Safe prep

kappa

Thanks for the add into this group.  While I am new to using the Egg, I am also new to cooking in general... sorta getting a better-late-than-never start.   I have a few rib cooks under my belt and I am learning temp control..(thanks to this forum for info on that).    I need tricks/tips about preparing meats safely and efficiently....easy ways to keep raw food particles from contaminating something else, etc.   Is there a go-to standard source of info for this topic?  I want to not only be clean and safe, but also simple and efficient.   

HeavyG

I'd start with this page as it has info on a variety of things that will help out someone new to all this stuff. Lots of other good info on a lot of other relevant topics on the Amazing Ribs site - it's worth spending some time there.

- https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/safety-and-health/food-safety-knife-safety-and-grill-safety

cookingdude555

My one small tip for grilling is that I always take "raw" and "finish" spatulas and tongs out to cook with.  The raw tongs/spatulas load the meat on the grill, and are used until about halfway through the cook (where the surface of the meat is out of the danger zone).  Then I switch to the finish tongs/spatulas so that the food is not cross contaminated.  

shtgunal3

cookingdude555 said:

My one small tip for grilling is that I always take "raw" and "finish" spatulas and tongs out to cook with.  The raw tongs/spatulas load the meat on the grill, and are used until about halfway through the cook (where the surface of the meat is out of the danger zone).  Then I switch to the finish tongs/spatulas so that the food is not cross contaminated.  

Most of the time I just use my hands. 

kappa

Good info.  Thanks.  

lkapigian

welcome aboard If you really want to go full  blown on safety servsafe.com and you can get your food handlers certificate, even if you are not serving to the public,it is a great class and will serve you well

JohnInCarolina

Only put a glove on one hand.  That’s your dirty hand (in terms of handling raw protein, not touching surfaces, etc.)  Keep the other one clean.  Don’t cross the streams.

lousubcap

Copious quantities of gloves for handling at a minimum.  The "don't cross the streams" suggestion is a good one but most occasions I find too hard to manage.  Thus the gloves- you can never change them too frequently.  I honestly try to plan the next few moves but invariably I end up hosing or calling an audible such that it's time for another set of gloves.  FWIW- (all this was a food safety approach-nothing changed with covid.)

nolaegghead

JohnInCarolina said:

Only put a glove on one hand.  That’s your dirty hand (in terms of handling raw protein, not touching surfaces, etc.)  Keep the other one clean.  Don’t cross the streams.

In the parlance of hip-hop, this is called "using the Michael Jackson" defense against pathogenic food organisms.

lkapigian

Toss your sponges, dirtiest thing in the kitchen 

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap said:

Copious quantities of gloves for handling at a minimum.  The "don't cross the streams" suggestion is a good one but most occasions I find too hard to manage.  Thus the gloves- you can never change them too frequently.  I honestly try to plan the next few moves but invariably I end up hosing or calling an audible such that it's time for another set of gloves.  FWIW- (all this was a food safety approach-nothing changed with covid.)

The issue with two gloves is when you need to touch a surface that you want to keep clean.  If both hands are gloved, you have to take one of them off and then likely toss it.  Or be prepared to Clorox everything when you’re done, which is a pain.  Either is just very inefficient in my experience.  

lkapigian

Servsafe guidelines pushes hand washing over gloves and gloves do not replace hand washing ....gloves must be worn over cut covers through and hands must be washed prior to wearing gloves  ....anthother thing I learned at the class ( precivid) hand sanitizer stations were not allowed in the kitchen and only used when hand washing was not an immediate oprion IE for host / hostesses 

Carolina Q

My mother died when she was 102.5 years old. Never wore gloves, never used multiple tongs or other cooking tools and never washed her hands between handling. Not that I ever noticed anyway. Good enough for me!

HeavyG

lkapigian said:

Toss your sponges, dirtiest thing in the kitchen 

Two minutes in the microwave make your sponges smell new, clean, and sanitized.

JohnInCarolina

Carolina Q said:

My mother died when she was 102.5 years old. Never wore gloves, never used multiple tongs or other cooking tools and never washed her hands between handling. Not that I ever noticed anyway. Good enough for me!

That is quite an achievement.  She saw a lot of change here in her time on this planet.  

But, geez man... how old are you?

Ozzie_Isaac

cookingdude555 said:

My one small tip for grilling is that I always take "raw" and "finish" spatulas and tongs out to cook with.  The raw tongs/spatulas load the meat on the grill, and are used until about halfway through the cook (where the surface of the meat is out of the danger zone).  Then I switch to the finish tongs/spatulas so that the food is not cross contaminated.  

I use metal tongs, I stick them through the grates into the flames to sanitize after touching raw meat.

