Recently in the test kitchen, someone unfamiliar with one of the ovens set the timer for a pork shoulder roast–but failed to turn on the oven. Three hours later we discovered an uncooked roast that had been resting too long at room temperature.
Everyone was disappointed when we had to toss the meat. But this kitchen disaster offered a solid reminder about food-safety issues that are especially important this time of year, when warm weather and outdoor entertaining present food-safety challenges inside and outside the kitchen.
“Warm weather is the ideal time to cook out … but warm temperatures also are ideal for bacteria and other pathogens to multiply and cause foodborne illness,” notes the USDA Food Safety & Consumer Education Office on their Web site.
When you have questions about cooking or storing meat products, you can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, 800-535-4555, or visit their Web site, www.usda.gov/fsis. We found these tips from the Web site particularly helpful:
– Time your grocery shopping to keep meat, poultry and seafood cool. Make these items the last things you put in the shopping cart before you pay for your groceries. Refrigerate promptly after the shopping trip. Some shoppers keep thermal bags, which help keep food cool for a few hours, in their cars for the ride home.
– After preparing marinades for raw meat, seafood or poultry, first separate out any you plan to use later as a sauce for cooked food. Use the remainder for the marinade.
– Use a meat thermometer to test grilled food for doneness. According to recently revised USDA guidelines issued in April, poultry should be cooked until it registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion. Other safe internal measurements include: ground meat dishes, such as hamburgers, 160 degrees; beef, veal and lamb roasts and chops, 145 degrees; all cuts of pork, 160 degrees; and fish, 145 degrees.
– Transfer cooked food from the grill to clean serving pieces. Never return cooked food to platters that once held raw meat.
– Refrigerate leftover food within two hours after removing it from the grill. Discard food left out longer.
———-
Send questions to ctc-goodeating@tribune.com. Please include your name, city and a daytime phone number. We cannot answer questions individually, but will research selected requests.
