Microwave Don'ts PART 2

To promote uniform cooking, arrange food items evenly in a covered dish and add some liquid if needed. Where possible, debone large pieces of meat; bone can shield meat from thorough cooking. Cover the dish with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow enough space between the food and the top of the dish so that plastic wrap does not touch the food. Loosen or vent the lid or wrap to allow steam to vent. The moist heat that is created will help destroy harmful bacteria and ensure uniform cooking. Cooking bags also provide safe, even cooking. Stir, rotate, or turn foods upside down (where possible) midway through the microwaving time to even the cooking and eliminate cold spots where harmful bacteria can survive. Even if the microwave oven has a turntable, it's still helpful to stir and turn food top to bottom. Follow cooking instructions on product label (or recipe instructions). If a range of time is given, start with the fewest minutes recommended. Add cooking time if necessary to reach a safe internal temperature. Observe the "standing time." Cooking continues and is completed during standing time. Most importantly, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Never partially cook food and store it for later use because any bacteria present wouldn't have been destroyed. When partially cooking food in the microwave oven to finish cooking on the grill or in a conventional oven, it is important to transfer the micro waved food to the other heat source immediately. Cooking whole, stuffed poultry in a microwave oven is not recommended. Because food cooks so quickly in a microwave oven, the stuffing might not have enough time to reach the temperature needed to destroy harmful bacteria.
Only use cookware that is specially manufactured for use in the microwave oven. Glass, ceramic containers, and all plastics that are safe to use usually will be labeled for microwave oven use.