Just how risk averse have we become - BBQ instructions for a pack of chicken thighs

[ScottishScouser]

Just bought a pack of BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS (Chinese) from Tesco. I looked at the instructions purely to see if air fryer instructions were now on them since a lot of stuff has it.

under the BBQ instructions it said - cook as per the oven instructions and only then put on tje BBQ. Do they think the Americans, South Africans or Australians do that! When I lived in the Midwest I can assure you they did not, my South African neighbours cook them from scratch on the BBQ, and I’ve just asked my kiwi colleague of the antipodes do!

so why on earth do we have to pre cook our chicken for the barbecue. A good thermometer tells you if it’s cooked!

It's a good idea

I pre-cook chicken and also slow cook ribs and finish them off on the BBQ.

Considering that a lot of people don’t know that fruits from supermarket should be washed before eating and eat strawberries straight from the pack …. I’m not surprised that supermarkets try to cover their arses as much as possible.

DH is recovering from food poisoning from BBQ'd chicken, into week 3 now. If you go to a BBQ, don't have the chicken!

Apart from mine, which will always be cooked through before bbqing 😆

The advise to precooked chicken before bbqing is not a new thing? It's been the advise for a very long time.

Tesco instructions are basically to tell you how long to cook to not get food poisoning, it's not a recipe. They can't control the temperature of the bbq so can't give any advise on how long to bbq

Also I wouldn't say wanting to avoid food poisoning is risk averse, its a fairly normal thing to want to prevent

I agree. It's a sneering attitude that probably causes more people to have food poisoning in the long run as they don't want to be seen to be "overdoing" it

If they are marinated with a chinese sauce, they could burn if you leave them too long on the BBQ. I would assume that's the reason for oven cooking, rather than food safety.

I'm fairly sure there was a thread on here asking exactly this.

I eyerolled very hard that day

DH is super into bbqing, he keeps chicken on there nice and moist. I think he calls it “indirect heat” or something. He also does rotisserie chicken on there and it’s amazing. Anyway, once one of his friends wives was almost hysterical at the thought of chicken being food from raw on the bbq and refused to eat it. It was equal parts hilarious and cringeworthy, needless to say no food poisoning.

Cotton wool nation....... arse covering....

This might be an anomaly, but I’ve always had great BBQs in the UK, no burnt sausages or raw chicken.

What I have never had is BBQ Chinese chicken from Tesco - what is it? A chicken from china with a BBQ sauce? A five spice chicken that’s been cooked on the BBQ and then cooked and packaged. BBQ and five spice flavoured chicken? None of these sound appealing, as I dislike BBQ sauce/flavourings, but I am intrigued!!

Yup@Bluecarnations

I didn't dream it

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4742555-no-cooking-instructions-on-this-please-help-asap?reply=123890929

Sorry for the derail @ScottishScouser

Tbh, I threw a big party/bbq a month or so ago. Cooked loads of chicken all afternoon. All good.

Then some slightly inebriated latecomers turned up late-ish in the evening as the (big, built in) bbq was forgotten & dying down, & added a couple of packs of chicken legs before forgetting them completely.

I went to check on them after an hour or so, & they were pink inside - I discreetly binned them - everyone else was far too drunk to notice or care by that point.

If I'd let them serve them up, they might well have made someone sick.

So I suspect the guidelines are to arse cover for idiots. Obviously sensible people can continue cooking as usual.

Ok, so I was so intrigued, I had to good BBQ Chinese chicken Tesco. This came up:
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/264429037

It clearly says:

Barbeque
Instructions: For a chargrilled barbecue effect, cook as per cooking guidelines above, then place on the barbecue, turning frequently until desired chargrill appearance is achieved.

So it’s if you want a chargrilled BBQ effect on chinese-style chicken thighs. Not sure why you would (they look revolting either way), but it doesn’t seem as ‘Health and Safety’ as it’s being made out.

Do British people not have a meat thermometer in the set of standard kitchen supplies?

I could see not having one of the newer wireless ones that are so handy for bbq, but at least an old-fashioned quick read meat thermometer ?

I never realised how clueless some people are about food and food hygiene until I joined a Facebook group about slow cookers.

Ive never owned a meat thermometer @Ponderingwindow