It's time to break out the portable grills and coolers and head to football stadiums.
And Charlotte Richert, from the Tulsa County OSU Extension Service, has some reminders about keeping food safe.
Richert is teaming up with Jenks Community Education to demonstrate how to make some of her favorite tailgate foods 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at the Jenks High School. The cost is $20.00.
“No matter what team you're rooting for, make sure you plan a good defense for keeping food safe at tailgate parties,” says Richert.
Here’s some of her top reminders:
Keep Surfaces CleanInclude disinfecting cleansing wipes with your tailgate supplies. These can be used to clean preparation and serving areas. It is also a good idea to have individual packaged hand-wipes in your supplies.
Separate, don’t contaminateColor coding is one way to transport foods and keep them separated. For example, using a red ice chest for hot foods and a blue ice chest for cold foods helps keep them at the proper temperature and separated. If you are taking your meat to grill, pack it in the bottom of the ice chest so that juices don’t drip onto other foods and surfaces. This will help avoid contamination.
Keep hot food hot and cold food coldBacteria multiply rapidly between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. Never leave food in this “danger zone” more than 2 hours (1 hour when the outside temperature is above 90 degrees). Cook meat and poultry completely. Partial cooking of food ahead of time allows bacteria to multiply to the point that subsequent cooking cannot destroy them. If you prepare food ahead of time, make sure it is fully cooked.
Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside, so check using a food thermometer to be sure they are cooked thoroughly. Cook hamburgers, sausage, and other ground meats (veal, lamb, and pork) to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees. Beef, veal and lamb steaks and roasts may be cooked to 145 degrees for medium rare. All cuts of pork should reach 160 degrees.
Richert offered a recipe for Touchdown Tortillas that are a simple recipe that can be prepared ahead of time and can serve as a great appetizer for your tailgate activities.
Make sure to keep cold them until they are served.
TOUCHDOWN TORTILLA WRAPS16 ounces Extra-sharp Cheddar Cheese
8 ounces mild Cheddar Cheese
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese
14 ounces diced pimiento, drained
1 ½ cup roasted red pepper
½ cup finely chopped jalapeño peppers (fresh or pickled)
¼ cup light mayonnaise
1 tablepsoon Worchester sauce
Flour tortillas
Combine first 3 ingredients in a mixer or food processor and mix together until well-blended. Add pimiento, roasted red pepper, jalapeno, mayonnaise and Worchester sauce. Blend thoroughly. Spread evenly onto tortilla. Roll and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill up to one day ahead of time. Slice just before serving.
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