The glorious summer weather is upon us and many people are set to fire up the barbecue to make the most of the warm spell.
But there's plenty of dangers associated with grilling your food on the barbecue, like food poisoning if your dinner isn't cooked enough, reports RSVP Live. Dr Linda Gordon is Chief Specialist Food Safety, and she says there is one huge mistake we all make when cooking food on the grill, and it's down to how we cook our burgers with some people not cooking them through enough to be safe to eat.
Dr Linda Gordon told RTE's Drivetime: "The difference between burgers and steak confuses people. Steak is perfectly fine to have medium or whatever way you prefer because with a steak, any food poisoning bacteria is on the outside of it."
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Dr Gordon added that a lot of people also get confused during the process of mincing the meat into burger patties. "So when the steak is seared on the outside it’s fine. It’s when you start mincing it up to make a burger is when you start introducing it into the middle of the burger.
"People think if I buy expensive or high quality burgers it’s okay but it’s not." Dr Gordan gave her top tips on how to barbecue your meals safely this weekend, and a big no-no is putting your meat on the grill when the flames are still rising.
"You'll end up with the classic burnt on the outside and raw on the centre. The right way to do it is get organised before you even think about cooking. "
According to Dr Gordon, it's also best to leave your meat in the fridge until you've got the barbecue lit. "If you have a charcoal barbecue, you need to let it light for a while, maybe half an hour before you start cooking so there will be no flames and the coals are grey but still hot."
It's also safe to cook your food in the oven and then finish it in the barbecue according to Dr Gordon. "That’s perfectly fine and it’s a good tip if you’re catering for a lot of people and have a lot of people to cook for.
"You don’t want to be standing there cooking all night! You need to be careful that you keep your raw and cooked food separate. Use a separate set of utensils and plates for handling the raw and cooked meat."
Dr Gordon is remembering anyone cooking on a barbecue this bank holiday and during the summer that "burgers, sausages, pork, and poultry must all be cooked the whole way through" and, you can’t eat any of those under done. "If you’re using frozen meat, make sure it’s fully defrosted because otherwise it’s another way to get the burnt on the outside and frozen on the inside.
"If it’s all raw meat that is going to be cooked, it’s okay for them to be on the same plate." Dr Gordon added that leftovers can last up to three days in the fridge once properly stored.
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