Top barbecue safety tips
We all love a barbecue, but there's nothing worse than having friends over and spending the afternoon worrying about whether or not the meat's cooked properly.
Stick to these simple barbecue safety tips and you can relax, knowing you and your guests are safe from food poisoning!
1 Remove any old ash from the barbecue and use a clean grate. The grate can be heated over the barbecue and brushed with a wire brush to remove any burnt-on residue. It can be useful to lightly oil the grate before cooking any food.
2 Light the coals in plenty of time. It's best to wait for the coals to turn grey before starting to cook, which takes about 30 minutes.
3 If you're cooking a large amount of food, you'll need a good depth of coals in your barbecue to keep the heat going for long enough.
4 Take care when cooking over the barbecue. Use long-handled implements to turn food. A set of oven gloves may be useful.
5 Make sure clean plates are available for the cooked food. Don't put cooked food onto a plate that's been used to carry out raw food (unless the plate is washed first!).
6 To check the temperature hold your hand about 7cm away from the coals. You should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 4-5 seconds. This is medium hot, which is usually a good temperature for barbecuing. It's unwise to cook over very hot coals, as food will burn on the outside and stay raw in the middle.
7 Some foods, (such as sausages) may drip fat onto the coals and cause flaming. A spray bottle of water is useful to have on hand so you can spritz any flames that get too fierce.
8 It's best not to cook foods that are very thick or large. Chicken breast is best halved horizontally into escalopes and drumsticks and thighs can be part cooked in the oven before finishing off on the barbecue.
9 Try not to use a marinade with lots of sugar, honey or syrup, as the sugar will tend to burn quickly in the heat of a barbecue. Wipe off the marinade if necessary and boil down to use as a glaze as the end of cooking time.
Stick to these simple barbecue safety tips and you can relax, knowing you and your guests are safe from food poisoning!
1 Remove any old ash from the barbecue and use a clean grate. The grate can be heated over the barbecue and brushed with a wire brush to remove any burnt-on residue. It can be useful to lightly oil the grate before cooking any food.
2 Light the coals in plenty of time. It's best to wait for the coals to turn grey before starting to cook, which takes about 30 minutes.
3 If you're cooking a large amount of food, you'll need a good depth of coals in your barbecue to keep the heat going for long enough.
4 Take care when cooking over the barbecue. Use long-handled implements to turn food. A set of oven gloves may be useful.
5 Make sure clean plates are available for the cooked food. Don't put cooked food onto a plate that's been used to carry out raw food (unless the plate is washed first!).
6 To check the temperature hold your hand about 7cm away from the coals. You should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 4-5 seconds. This is medium hot, which is usually a good temperature for barbecuing. It's unwise to cook over very hot coals, as food will burn on the outside and stay raw in the middle.
7 Some foods, (such as sausages) may drip fat onto the coals and cause flaming. A spray bottle of water is useful to have on hand so you can spritz any flames that get too fierce.
8 It's best not to cook foods that are very thick or large. Chicken breast is best halved horizontally into escalopes and drumsticks and thighs can be part cooked in the oven before finishing off on the barbecue.
9 Try not to use a marinade with lots of sugar, honey or syrup, as the sugar will tend to burn quickly in the heat of a barbecue. Wipe off the marinade if necessary and boil down to use as a glaze as the end of cooking time.
