Our friends at the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association provide many free resource to help you become better informed and make healthy decisions for your diet.

Free PDF

For instance –

Did you know there are 29 cuts of beef that meet the government labeling guidelines for lean? Many are cuts you are probably already eating, such as flank steak, T-Bone steak, and sirloin steak.

According to government guidelines, a serving qualifies as “extra lean” if it has less than 5g total fat, 2g or less saturated fat and less than 95mg cholesterol per 3.5 oz. serving.

A serving qualifies as “lean” if it has less than 10g total fat, 4.5g or less saturated fat and less than 95mg cholesterol per 3.5 oz. serving.

Get to know the 29 lean cuts and download a FREE handy reference guide you can use to help better choices for you and your family when shopping at the grocery store or take it with you when dining out.

Just click on this link:

Grilled ribeye steak served medium-rare with side of grilled gulf prawns.

Depending upon your level of overall confidence and outdoor cooking skills – you may aspire to preparing steaks that rival those served in expensive steak houses. There are really only a couple of secrets to grilling great steaks.

1. Good quality meat cut thick enough to sear without overcooking

2. High heat & clean grates

OK – there is definitely a third…

3. Patience & Experience

Here’s a pictorial I made of a mixed grill cook I did just this past weekend on the Big Easy Smoker-Roaster-Grill set up for grilling.

After reading the post please leave a comment or question in the Comment section (first time users will experience a delay in the comment being posted while it is reviewed and approved to prevent spammers) or sign up on the Users Forums to post questions about cooking steaks on your specific type of grill.

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling!

_______________________

1. Choose the cut of meat that’s right for flavor and best for grilling – based upon your taste buds and your budget! Here’s some information about USDA Grades of Beef and here’s a Beef Chart to help you select meat best suited to preparation techniques. For this cook I happened upon a special deal on USDA Prime Ribeye steaks.

Here’s what the ribeyes I purchased looked like when I brought them home: (more…)

Download a free PDF version courtesy of the National Pork Board.

Our friends over at National Pork Board have produced a number of helpful publications with tips, tricks & good information about cooking pork.  One of my favorites is “The Pork Chop” aptly described as “Your Not-So-Secret Weapon for Solving Dinnertime Dilemmas – Pocket Guide to Pork.” Download a free PDF copy to your computer by clicking HERE.

Happy Grilling!

Is beef on your party menu?

Besides finding a date on the calendar and time that works for everyone; coming up with a guest list and getting out the invitations  – there’s all that other stuff that goes with hosting a holiday party.  Like cleaning and decorating, as well as finding the perfect attire that suits the occasion. Yep. It’s the holidays and regardless if it’s just the boys from the bowling team over to have a couple of laughs, the neighbors, co-workers, friends or relatives – you are known for making sure everything is in perfect shape at your parties.   But there is  always one really big decision to make when hosting a party:

“How Much To buy?”

You want to be a good host and make sure there is enough of your tasty grilled and barbequed food to ensure everyone has a helping or two, but these days you also want to watch the costs! Buy too much and it goes to waste. Buy too little and folks are hungry! What to do?

Our friends at the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association have created a handy printable guide that may help you!  It tells you the serving size in ounces and how many servings you can generally expect from one pound of beef. Of course how you prepare and serve is up to you!

They call it, simply enough: How Much to Buy

Click on the link to open the PDF file. You will need Adobe Reader to view and print it.

_____________

Grilled Flat Iron steak, sliced and served with Mustard Bourbon sauce. Photo courtesy of the Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association

Here’s a tasty idea for your holiday party menu – grilled flat iron beef steaks.  Flat Iron steaks are fairly standard size and weight, thus easier to predict cooking times and plan for the number of guest.  One steak can provide 2 -3 servings. They are very “grill-able” – so you can cook them to order and prepare only what you need, as you need it!  Or cook several ahead to just a rare stage and hold, wrapped in foil, at a safe temperature until ready to carve – they will continue to cook slightly and generally will be at medium-rare when sliced.

CB’s EZ Grilled Flat Iron Steaks with Mustard-Bourbon Sauce

Happy Grilling!

I’ve never fired a gun at a duck or, for that matter, at any animal. But I belonged to Ducks Unlimited for more than a decade. Why? Well first of all I love to cook wild game birds and secondly – I believe in their cause.  I  appreciate that it’s an organization of hunters working together to protect wet lands so the birds might flourish and they will continue to enjoy their sport. A win-win.  I call that sustainability.

Likewise, at least in my mind, I support my local farmers who sell in weekend markets and try to purchase from several each week. I also purchase from  both local and major grocery store chains and have begun reviewing the products I choose in an attempt to purchase those grown and processed in the U.S. and Canada. (My tomatoes come from Canada nearly year-round, can you believe that?) (more…)

Beef Made Easy®
The PDF handout is an 8.5″ x 11″ version of the Beef Made Easy Cuts Poster

8.5" x 11" in size - reduced here to fit the page

This PDF chart is made available to you FREE by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board & National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Click on this link: Beef Made Easy®

You’ll need the latest FREE version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF.

