10 = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOD
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2003
Cook meat thoroughly to be safe
Christina DiGiacomo/Kansan
Today, many favorite restaurant dishes and down home cooking ideas include the star attraction: poultry or red meats.
Barbecue chicken and Potatoes O'Brien. When cooking any kind of meat, like barbecue chicken, make sure to cook it all the way. Uncooked meat is associated with disease.
Crunchy fried chicken and baby back barbecued ribs are certainly some all-time favorites, but somehow every time these meals are tried in the kitchen, they never seem to turn out quite like mom's. How come?
Most likely, many tend to overcook such foods or are just unaware of how to cook such foods all together. Yes, following a recipe can help, but lacking the proper knowledge of knowing how to thoroughly cook a piece of chicken or beef can truly wreck a classic.
Checking with a cooking thermometer, chicken and turkey should be cooked to a minimum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to a maximum temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking past these temperatures will kill food-borne bacteria such as salmonella. Whole birds, such as turkey, chicken or duck, should be cooked at no less than 170 degrees Fahrenheit but no more than 180 degrees Fahrenheit. To test bone-in cuts, insert thermometer near the bone. Boneless pieces should be checked at the thickest part of the cut (this goes for beef, as well). When chicken meat is thoroughly cooked, it should always look opaque with no sign of pink and the juices should run clear.
Beef, which includes roasts, steaks and ground beef, should be cooked in the range of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (for medium rareness) to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (for a medium temperature). Try not to cut into any piece of beef, or chicken to check for doneness; this loses all the wonderful juices inside the meat. Plus meat should always sit after it's cooked for at least five minutes so it retains its juiciness.
After the consistent use of a thermometer to check whether it's done, senses of touch, sight and smell will begin to determine when the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Ground beef and ground turkey should always be cooked until they reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention link eating undercooked or pink ground beef to an increased risk of illness. So, food for thought; Don't eat ground beef while it's still pink on the inside.
With these facts, cooking juicy, tender meat doesn't sound all that difficult anymore, does it? Now, all that is missing in your cooking repertoire is a cooking thermometer. Expect to find prices ranging from $5.99 to $14.99 at any store with kitchen supplies.
Christina DiGiacomo cdigiacomo@kansan.com
EAT THIS
The tastes of a juicy, perfect steak is waiting.
Favorite Barbecue Chicken with Cheesy Potatoes
Serve this with coleslaw and a large glass of ice tea.
Ingredients:
1 chicken fryer,cut into pieces or a few favorite chicken pieces
1 cup of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil Barbecue sauce:
2 tablespoons Vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershi
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup water
1/2 a lemon
1/2 a white onion, chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat oil in a large heavy frying pan over high heat. Dredge chicken pieces into flour and slowly place chicken in pan and brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pan and set into a large casserole dish.
2. Sprinkle onion over chicken and squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken.
3. Mix all barbecue ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until cooking thermometer reads 160 to 170 degrees. Makes 4-6 servings.
Cheesy Potatoes O'Brien Ingredients:
132 oz. package hash browns O'Brien,
defrost
1/2 cup melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup-undiluted
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz. carton sour cream
1 small jar of cheese whiz (not the stuff you put on crackers)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients and place in casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Bake for 40 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. Makes 6 to 8 servings Note: You will have leftovers of the potato dish, but you can freeze it and when ready to remake it, bake it at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.
DiGiacomo is an Apple Valley, Minn., senior in communication studies. She studied at Dante Alighieri cooking school in Florence, Italy.
C04040