The Secret to Grilling Season:
The official start of summer is right around the corner and that means it is time to take a break from the oven and stove top and begin making your meals on the grill.
From now through October we grill everything from fresh vegetables straight from the garden to our homemade pizza. But like many of you, we use the grill most often to cook hamburgers, steak and chicken.
The most common mistake that one makes when grilling is to over cook the meat. Traditionally the meat would be considered ‘ready to eat’ after visually inspecting the interior color to see if it is ‘done’ or pressing on the meat with the back of a spatula to determine how firm it is.
This simply involves too much guesswork and a loss of taste and texture of your food.
Meat and poultry are considered cooked and juicy at certain temperatures but become dry and tough if cooked much longer. That is why an instant read thermometer will become your must have tool for the summer months!
Using a thermometer to check your meat will help to ensure that it is cooked to the proper temperature to avoid harmful bacteria that may be present in under-cooked meat. But equally as important, the thermometer (see Perfectly Smoked) will allow you to not over cook your meat resulting in a tough and dry meal.
The key to a great tasting cut of meat is to remove it from the direct heat source the minute it reaches the safe temperature. You absolutely must have an instant read thermometer to know when it is safe to do this. It makes a world of difference, especially when grilling chicken breast.
Just place the probe in the thickest part of the meat with the probe tip stopped in the center. Make sure to avoid touching any bones with the thermometer to get an accurate reading.
After removing it from the heat once it reaches the USDA recommended safe internal temperature, let it rest under tented foil for approximately 10 minutes to allow all the juices to flow back into the center of the meat (especially for thicker cuts).
The reason is that as meat cooks the muscle fibers start to firm up and water gets pushed out. This moisture moves outward toward the surface of the meat, where some of it eventually evaporates.
After removing it from the direct heat the moisture inside needs some time to redistribute back through the meat. This will result in the perfectly cooked and deliciously juicy cut of meat right from your grill!
The USDA recommends cooking your meats to the following temperatures for safe consuming:
| Category | Food | Temperature (°F) | ||||
| Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures | Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb | 160 | ||||
| Turkey, Chicken | 165 | |||||
| Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb | Medium Rare Steaks, roasts, chops | 145 * | ||||
| Medium Steaks, roasts, chops | 160 | |||||
| Poultry | Chicken & Turkey, whole | 165 | ||||
| Poultry breasts, roasts | 165 | |||||
| Poultry thighs, legs, wings | 165 | |||||
| Duck & Goose | 165 | |||||
| Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird) | 165 | |||||
| Pork and Ham | Fresh pork | 145* | ||||
| Fresh ham (raw) | 145* | |||||
| Precooked ham (to reheat) | Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 °F and all others to 165 °F. | |||||
| Seafood | Fin Fish | 145 or cook until flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork. | ||||
| Shrimp, lobster, and crabs | Cook until flesh is pearly and opaque. | |||||
| Clams, oysters, and mussels | Cook until shells open during cooking. | |||||
| Scallops | Cook until flesh is milky white or opaque and firm. | |||||
| *Beef and Pork cooked at 145 requires 3 minutes of resting for safe consumption | ||||||
Happy Grilling!
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Mary and Jim