SAFETY TIPS FOR MEATS

If you follow these Safety Tips you should have no problem with the meat you prepare and cook.

Cleanliness:

Always wash hands thoroughly with soapy water before preparing foods and after handling raw meat.
Don’t let raw meat juices touch ready-to-go foods either in the refrigerator or during preparation.
Don’t put cooked foods on the same plate that held raw meat.
Always wash utensils that have touched raw meat with hot, soapy water before using them for cooked meats.
Wash counters, cutting boards and other surfaces raw meats have touched.
These surfaces may be sanitized by cleaning with a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach per quart of water.

Thawing:

Thaw uncooked meat in the refrigerator or in cold water. NEVER thaw meat at room temperature.

Marinating:

Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
Discard the marinade after use because it contains raw juices, which may harbor bacteria.
If you want to use the marinade as a dip or sauce, reserve a portion before adding raw food.

Partial Cooking or Browning:

Never brown or partially cook meat, then refrigerate and finish cooking later, because any bacteria present would not have been destroyed.

It is safe to partially precook or microwave meat IMMEDIATELY before transferring it to a hot grill or oven to finish cooking.

Serving:

Hold hot foods above 140 °F and cold foods below 40 °F.

Never leave foods, raw or cooked, at room temperature longer than two hours.

On a hot day with temperatures at 90 °F or warmer, this decreases to one hour.

MICROWAVE COOKING

Safe temperatures for cooked meat

Recommended internal temperatures for Meat

Most pathogenic bacteria are destroyed between 140 °F and 160 °F. However, for best quality, meat and poultry require various temperatures for "doneness."

Ground meats must be cooked thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria.

Unlike whole muscle meat, which is sterile inside, the grinding process exposes the interior meat to bacteria on the surface, in the air, on equipment or on people’s hands.

To kill these bacteria, food safety experts have one major rule of thumb, which is to cook ground meat to at least 160 °F.

This simple step offers the best protection that consumers can have to serve ground products safely.

Rare Hambergers may be what you like, but there is good is a higher rate of food poisoning from not fully heated ground meat.

Calibration of a Thermometer

Tips for Thermometer Use:

Use an "instant-read" thermometer to check patty temperatures. They are designed to be used toward the end of cooking time and register a temperature in about 15 seconds.

If a meat patty is not thick enough to check from the top, insert the thermometer in sideways.
The thermometer should penetrate the thickest part of the food.

To check the calibration, place the stem in a cup of boiling water. If correct, it will read 212 °F. Most thermometers have a calibration nut under the dial that can be adjusted.
Wash the thermometer after each use.