Throwing your favorite meats on the grill can be the tastiest way to cook, but that delicious char can also be hazardous to your health. A recent study found that giving your meat a beer bath can fix that.
When you grill your protein-filled foods, two types of chemical compounds can arise: heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These compounds are known carcinogens that live in that tasty char (HCAs) and the smoke that absorbs into the meat when fat drips onto the coals (PAHs). You can reduce exposure to these compounds by cleaning your grill regularly to remove excess char, cutting overly charred parts off of your meat, and even microwaving meat for 60 to 90 seconds before throwing it on the grill.
Another way to reduce PAHs, however, is to toss your grilling meats in your beer. A study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that marinating pork in beer for four hours before charcoal-grilling reduced the amount of PAHs by as much as 53%. The study was done with black ale (53% reduction), pilsner (13% reduction), and non-alcoholic pilsner (25% reduction). So next time you get ready to grill, try giving those delicious meats a bath.
Effect of Beer Marinades on Formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Charcoal-Grilled Pork | Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry via WonderHowTo
Photo by Kate Borkowski.
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