How safe is Your Barbecue? 4 Burning Food to a Chemical Crisp
Datetime:2012-11-09 Hits:
How safe is Your Barbecue? 4 Burning Food to a Chemical Crisp
Food Safety Sin Number 4: Burning Food to a Chemical Crisp
That smoky, borderline-burnt flavor is what keeps our grills hot all summer long, but it is also what makes grilling unhealthy. On the spectrum of food safety, charred food sits opposite undercooked food but is just as scary when consumed: Burnt food can expose your body to chemicals and potential carcinogens thanks to two chemicals coming out of your grill and transferred into your food: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are chemicals deposited onto food via the smoke that forms when meat fat drips onto hot coals; heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, are the chemicals created when the molecular components of meat react with each other due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures on a gas or charcoal grill. This may sound scary, but there are a few tricks to keep these chemicals out of your mouth while keeping the grilled food in it:
•Avoid burn marks. Eat your beef medium-well to avoid potentially dangerous chemicals in the charred proteins. If you do get some charred marks (on meat or veggies), just scrape or chop them off.
•Use lean meat. Forgoing fatty meats for leaner cuts will do wonders for heart health, and it also reduces the development of PAHs.
•Cut before you cook. Smaller pieces of meat will cook more quickly, thereby requiring less exposure to both heat and potentially dangerous smoke.
•Marinate your meat. Meat marinated with acids (think lemon juice or vinegar) can lessen the formation of HCAs.
•Fill your grill with produce. The buildup of HCAs is associated with grilling protein-rich foods such as chicken and steak, but vegetables don’t create these particular carcinogens. Try grilling corn, asparagus, or carrots.
