Food prep class teaches grilling for the future

Armed with tongs, a collection of middle school students encircled about 10 grills on the west side of the Waseca Junior Senior High School the afternoon of Oct. 26. Members of a Family and Consumer Sciences food preparation class, they were there to try their hands at the safe preparation of various foods, including chicken, pork, steak, and tuna steaks. Kevin and Amy Kelm of the Waseca-based food truck Kelm’s BBQ were there to offer assistance–including lighting the charcoal grills. Hy-Vee and Morgan’s Meat Market had donated the meat. 

 

Questions rang out, including, “Should the meat be on fire?” or “I lost my tongs, do you have another pair?” and “Can I keep the coals after we’re done using them?” 

 

Supervising the group was Brenda Harguth; a substitute for the day, she had led Teighlor Eilertson’s Food Prep class out for the experience. Also on hand was Ag teacher Robin Tidd; she had brought the members of her Animal Science class. “This is a great opportunity for junior and senior students to learn about the animal industry,” she mentioned. “Food is just one of the many products we get from them.”  

 

Working in groups of three or so, students were allowed to select a cut of meat or fish, season it, and then place it on the grill. Landon Mattson, who was in the process of cooking tuna steaks said, “I took the tuna because no one else wanted to.” He was also in the process of putting a tin of vegetables on the grill, then adding butter to aid in the cooking and flavoring. Alongside him were Brayden Malecha and Crosby Hinna, who both said they were experienced grillers.

 

Tidd observed, “The students love this hands-on stuff. This is a first-time thing for some of them, and they will take that into adulthood. Not just the grilling, but the marination, the preparation, the handling of the raw meat–it all plays into it.”

 

As the meat began to be done, students used meat thermometers to confirm each type had reached its safe serving temperature. That done, they shared the various dishes they had prepared. They all looked like they enjoyed it; the students were outside for about an hour.