When is it safe to baste meat in its own marinade?
From
| August 07, 2009
In Healthy Living, Kitchen Basics
Should you baste meat while cooking it or not? That’s the question from Willie Kissinger of Arlington, VA, about our recent steaks blog post and our Amazing Steaks recipe. As with any subject dealing with food safety, it’s a bit complicated. But here’s a quick overview of how we decide whether to "baste" meat in it’s own marinade:
The USDA food Inspection service Website says this about food-borne bacteria:
The "Danger Zone"
- Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 °F and 140 °F. To keep food out of this "Danger Zone," keep cold food cold and hot food hot.
- Store food in the refrigerator (40 °F or below) or freezer (0 °F or below).
- Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature:
- Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops may be cooked to 145 °F.
- All cuts of pork to 160 °F.
- Ground meats such as beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.
- All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.
- Maintain hot cooked food at 140 °F or above.
- When reheating cooked food, reheat to 165 °F.
Finally:
Since the last step in our Amazing Steaks recipe is:
"Turn steaks and continue grilling for 4 to 6 minutes for medium-rare, or to personal preference. Serve immediately" with no additional marinade added (there isn't any left by this time anyway) the surface area of both sides of the beef are way past the 145-degree F. mark for safety.
Most grills at medium heat are at least 350 degrees F. and the additional marinade is only added to the surface. So, for this recipe, baste away.
Comments
From Beverly Mills - August 12, 2009
That’s a good idea Janice! I’m usually not too freaked out by the raw meat thing, but these days you can never be too careful, I guess!
From Beverly Mills - August 18, 2009
Here’s a link to a Wall Street Journal story with great tips for raw meat safety:
Most of these tips agree with our stance but it’s a bit more cautious…Worth checking out. Cut and paste in your browser if the link isn’t live! (This putting a link into our comments is an experiment….)
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Amazing Steaks
July 10, 2009
A steak that has a man begging for it every week? A recipe that has three ingredients? In our Humble Opinion, it doesn’t get any better than this!
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From Janice - August 12, 2009
If there is still a question of safety, one could make a little more marinade to hold back to baste while grilling…that way the raw meat has never been in contact with the marinade.