by Marsha K. Weaver |
Grilling is one of the easiest and most delicious low-fat cooking methods. However, recent studies show meat, poultry, and fish cooked this way carry an increased risk of cancers of the colon, stomach, kidney, and liver.
Eating grilled foods increases your exposure to two types of cancer-causing compounds. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) are deposited on grilled food from the smoke produced when fat from meat, fish or poultry drips onto hot coals. Heterocyclic amines (HCA’s) form when the protein in meat, poultry or fish is cooked quickly at high temperatures (such as in frying, boiling, and grilling). Using a gas or electric grill carries the same risk as a charcoal grill.
Does this mean that you should never eat barbequed foods? Of course not. There is little harm in the occasional summer barbecue. For people who grill foods several times a week, however, a few simple changes in grilling technique probably are warranted.
Here are ten tips to help you barbecue more healthily:
1. Clean the grilling surface thoroughly before cooking. Before placing food on it, heat the grill to kill bacteria. Removing charred food debris also reduces exposure to possible cancer-causing substances.
2. If you’re using charcoal, let the excess starter fluid burn off before putting food on the grill. Coals should be grayish-white in color. Never squirt starter fluid on smoldering charcoal. It can cause an explosion.
3. Defrost meat before grilling. The outside of frozen meat chars while the interior remains cold. After grilling, always remove blackened material from the food’s surface.
4. Precook foods such as poultry or ribs by microwaving or boiling. Then use the grill briefly for that special “outdoors” flavor.
5. Don’t let juices from uncooked meats contact ready-to-eat foods. For example, when removing food from the grill, don’t put it on the same plate that held raw meat.
6. Avoid fire flare-ups by using lean meats, trimming away all visible fat, raising the rack to the highest position away from the heat (or adjusting the flame to low on a gas grill), and keeping food on one side of the grill and coals or other heat source on the other side. Use a squirt bottle of water to stop flare-ups.
7. Marinades are one way to enhance flavors, tenderize, and keep foods moist while grilling. Research indicates that marinating before grilling may be helpful in minimizing cancer risk. If you plan to use the marinade later as a table sauce, it must be boiled for at least three minutes to eliminate bacteria.
8. Cook meats until no longer pink on the inside. Turn meat at least once during grilling to help cook evenly throughout.
9. For a new twist, try grilling vegetables and fruits: eggplant, summer squashes, bell peppers, sweet onions, Roma or cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, mangoes, pineapple, or peaches. Cut vegetables into 1/2- inch slices or large chunks. Brush with warmed oil (seasoned with garlic or other herbs). Grill until tender. Turn only once. Fruit should be halved with pits removed. Grill as is (no oil needed), pulp side down.
10. Cook fish in foil packets to retain natural flavors and protect it from smoke and fire.
By Marsha K. Weaver, County Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences, Kansas State University, 2004
www.oznet.k-state.edu/dickinson/FACS/Archive/grilling.htm
