This is a great lab for students to apply food safety skills in the kitchen with or without living and teaching in the world of COVID-19! I have included a possible way to do this lab as an interactive class demonstration, especially if you have some lab restrictions. If times were normal, this recipe is still doable as a class demo or as individual group preparation (just adjust the recipe accordingly). I hope you find this Food Safety Lab: Baked Ground Beef Kabobs helpful in these unprecidented times!
Background Notes
- If you have 43 minute periods and are using this lab as an interactive group demonstration, you will have to extend this into a 2-day lab. I have given suggestions for this in the recipe.
- If you have a block schedule, you could do this as an interactive demonstration or as you normally do labs with your students because it’s easily doable in that amount of time.
- This recipe not only can incorporate social distancing, but it also provides individual processing when making and consuming. My students will also be required to wash their hands, wear disposable rubber gloves and masks.
- For hybrid students taking your class virtually, in real time, this demonstration could be videoed (minus student faces) via Zoom or Google Meet so they could “be a part” of the class.
Set
- I would have already taught about food safety. Maybe you have your own lessons or maybe you don’t so below are some potential lessons I have used over the years.
- Students will be given the recipe along with the Pre-Lab questions. After completing and discussing the answers, explain how the interactive demonstration will work. You could also write the job numbers on the “Wheel of Names” (instead of names) and go through your class roster to assign the tasks they will be responsible for during the demonstration. This technique reduces the amount of contact that comes from reaching into a container.
Materials
- Wooden Skewers (affiliate link)
- Meat Thermometers (affiliate link)
- Food Supplies
- Sharpies in Different Colors
Demonstration Instructions
- Teacher soaks the wooden skewers ahead of time and sets up the demonstration table with ingredients and equipment.
- I numbered off the jobs for my class sizes so you might have a different amount of jobs depending on your class load.
- During COVID–do this as an interactive class demo using the full recipe. Teacher presoaks skewers. Doing the lab this way may require you to break it into a 2 day lab (calling students up individually can take more time). If you feel this might be the case, eliminate the preheat step only on 1-3 and save jobs 15 and 16 for day 2 instead. After students form their kabobs on their preassigned color-coded skewers, they place them on a pan, cover & label with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. On day 2, the teacher will preheat the ovens ahead of time to ensure enough class time for baking, eating and cleaning up!
- After students wash their hands and don their rubber gloves, they will be called to the demo table in order of their jobs. This way, students can remain social distanced from the food.
- When you get to the part of the demonstration where students are given a portion of the meat mixture to form on their pre-assigned color-coded wooden skewer, students will do this 1 or 2 at a time in their specific kitchens. Once all kabobs are prepared, they will either be refrigerated or baked depending on your class time.
- When it’s time for students to sample their kabobs, they can add a condiment and social distance to eat and because it’s on a skewer, there’s no silverware involved. We have outside picnic tables for students to use that will allow them to safely remove their masks and eat. Of course, this is all weather permitting!
Attachments
- Food Safety: Ground Beef Kabobs Recipe & Pre-Lab Questions (PDF)
- Food Safety: Ground Beef Kabobs Recipe & Pre-Lab Questions–Digital (please make a copy)
- Kabobs on a Stick Master Job Assignment & Color Key Forms (please make a copy)
