Cooking meat perfectly, what do you need to know?

Calling all carnivores… We all love a steak cooked on the BBQ, the roast chicken in the oven or maybe those delicious sticky ribs that makes every adult feel like they need to pull out the baby bib.

What probably isn’t thought about is, how to get that delicious cut of meat to the perfect temperature to ensure nasty bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and E. coli, that can cause food poisoning, is eliminated.

So, avoid the unnecessary tummy ache and trips to the loo and consider investing a meat thermometer. A basic thermometer is very inexpensive, or you can invest in the latest gadget that can even beep alarms to your mobile phone, costing around $50. If you are an aspiring MasterChef you could get your hands on a state of the art Thermapen, which is perfect when waiting 5 seconds for a reading, is just too long. You will save on the sick days and trips to the shops to invest in bleach and air fresheners.

Now the important stuff, what temperature is best, as each meat and blend is different. According to Food Authority of NSW the following temperatures should be achieved:

– 63 degrees – Meat with 3 minutes rest tie (Medium Rare) or Fish

– 71 degrees – Meat (Medium) or Sausages

– 74 degrees – Poultry (Chicken, Turkey etc.)

– 75 degree – Reheating food

– 77 degree – Meat (Well done)

Note: Food kept between 5 and 60 degrees is in the danger zone and should be consumed within 2 hours of cooking