By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS
County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

For many of you, warmer weather means grilling. Nowadays, there are so many varieties of grills to choose from, including wood pellet, gas grills, and charcoal grills. We all have our favorite method of grilling, but no matter the preference, food safety is a must.

Food-borne illness is a larger problem than you might think; over four million people a year are affected by it. Plus, food contaminating bacteria are tough to deal with because you usually don’t even know they’re present. They are microscopic in size, and you can’t smell or taste them. So, for food safety, prevention is the watchword.

Outdoor entertaining at home or in a park would be easier if you could just throw the refrigerator under one arm and take it with you. This is because the best way to fight food-borne illness is to keep perishable foods cold, especially meat and poultry, between preparation and serving. Food-borne illness is what you want to prevent and is the correct term to use verses the term food poisoning, which is what you often hear.

Another rule of food safety is to keep clean everything that touches food. Stop and wash your hands before preparing food. Wash utensils, bowls, and surfaces that come into contact with food before preparing another dish. Try to use a spoon, fork, or other kitchen utensil to mix food, rather than using your hands.

A lot of emphasis is placed on clean hands because your hands continually pick up bacteria and other germs. These organisms live in and around the fingernails and in the creases of the hands. Only vigorous washing with hot, soapy water prepares hands to safely deal with food. The third food safety rule is to thoroughly cook food. Ground beef, pork and lamb must reach a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F, while ground chicken and turkey must reach 165 degrees F. Beef and pork steaks and chops must reach a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F and rest for three minutes while whole poultry must reach 165 degrees. For complete safety use a meat thermometer to accurately measure the temperature of meats and poultry.

Grilling at our house always means the meat has been marinated or seasoned with a rub. When marinating meat we use an acid, which can be fruit juice such as lemon, orange, pineapple or vinegar and a flavoring like teriyaki. Use about three fourths juice or more to one-fourth the flavoring. Marinating is best if done ahead of time in the refrigerator. The longer the meat is marinated the more flavor it will have and more tender it will be. Using a large needle and syringe is a quick way to get flavor into a roast or chicken half, but remember, you need to allow time for the acid in the fruit juice to tenderize the meat.

Here is a rib rub recipe you can try:

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup garlic powder or granules
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup lemon pepper
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup ground celery seed
2 Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. whole celery seeds
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Mrs. Dash Original Blend

Mix together and store in air-tight container.