Grilling chicken food safety question

There is a good chance they are still active.

not an expert but t that time and temp, I would say surface cooties are killed

It seems to me that the surface would be OK to touch without fear of contamination from "raw" chicken ... but, at 350° for 20 minutes, I would wonder why you would want to use your hands

Besides, can't you just wash your hands after you flip the chicken?

Better safe than sorry. Don’t risk it. Wash your hands afterwards or... use a utensil of some sort.

It's a dual edged sword...

Bacteria present in food is killed during pasteurization. Using raw milk as an example; milk is pasteurized at 161°F for 15 seconds using High Temperature Short Time Treatment. Other foods can be pasteurized using steam, irradiation, and even Low Temperature Long Time Treatment (145°F for 30 minutes).

When using a grill at 350°F for 20 minutes, you would exceed temperature and time recommendations for pasteurization. Therefore, it is important to always handle food properly by handling it with clean hands, preventing it from becoming re-contaminated, and keeping it at a safe serving temperature.

Re-contamination and cross-contamination can be a serious problem without a hand-wash station nearby. Touching the grill handle, door knobs, and even other foods can redistribute germs and bacteria for cross-contamination.

When grilling, I use a separate pair of tongs for chicken, and another pair for vegetables and fruit.

Food safety should always be foremost present in our cooking process.

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jemezspring said:

Let's say I throw some chicken on the grill at 350 and after 20 minutes use my bare hands to rotate/flip. Are my fingers contaminated with chicken cooties? obviously the chicken is not completely cooked but are the cooties still alive on the surface?

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If you can pick it up with your bare hands it probably isn't up to 165F. Domestic water heaters are generally set around 120F-140F, for a reference.

The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves...

Seriously, tongs are not the enemy.

I'm no food guru here, but it makes sense to me that early in the cook you're rendering fat and juices from the inside of the meat to the outside that could contain live cooties. I'm sure somebody will tell me if I'm wrong?

IamMadMan said:

It's a dual edged sword...

Bacteria present in food is killed during pasteurization. Using raw milk as an example; milk is pasteurized at 161°F for 15 seconds using High Temperature Short Time Treatment. Other foods can be pasteurized using steam, irradiation, and even Low Temperature Long Time Treatment (145°F for 30 minutes).

When using a grill at 350°F for 20 minutes, you would exceed temperature and time recommendations for pasteurization. Therefore, it is important to always handle food properly by handling it with clean hands, preventing it from becoming re-contaminated, and keeping it at a safe serving temperature.

Re-contamination and cross-contamination can be a serious problem without a hand-wash station nearby. Touching the grill handle, door knobs, and even other foods can redistribute germs and bacteria for cross-contamination.

When grilling, I use a separate pair of tongs for chicken, and another pair for vegetables and fruit.

Food safety should always be foremost present in our cooking process.

.

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:mmph: All good advice but it drives me crazy raw milk is often used as an example when discussing food safety.

Properly raised dairy cows, proper milking procedures & storage, and proper milk testing make raw milk perfectly safe for human consumption.

--end of small rant

food4thot said:

:mmph: All good advice but it drives me crazy raw milk is often used as an example when discussing food safety.

Properly raised dairy cows, proper milking procedures & storage, and proper milk testing make raw milk perfectly safe for human consumption.

--end of small rant

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I couldn't agree with you more, but I have seen hundreds of farms where the cows are utter deep in muck which contains their own waste. I've even seen this on some local Mennonite Farms. Seems they all make the most of small space for maximum profits. I don't believe it's the bacteria in the milk that can cause illness, but rather outside bacteria; not cleaning the teets, and milking equipment properly can easily cause cross contamination.

IamMadMan said:

I couldn't agree with you more, but I have seen hundreds of farms where the cows are utter deep in muck which contains their own waste. I've even seen this on some local Mennonite Farms. Seems they all make the most of small space for maximum profits. I don't believe it's the bacteria in the milk that can cause illness, but rather outside bacteria; not cleaning the teets, and milking equipment properly can easily cause cross contamination.

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I've been in milk sheds on small dairy farms. It's one of the dirtiest businesses to keep clean. But, it gets done by farmers that care...the main difference between real farmers and corporate farming.

Not picking a fight. Just pissed off dealing with State of Michigan raw dairy regulations for 20 years. Why is it I can't go to a dairy farm I trust and buy a gallon of raw milk or a pound of raw butter without signing on for a cow share?

I always use my tongs.
I don't care for burned fingers.

By the time the food (chicken) is done, do you honestly believe there is anything left to worry about?
I don't. Apparently we are both still alive. :clap:

Use tongs, "glove up" if you're moving, or wash your hands dude.

jemezspring said:

Question about tong usage. Same scenario but instead I use tongs to flip chicken after 20 minutes. So I need to wash the tongs after that use? Since it may be contaminated from the flip each time I use it I'm re-contaminating. Is that correct?

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Being you don't use tongs at all, I'm not sure what your process is.

For me, I always consider food safety and cleanliness.

When ever I smoke or grill food, I always have a roll of paper towels, hand sanitizer, and a small pack of wipes. These stay in my accessories bin right by the back door, that I take out with each cook.

While I may not always use gloves to put the chicken on the grate, I do however use hand sanitizer and and paper towels to immediately clean my hands. I also use the wipes to wipe the grill handle or any other surface areas where liquid from the chicken may have dripped.

Once the chicken has been exposed to the 350° for a period of time, the surface bacteria is destroyed. So the first use of the tongs after the chicken starts to cook at 350° does not recontaminate the chicken. So as long as you don't use the tongs to handle any other raw foods, or turn door knobs with them, all is fine.

As far as leaking juices on the grill, keep in mind that bacteria grows on the surface, unless the inner tissues have been somehow pierced. The bacteria cells are much to big penetrate through the cell membranes. Remember that when meat is cooked, moisture is naturally wicked to the outside where it slowly evaporates as a method of self preservation (thus the stall on large cuts).

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If you care enough to ask, wash your hands.

jemezspring said:

I actually do not own a pair of tongs. I mainly use cotton gloves with nitrile gloves over them when I'm moving food around on the grill. But sometimes I'm a little lazy and pick up with my bare hands. The ensuing pain of moving hot chicken causes me to stick my fingers in my mouth. I do wash my hands after this procedure but the damage could already be done.

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Sounds like you have been doing this for a long time. If you can sh#t through a screen door for a week every time you make chicken you might want to think about changing your process.