Grilling Tips - Safety Comes First at the Barbecue


You're standing at the gas grill in the hot sun, wiping the sweat from your brow, and having your favorite cool drink. You are making one of your favorite grill recipes for the neighbors that are coming over in a few minutes for a home and garden party. You are using your brand new gas grill with all of the bells and whistles. You even went to the trouble of sending out fun invitations you found on the internet and you have just the perfect theme picked out for your party. Your new pool furniture has arrived and the weather is a perfect 80 degrees. Your picnic table is set up for the kids and their friends. Summer life doesn't get much better than that. With every grill recipe, party and backyard barbecue you can still maintain safety and common sense. Your party could be a disaster without first thinking about safety for yourself and your guests. Here are a few tips that ensure safety first:

• If your gas grill is lit, never leave it unattended
• Never move the grill once it is lit and hot
• Be sure to read the owners manual before actually grilling food
• Check all of the parts of the grill to make sure it has been firmly and correctly put together
• Never attempt grilling in a trailer, garage or any enclosed space. The fumes and flames can quickly kill you
• Beware of a windy day when sparks can easily get away from you
• If grilling with charcoal, lighter fluid should be capped
immediately after use and never use gasoline or kerosene to start a flame
• Keep children and animals away from the grill
• Grill away from grasses, trees, shrubs, awnings, umbrellas
• Place the grill on a fire resistant material such as brick or concrete, never grass
• Have fire resistant cooking mitts ready and waiting
• Wear clothing that doesn't hang out over the grill
• Control flare-ups by lowering the thermostat
• Keep a bottle of sanitizer next to your grill to protect your hands from cross contamination
• Have a fire extinguisher close at hand if needed and try baking soda to control a flame that is out of control
• The correct long handled utensils used just for grilling keep your hands safe

Keep your food safe as well as your body and property. Food safety begins in the grocery store when you keep your meat at a cold temperature when you are bringing it home. Don't let meat sit in a warm car or out too long in air temperature. Keeping food safe is as important when traveling to a picnic or just staying at home. When you work with meat, there are all kinds of bacteria and germs that grow so keep your raw meat away from any vegetables you are grilling. Be sure not to put your cooked meat onto the same plate where you removed the raw meat. Don't bring the meat out of the kitchen until you are ready to place it on a hot grill. There is no reason to have it out exposed to the sun and bugs. This all seems like common sense, but you would be surprised how many people don't think about cross contamination between cooked and raw food. Having your guests sick from salmonella poisoning doesn't make for a very fun picnic or party and they won't be returning any time soon. If you love to entertain outdoors in the summer, follow a few safety tips when it comes to handling food and grilling on any style of grill. You will have more fun and so will your guests.

Beverly Marshall is a successful freelance writer offering guidance and suggestions for consumers buying patio and outdoor furniture, hammocks, picnic tables, above ground pools, gas grills, outdoor kitchens and more. She gives information and tips to help you save money and make informed buying decisions.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Cooking Information:

Related Articles

Make-up or Mixing Methods for Muffins
When muffins aren't perfect, the first reaction is to change the ingredients in the recipe. Rather than changing the recipe, try a different mixing method.
How to Choose the Right Smoke for the Right BBQ Dish
BBQ smoke is one of the easiest ways to add a nice touch of flavor to a grilled dish. You'll be amazed at how many different flavors there are! Knowing which smoke is the best match for different BBQ flavors can be a challenge though.
Peppercorns & Ways To Use Them
New and exciting varieties of peppercorns are becoming available to chefs everywhere. Pre-ground pepper out of the tin no longer provides the complex flavors and versatility that great cooks everywhere are looking for.
Substitutions for Commonly Called for Ingredients
What should you do if you are in the middle of a recipe and realize you are out of an ingredient? You could send your child to the local convenience store for cream cheese and end up having to serve your caviar with Velveeta because to a 13 year old they are both soft cheeses. This really happened when my Mother sent me for cream cheese.
Wok this Way! (Part 3 of 5) Seasoning Your New Wok
Seasoning is the most important thing you can do to your wok. Only carbon steel and iron woks need to be seasoned.
What You Need in a Gourmet Kitchen
The best way to decide what you need in your kitchen is to first decide what it is you are going to be cooking in there. The best suggestion I ever heard on this matter is to find five dishes you really love.
Bacteria and Food-borne Diseases
Types of BacteriaBacteria are all around us, in the air, water, ground, on our skin and in our bodies. They are classified in a variety of ways, but for our purpose we can categorize them in a more basic way.
Eating Healthy with a Meat Grinder
While it may be surprising, owning your own meat grinder can help you in your pursuit to live a healthier life. According to the USDA, the average American in 2000 consumed 300 more calories than the average American in 1985, a 12% increase, including a 24% increase of fat calories.
Two for One Dinners: Ham
If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night.
The World of Cornbread
We're partial to cornbread. We like its rustic texture and chewy goodness.
Using Bread Machine Mixes in Your Oven
You don't have to own a bread machine to enjoy the variety of bread machine mixes. And you don't have to make blocky, square loaves with holes in the bottom.
10 Simple Kitchen Organizing Tips
A lot of the times we mean to get in there and finally organize the kitchen, but once things get out of control the job can seem so daunting and you just don't know where to start. These top 10 kitchen organizing tips will help make your kitchen pleasant and welcoming.
Pyrex Mixing Bowls - A Kitchen Favorite
Pyrex mixing bowls typically come in sets of 3 with a small, medium and large bowl that sits snuggly inside each other. Pyrex has been around for almost 90 years.
How to Bake: How Long Should My Bread Rise?
It depends. The best way to tell if the dough has risen enough is not by time-though it helps to set the timer so you don't forget about your dough-but by look and feel.
Two for One Dinners: Turkey
If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night.
Baking Bread and Your Freezer
There's a lot of bread in our freezer. In our exuberance, we often bake more bread than we can eat in a day or two.
Grill Your Corn for Maximum Flavor
There's two basic theories on grilling corn. Some people prefer wrapping the corn in aluminum foil or its own husk, maybe with a little butter and seasonings, then cooking it on the grill until done.
How To Eat Fresh Vegetables - Ideas for Working More Veggies Into Your Diet
Fresh, uncooked veggies are so healthy and it's important to work them into your meal plan somewhere. The majority of American's don't eat enough vegetables and most vegetables consumed in the American diet are cooked potatoes in the form of french fries.
Gourmet Sauces, Rubs and Marinades - Give Your BBQ a Gourmet Kick
Many individuals agree that the sauce on barbecued meat is like the icing on a cake. Gourmet barbecue sauces, rubs and marinades are commonly served on (or on the side of) the finished dish.
Flax Seed Will Add A Little Extra Flavor To Your Recipes
Flax seed will add a pleasant nutty taste to any recipe. The attractive, round reddish-brown seeds of flax add flavor, extra texture and good nutrition to your breads, cakes, muffins, and other baked goods.