The US Dept. of Health web site FoodSafety.gov

Cooking outdoors for friends and family can and should be a rewarding and tasty time for everyone.  But sometimes folks seem to forget the common practices of food safety they adhere to when cooking indoors only a few steps away!  I just can’t stress enough how important it is to pay attention to using the best practices for handling food in all the various states of preparation. From the way you store raw meat to how you keep it separated from other foods during preparation and even how you hold it for service – are all important to ensure you and your family have the best possible dining experiences when cooking outdoors.  There are many serious problems that can occur when you, as the chef of your kitchen, disregard basic hygienic safeguards.

I keep several food safety web sites on my ‘favorite bookmarks’ list and refer to them often to double check – especially now – having reached the ‘double nickle’ age and the senior moment gene has activated! The one I refer to most often is FoodSafety.gov and it’s now better. The newly enhanced U.S. Government Dept. of Health web site contains all manner of information about food safety, of special interest to me is the information on meat cooking times and storage. It’s easier to use and has plenty of quick tips, charts, and videos to help you stay on top of the best food safety practices to follow in your kitchen – be it the indoor or the outdoor one!  So give it a look and maybe bookmark it for future reference:  http://foodsafety.gov

Happy Grilling!

Raw ground beef. Photo by Cobalt123 at Flickr

When I was a kid I can clearly remember my dad using a hand crank meat grinder that clamped onto the counter top. He’d feed chunks of beef into it and turn the crank, as bright red and speckled white freshly ground meat disgorged from the grinder he’d take a fork-full and place it on a saltine, a good seasoning with both salt and pepper and we’d gobble it up. My mom would shriek and we boys all thought we were getting away with something!

Fast forward 50 years.

These days if you prepare your own ground beef and are 100% certain of the quality of the source of the meat – I would still advise against eating raw hamburger as we did. And especially if you purchase ground beef from the grocery store, either prepared at the store by the trained pros in the meat department or in those big tubes of ground meat. There is just too big of a risk that you’ll get some bacteria critter into your system and, just in case you’ve never had it, food poisoning is not a simple issue of discomfort. It can be life threatening!

Raw ground meat is not safe to eat. Hamburger is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160F degrees as measured by a tip sensitive meat thermometer. Color is an unsafe indicator of doneness. Wash your hands after touching raw meat and before touching ready to eat products like buns. Prevent cross contamination! (This also goes for storing condiments like mustard, ketchup, mayo and the veggies like onions (these are little petri dishes!) and tomatoes, cheese, etc. – keep them covered and out of direct sunlight, cooled at or below 45F degrees!)

Personally I’ve switched over to using frozen burger patties like Bubba Burgers and have pretty much stopped making my own. When I do make my own burger patties, I make them the night before, less than 1/2 inch thick, and I freeze them as well. The chance of cross contamination using frozen meat is pretty slim, but it does have it’s own set of precautions.  I toss the meat on a hot grill directly from the freezer, and don’t waste any time between freezer and grill!  Cooking a frozen beef patty has some advantages, the outside will thaw on the grates and sear, while the moisture starts to travel upwards through the ground meat and begin to cook the center, I flip and sear the other side – then hold in a pan on the grill without direct heat until they finish. This keeps them moist and cooked to the right temperature! You may recognize this as the Sear & Hold method I tend to promote that (I find) ensures the outside has tasty sear marks and the inside slowly cooks to done of 160F degrees while remaining juicy.

Here are a couple of posts that have more information about temperatures for cooking meat, some include free PDF downloads for reference:

Practice Safe Food Handling
Protect your family from food borne ills.

How to cook different cuts of beef.

BBQ & Food Safety
A Free Download from the USDA

Is it Done Yet?
A Free Download from the USDA

Take a minute to plan your outdoor cooking to ensure all food will be handled, prepared and stored safely.  As ‘Chef’ at your home, you are responsible for safe food practices!

Happy Grilling!

With all the talk about health these days there is a big step you can take to ensure the food you serve is always as safe as you can make it. Here are several tips to follow for safe food handling:

1. Temperature

Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.

