, the tip to beat all healthy BBQ tips is to cook the meat and fish completely.
While grilling, even if you find the outer skin browning, you can only be sure that the cooking is complete only after checking the temperature inside the meat. Pork and ground beef should be 160-degree F, beef, lamb, steaks and chops wholly cook at 145-degree F, while whole poultry should be 180-degree F.
There is much more to healthy cooking than just making sure that the meat gets an even grill. Unknown to many, during the grilling process, cancer-causing Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be created when the meat and fish "??muscle meat"?? are subject to high temperatures and when animal fats dribble onto the hot coals.
So the healthy cooking tip in this case would be not to grill in intense heat since HCAs are generated in high heat. If you cook meat and fish for more time than is necessary, the outer skin bursts open to expose the inner parts to heat and this also leads to the formation of HCAs. So timing is essential for safe cooking. The excess fat from the meat should be trimmed so that grilling does not produce PAHs.
A rule-of-thumb amongst the healthy BBQ cooking tips is to keep hot food hot and cold food cold until served. While serving, do not ever use the container that held the raw meat.
Healthy BBQ cooking tips, thankfully are catching on for health addicts have realized that prevention is always better than cure and that a healthy lifestyle extends far beyond the treadmill and the dumbbell.
