Healthy Skills for Your Grill Video Transcript

Webcast Transcript

For the average person, I would say that to minimize the risk, a meat thermometer is a really good idea when you're grilling.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: And also cut off a piece of it. For chicken, it shouldn't be pink. If you cut through and it's pink,it's not cooked enough. If you cut the meat by the bone or the thickest part, and it's still raw, it's not cooked enough. So you can look how well done it is. That's a good indicator. It's different than a turkey where you're cooking the whole bird. That's not what you usually do on the grill.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Is there a set distance to have your food products over the grill?

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: It depends on what you're cooking. I'd say a good six inches from the heat source is usually a good idea. Also with vegetables, if you're doing vegetables, you don't want to cut them in such thick slices that they take forever to cook on the grill. Usually an inch-and-a-half is fine. If you're cooking an eggplant, don't go more than an inch-and-a-half if you're cooking it on the grill.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: You were giving some good ideas before, like swordfish, about tasty, healthy products, other than just hot dogs.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: The other thing I think would be helpful is the way in which you want to prepare the flavor. So as opposed to using a lot of oils, you can use different sorts of marinades or rubs. They are just delicious. They are just spices that you actually rub on. That helps to prevent both the carcinogenic aspect, because it doesn't catch on fire. It doesn't flame in the same way. It cooks. The flavor cooks in. That's a great way to go. Just get your favorite spices out and rub it into the meat.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Or the fish.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, RD: Or the poultry.

LAURA PENSIERO, RD: If you are using marinades, you really should rub them off thoroughly before you put them on the grill. They've already done what they're supposed to do. They've imparted flavor into the food. You don't want them sitting there all wet, creating flames. It's already done its job.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: I think we have to wrap this up because I'm getting hungry right now. Thank you for watching our webcast on healthy grilling. So the next time you put your little chef's hat out there, click back on to this webcast, and maybe you'll have some good tips to enjoy a healthy grilling experience. I'm David Folk Thomas. We'll see you next time.

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