Here's some top tips for enjoying that perfect barbecue

The smell of barbecues will waft throuoghout the Premier County today as hundreds of households take advantage of the fantastic Bank Holiday weather to dine outdoors.

It's not too often in this country that we get the chance to cook and eat al-fresco and people may not be used to the process. So, in order to ensure that you have an enjoyable meal with your family, here are some top tips on how to keep everyone safe  during the preparation, cooking and eating stages.

Just because you’re cooking outdoors, don’t let your good habits in the kitchen go up in smoke when you light the barbecue – you want your family to have memories of a good time, not a tummy bug to remember you by. To make the most of your barbecue, here are some top food safety tips from safefood.

Before you get grilling
If this is your first time barbecuing this year, give your barbecue grill a thorough clean by scrubbing the metal rack with a suitable oven cleaner or a damp brush dipped in bicarbonate of soda. And remember to rinse it thoroughly with warm, soapy water afterwards.

Keep your cool
Food is away from your fridge for a longer period of time when cooking and eating outdoors which can lead to germs multiplying quickly. Keep perishable foods like salads, coleslaw and quiche in your fridge until you need them.

Before you start cooking
Make sure frozen foods are fully thawed (preferably in the fridge on the bottom shelf; which may take overnight) before you start cooking them.

Keep foods you plan to cook properly chilled in the fridge or a cool box until needed.

Light your barbecue well in advance - for charcoal barbecues, the flames should have died down before you start cooking.

It’s in your hands -Wash your hands before and after handling food.
Remember to keep raw meat separate from cooked meat and ready-to-eat foods like salads.
Always use separate utensils for handling raw and cooked meat when cooking.
Never put cooked food on a dish that has been used for raw meat or poultry (unless it’s been thoroughly washed in between)
Keep food covered whenever possible.

Cook with confidence
The big issue when barbecuing is making sure your food has been cooked thoroughly, all the way through. This is particularly important when cooking poultry, pork, minced and skewered meats, such as burgers, sausages and kebabs on the barbecue - while the outside may look cooked (and in some cases burnt), the inside can still be raw.

We recommend these meats should always be cooked until they are piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat remaining and the juices run clear. If you’ve got lots of people visiting your barbecue and want to ensure that meat is thoroughly cooked, you can pre-cook meat in your kitchen oven just before you put it on the barbecue for flavour.

How to know it’s cooked
When cooking foods on the barbecue, make sure to turn them regularly and move them around the grill to ensure they area cooked evenly on all sides – then remove them from the heat and place them on a clean plate. For meats that need to be cooked all the way through be sure to cut into the centre of them to check that:

They are piping hot all the way through
There is no pink meat left and
The juices run clear
Steaks or whole meat joints of beef or lamb can be served rare as long as they are cooked on the outside as any harmful bacteria will be on the outside only, and not in the centre.

Mind the marinade
If you use marinade with your barbecue, make sure any marinade used on raw meat is not then used as a sauce to coat vegetables or cooked meat as it will contain raw meat bacteria! If you want to use marinade as a sauce, be sure to cook it in a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil before serving it.

Using leftovers
If you have any leftovers from your barbecue, these should not be left outside where they could be in the sun and where insects and animals could get at them. As with all leftovers, cover these foods and allow them to cool down in a cool place (your kitchen) before refrigerating within two hours of cooking and use within three days. If you’re reheating leftovers, reheat them only once until piping hot but if in doubt, throw them out.