We’ve had the most incredible stretch of gorgeous weather this week: Picture perfect days with wall-to-wall sunshine and highs in the low 80s. Honestly, you can’t ask for more in early September when you live in Northern Wisconsin. In fact, you may have seen our glorious weather featured on national TV a few days ago. The Today show and NBC Sports were in town for the NFL kickoff party which featured live entertainment by Maroon 5, Kid Rock and Lady Antebellum.
Oh, and there was some football match-up too pitting the reigning Super Bowl Champs, the Green Bay Packers against the New Orleans Saints.
While the weather held out for the big game, local meteorologists are saying that summer is about to come to an abrupt end around here.
Actually, I think their exact words were: “Tomorrow night’s barbeque may be your last until 2012.” Naturally, we all made like lemmings and are planning to go grill crazy this weekend.
It’s been a few weeks since I fired up our grill. The last time I threw some salmon on the fire and got sick. I don’t know for sure if my gastrointestinal issues were a direct result of bad grilling techniques, but to be on the safe side I checked in with the experts at the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association to make sure my family shares an enjoyable (and illness-free) grilling experience, especially if it really is the last of the season.
Some of the tips I found most helpful include:
1. When grilling with charcoal, avoid petroleum starters. Instead, use a wood starter and stack your charcoal up in a 2 pound metal can with the ends cut off. When the coals are ready, use tongs to lift and remove the can from the grill.
2. Trim the fat off your meats before cooking, so polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) don’t form. PAH is produced by smoking fat from chicken, fish or meat and can cause lung, liver, skin and kidney tissue damage.
3. To avoid food poisoning from undercooked meats, use a thermometer and cook to the following internal temperatures: Chicken: 165 degrees; burgers: 160 degrees; pork: 150 degrees; hot dogs: 140 degrees; and steak: 145 degrees for medium rare and 160 degrees for medium.
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