The Prep Station

Safe Food Handling Tips

PUT UP BARRIERS

Items that come in contact with both raw and cooked food, like scales and platters, should be covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to create a protective barrier. Once the item has been used, the protective layer should be discarded.

DON'T RINSE RAW MEAT AND POULTRY

Avoid rinsing raw meat and poultry, as doing so is likely to spread contaminants around your sink. The only exception is brined food, which needs to be rinsed before cooking. Cooking food to a safe internal temperature will effectively kill surface bacteria.

SEASON SAFETY

Bacteria can live on the edges of a box or salt shaker. To avoid contamination, we grind pepper into a clean small bowl and then mix it with salt. We reach into the bowl for seasoning without having to wash our hands every time. Then the bowl goes into the dishwasher.

Setting Up Your Cutting Station

ANCHOR YOUR BOARD

A cutting board that slides all over the counter is not only annoying, it is also unsafe. If your cutting board doesn’t have nonslip grips on the bottom (our Best Buy does), place either a square of wet paper towel or a small piece of shelf liner between the counter and the cutting board.

ORGANIZE YOUR PREP

Organizing your prepped ingredients into little bowls isn’t just for TV chefs; it’s a great idea for home cooks, too. This setup makes it easy to grab an ingredient and add it to a hot pan at just the right moment.