Cooking meats, and particularly barbecuing them, can result in cancer-causing substances called heterocyclic amines forming on the meat surface. These may increase your risk of some cancers.
If you really enjoy barbecuing meat and you want to avoid some of these cancer-causing substances, try marinating your red meats and chicken first.
A marinade is a seasoned liquid which adds flavour as well as softening the fibres of some meats. Taste and texture can be improved by this method of food preparation, as can your health as the simple marinade recipe listed below will decrease the amount of heterocyclic amines by more than 90%.
Marinade recipe
Ingredients:
-
2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar, preferably balsamic
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 teaspoon mustard
squeeze of lemon juice
Method:
- Mix all of the above ingredients in a dish. Place the meat or chicken into the dish and spoon the marinade over. Marinating can take as little as a few minutes to decrease these heterocyclic amines but leaving the meat for longer allows for a better flavour.
- Another important point is not to cook the meat too long as overcooking will increase the cancer-causing substances. Chicken portions should be cut to size so that they can be cooked through within 30 minutes with meat taking less time.
- Although marinating your meat is healthier for you, the nicest thing about it is that it also makes the food taste better.
Further reading
For more of Rosemary Stanton’s advice on health and nutrition consult her book Rosemary Stanton’s Complete Book of Food and Nutrition (Simon & Schuster, 1995). ISBN: 0 7318 0538 0.