Things to remember when grilling or barbecuing:

1. When utilizing raw meat, chicken, and seafood for grilling
   1. Keep it separate from other foods
   2. Keep it Refrigerated before grilling
   3. Always wash your hands before and after handling it
   4. Do not let its juices touch other foods, utensils, or surfaces
   5. Always use a food thermometer to ensure it is cooked to a safe temperature
   6. Keep foods out of the temperature danger zone of 40°F to 135°F (CDC recommends 140)
2. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking

Chill

Keep meat, poultry, and seafood refrigerated until ready to grill. When transporting, keep them at 40°F or below in an insulated cooler. If you must stack meat products in a cooler, always remember that poultry products should go on the bottom, followed by ground meats (such as hamburgers), then whole meats (such as steaks & chops), and finally seafood on top.

Clean

Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Wash work surfaces, utensils, and the grill before and after cooking. Good rule of thumb while cooking is to wash your hands when changing jobs or at least every half hour while doing repetitive tasks.

Check Your Grill and Tools

Use a moist cloth or paper towel to clean the grill surface before cooking. If you use a wire bristle brush, thoroughly inspect the grill’s surface before cooking. Wire bristles from grill cleaning brushes may dislodge and stick into food on the grill.

Don’t Cross-contaminate

Throw out marinades and sauces that have touched raw meat juices, which can spread germs to cooked foods. Use clean utensils and a clean plate to remove cooked meat from the grill. If you would like to have marinades available after cooking, use fresh marinades that have not been used during grilling.

Grilling

Always use a food thermometer to ensure meat reaches a proper temperature to kill harmful germs. When smoking, keep temperatures inside the smoker at 225°F to 300°F to keep meat a safe temperature while it cooks.

When Grilling

• 145°F—whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal (stand-time of 3 minutes at this temperature)
• 145°F—fish
• 155°F—hamburgers and other ground beef (FDA, USDA, & CDC recommends 160)
• 165°F—all poultry and pre-cooked meats, like hot dogs

After Grilling 

• 135°F or warmer—until it’s served (FDA, USDA, & CDC recommends 140)

Refrigerate

Divide leftovers into small portions and place in covered, shallow containers. Put in freezer or fridge within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if above 90°F outside).

information presented in the blog post has been gathered from the FDA, USDA, and CDC, along with expert training from Dr. Mc Keown.