Food preparation

Home:

- A good barbecue will typically have meats, salads, chips or fries, vegetarian option, iced beverages and desserts.

- For the best results, defrost meat thoroughly, leave standing at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before placing on the barbecue.

- Never defrost frozen shell fish, white fish, fish, white meat or red meat at room temperatures. For defrosting place the food in the microwave or a fridge. Otherwise bugs can grow on the outside of the produce.

- Keep red meat, poultry and fish separate, and do not mix in the same marinade.

- Use separate tools, cutting utensils, cooking boards for preparing raw and cooked foods. Cross-contamination is a very real threat, and amongst the most common causes of food poisoning from a barbecue. Separate utensils and dishes should always be used for raw and cooked food.

. Keep cooked food and raw produce separate and use different utensils for each. Wash your hands after handling raw meat or fish. Keep raw food away from cooked food on the grill. Avoid 'hidden' cross-contamination, which can be caused, for example, by pouring a marinade used on raw meat onto partially cooked meat.

- Marinate meat, poultry overnight. The majority of BBQ enthusiasts believe marinades are essential, ensuring the meet is tender, and providing spice, taste and flavour. For fish, you only need to marinate it for twenty to thirty minutes, due to the tender nature of fish and the acids usually present within a marinade.

- To avoid being rushed off your feet, prepare salad and desert dishes before starting to place food on the bbq.

- Do not leave raw meat in the open air for any prolonged period, bacteria such as e-coli can flourish if raw meat is left in the open air for twenty minutes or more on a summer evening.