• Safe temperature guidelines would be under 40F degrees for raw un-frozen food.
• Under OF degrees for frozen foods. Be sure to thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, not on the counter!  (Get a FREE PDF from the USDA about thawing frozen foods:  The Big Thaw — Safe Defrosting Methods for Consumers)
• For hot foods the minimum safe holding temperature is over 140F degrees.
• The danger zone for bacteria to grow and flourish is between 40F degrees and 140F degrees – especially when there is moisture present. Food can certainly pass through this temperature zone during cooking – but if it remains too long in that zone and does not rise above it when cooking, then you are flirting with bacteria growth that will make you sick. (Note: That’s why I don’t recommend stuffing poultry before cooking – because the chances of the stuffing being in the danger zone is too great!)
• Check your kitchen appliances and ensure that the fridge and freezer thermostats are working properly.
• When cooking for your family, utilize an accurate meat thermometer. Veal, beef, pork, and most seafood should be cooked to at least 145F degrees. Chicken and turkey breasts should be cooked to at least 165F degrees, while ground chicken and ground turkey should be cooked to at least 165F degrees.
• Ground beef, pork, lamb and veal should be cooked to at least 160F degrees. Read this post on cooking burgers:  Tips & Tricks: Safe & Savory Beef Burgers

2. Storage

• When you purchase fresh or frozen perishable food – be prepared to get it home and prepared for storage as quickly as possible.  Meat and dairy should be kept cold between the store and home.  Use an insulated cooler in your car to transport if the drive home will be longer than a few minutes. Insist the grocery store bag cold and frozen items together so they can be placed in the cooler.
• After cooking and serving the meal, carefully wrap and/or place in sealed containers all cooked food and place the fridge or freezer immediately after use and/or shortly after cooking. Leftovers can then be safely eaten within a few days.
• Get a FREE PDF from the USDA:  Basics for Handling Food Safely
  
• The Culinary Institute of America is renowned for training some of the best chefs in the business. They recommend the following temperatures for refrigerating fresh foods to best keep the growth of bacteria down to a minimum during short-term storage:
  • Meat and Poultry: 33-36ºF
  • Fish: 32-33ºF (place on a bag of ice in tray in fridge)
  • Shellfish: Mollusks (clams, oysters, scallops): 32-33ºF
  • Shellfish: Crustaceans (live lobsters & crabs): 45ºF
  • Eggs: 38-40ºF
  • Dairy (butter, hard & soft cheese, milk): 38-40ºF
  • Fruit and Vegetables: 38-40ºF
    

3. Cleanliness

• Using good cleaning practices on all surfaces of counters, stoves, grills, coolers, appliances, utensils and other items that come into contact with food will be helful to prevent cross-contamination.
• Use dishwasher safe cutting boards and use color coded cutting boards for different purposes – so that raw poultry, seafood, red meat, vegetables and cooked food do not cross contaminate.
• Utilize anti-bacterial cleansing products- especially after handling of raw meat.
• Wash hands thoroughly with hot water and soap.
• Always dispose of paper towels immediately after use.
• Sponges can be decontaminated by wetting and microwaving on high for between 20 – 30 seconds depending upon the power of your unit.
• Towels and rags should be laundered in hot water.
• Keep the grates of your barbeque grill clean!  There is no reason to leave old food and burnt guck on the grates for the purpose of “seasoning.”  IT’S OLD DIRTY FOOD AND WILL ADD BAD FLAVORS TO THE NEXT MEAL!  Take care of metal grates as you would a treasured cast-iron pan by pre-seasoning before the first use, wipe clean with water and scrubbers after each use, and re-season with high-temp cooking oil to prevent rust. That’s seasoning!
• Get a FREE PDF from the USDA:  Be Safe — Don’t Cross-Contaminate
• When cleaning, do not forget to sanitize the kitchen sink! Pour diluted bleach down the sink and garbage disposal to kill any lingering bacteria – especially after preparing raw meat!
• Consider using Food Safe disposable gloves when handling raw meats – and be sure to dispose of before moving on to other tasks!
• Dropping food on the floor of your kitchen is not such a good idea…as the kitchen floor is pretty darn dirty from cooking and food spills, even when it looks freshly swept – and the dropped food will require cleaning or disposal. The 5 second rule for raw meat and other perishables is a bad idea.

4. USDA Guidelines

• The USDA has made specific recommendations for temperatures to be used when preparing food.
• We follow them and strongly urge you to follow them as well.
• Here’s a FREE PDF from the USDA: USDA Recommended Internal Cooking Temperatures

By adopting safe food handling practices in your kitchen – and outside at your grill – you can significantly decrease your family’s risk of food borne illness. First and foremost, please remember to wash hands and utensils often using appropriate hot water and soap, keep raw meats and prepared foods separately, cook foods thoroughly, and refrigerate foods promptly. Do all you can to help keep your family safe from food borne illness!

Happy Grilling!

The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA) offers these suggestions for general grilling safety.*

Following a few basic steps can help ensure safe, reliable operation of your outdoor cooking appliance, regardless of what type you use. The following safety tips are designed to guide you through the grilling process. Remember, anytime you work with fire, there’s a chance of getting burned. So, take precautions. Common sense and planning will prevent injuries.

RECIPE FOR SAFETY: FIRST, BE SMART AND INFORMED
The main ‘ingredient’ for safety in outdoor cooking is common sense. Read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for assembling and using your grill or smoker, and call the manufacturer help line numbers if you have a problem or a question.

(more…)