Legume

I’m pretty sure I have a full box of gloves somewhere in the garage.  I think I do.

nolaegghead

Food safety is great.  Mandatory when you're in the industry and serving people that can succumb to food poisoning because you don't know their history, immune system disorders, age, etc. 

I'm not going to judge anyone on their gusto or lack thereof in the arena of food safety.  I try to use common sense, but I fall more into the "rotten meat" category of forum denizen.

All the fear mongering that we're exposed to, for example, the animated germs in antiseptic soap commercials, has us eating a more antiseptic diet than our bodies need. 

Kid's aren't eating all the dirt they used to in the playground.  Everything is made shelf-stable and pasteurized and/or treated with chemicals to reduce pathogens.  All this is great except for when we do get exposed to some bad bacteria.  Our immune systems can become lazy and, when we do get sick, we get sicker than we would have eating a more natural diet.

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

Food safety is great.  Mandatory when you're in the industry and serving people that can succumb to food poisoning because you don't know their history, immune system disorders, age, etc. 

I'm not going to judge anyone on their gusto or lack thereof in the arena of food safety.  I try to use common sense, but I fall more into the "rotten meat" category of forum denizen.

All the fear mongering that we're exposed to, for example, the animated germs in antiseptic soap commercials, has us eating a more antiseptic diet than our bodies need. 

Kid's aren't eating all the dirt they used to in the playground.  Everything is made shelf-stable and pasteurized and/or treated with chemicals to reduce pathogens.  All this is great except for when we do get exposed to some bad bacteria.  Our immune systems can become lazy and, when we do get sick, we get sicker than we would have eating a more natural diet.

So true , we have bleached out the salubrious bacteria. , Salamis , ferments  etc of Europe and such are so good from being inoculated with that good bacteria in that is in their wooden mixing tubs//tables and yes , hands 

johnmitchell

Don’t forget to clean the point on your thermometer after using for checking internal temps on your proteins 

Thatgrimguy

johnmitchell said:

Don’t forget to clean the point on your thermometer after using for checking internal temps on your proteins 

I wash my thermapen in my instant hot water tap (180 degree water) and I regularly wash hands and tools while I cook. But I'm definitely not washing between pork butts when I'm dealing with 10+ butts at a time. I can't imagine that nightmare. And I can't swap gloves often outside because of the humidity. No way to get a new pair on!!  But all that meat ends up hitt 200+ so I'm really not worried about it.

fishlessman

i dont follow these cross contamination rules except when going to the bathroom after dicing hot peppers. heres a good beginners guide for when to take food off the grill, get a good thermometer like a thermapen and take notes

https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/meat-doneness-chart/

Canugghead

Reluctantgourmet chart is handy but it doesn't cover vulnerable proteins like burger and sausages, guess they're not considered gourmet.

JohnInCarolina

Canugghead said:

Reluctantgourmet chart is handy but it doesn't cover vulnerable proteins like burger and sausages, guess they're not considered gourmet.

Also possible they're not considered reluctant.

fishlessman

Canugghead said:

Reluctantgourmet chart is handy but it doesn't cover vulnerable proteins like burger and sausages, guess they're not considered gourmet.

i think its done on purpose, i dont take the temps of burgers anymore, a thermapen combined with the food nazi guidance temps just ruins a burger for me. that and im good with raw ground burger served at room temp anyways

nolaegghead

What doesn't kill you....

Makes you stronger....(sometimes after getting you sick as a dog)

I've gotten food poisoning three times where I wished I would simply die because I couldn't take it anymore.

But the vast majority it's just a few extra trips to the john a day later.

I couldn't eat mussels for a year following one of the bad bouts.  SWMBO didn't get sick at all....must have been one or two mollusks in the bag.

Eoin

Plenty of hand washing for me, cleaning surfaces whenever raw stuff has been near and washing utensils used for raw food in very hot water.

I'm super careful with sorting shellfish, had 2 bad episodes of poisoning in the past, none from when I've done the prep myself.

hoosier_egger

Raw chicken and cross contaminating are about my only concerns. I'm pretty diligent about keeping things clean, especially when cooking at events or for people.

Lowcountrygamecock

Got food poisoning one time. Thought I was dying. I spent three days on the bathroom floor and two more scared to sneeze. Felt like my guts were twisted in a knot and wrapped in hot coals. 

scdaf

Am I the only one washing my gloves by washing my hands with them on?  Tossing gloves every time you handle another raw protein is incredibly wasteful.  Easier to get gloves clean than hands, no nooks and crannies.

nolaegghead

scdaf said:

Am I the only one washing my gloves by washing my hands with them on?  Tossing gloves every time you handle another raw protein is incredibly wasteful.  Easier to get gloves clean than hands, no nooks and crannies.

No, you aren't the only one.