--- title: "Burger Joint Prep & Mise en Place Checklist" canonical: "https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/burger-prep-and-mise-en-place-checklist/" --- > Source: https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/burger-prep-and-mise-en-place-checklist/ [Checklists](/checklists/) / [Burger Joint](/checklists/burgers/) / Thawing & Prep (Mise en Place) # Burger Joint Prep, Thaw & Mise en Place Checklist Burger Joint prep (mise en place) has three jobs before service: **thaw protein in the fridge at 0–5°C (32–41°F), keep raw chicken on its own boards, tools and gloves, and prep only as much as today needs, not what the recipe card says**. These 9 checks cover all three jobs, and each one is backed by real data. 4 in 10 kitchen managers say they do not always have separate cutting boards for raw meat. 45% of hospitality food waste happens during prep. And keeping food cold (cold holding) fails in 68.24% of fast-food inspections. Label everything. An unlabeled tub gets thrown out too early or served too late. [Run this checklist - free](/run/burgers/?list=prep) [Download PDF](/checklists/pdf/peakscale-burgers-checklists.pdf)[Download Excel](/checklists/excel/peakscale-burgers-checklists.xlsx) The checklist · 9 checks ### Thaw and handle raw protein by the rule **1\. Thaw frozen patties and chicken in the fridge at 0–5°C (32–41°F). Keep them covered, on the bottom shelf.** Thawing in the fridge is our house method, and it is one of the four methods allowed by FDA Food Code 3-501.13. A bench thaw is not one of them. It leaves the surface at an unsafe temperature (danger zone) for hours while the middle is still frozen solid. **2\. Label every thaw tray with the date it went in and the date it must be cooked by.** An undated thaw tray gets cooked too late or thrown away too early. Both cost money, and date marking already fails about a third of the time in this business. **3\. Prep raw chicken only on boards, tools and gloves set aside just for raw chicken. Wash your hands before doing anything else.** 4 in 10 managers say they do not always have boards set aside just for raw meat. 1 in 4 say gloves are not always used with raw chicken. Chicken is the one ingredient regulators openly allow to arrive with Salmonella on it. ### Batch to match the time of day, not the recipe card **4\. Prep sauces, slaws and dressed items to match the forecast for THIS time of day.** 45% of hospitality food waste happens during food prep. Over-prepping is the cheapest waste to stop, because you have not cooked it or held it yet. **5\. Portion sauces, dressings and cheese with a scoop, pump or scale. Never guess by eye.** Median food cost for limited-service restaurants is 32.4%. Guessed portions never drift in your favour, and you never see it on a single order. **6\. Write down how much you prep against yesterday's sales and yesterday's waste.** This number is what lets you cut the next batch instead of prepping the same amount again. Without it, over-prepping stays invisible. ### Label it or lose it **7\. Label every prepped container with the product name, prep date and use-by date.** Date marking fails in 32.09% of fast-food inspections. An unlabelled tub gets thrown out too early (waste) or served too late (risk). **8\. Throw out prepped ready-to-eat items after 7 days at the most, or sooner if the recipe says so.** FDA Food Code 3-501.17 makes the 7-day limit a top-priority rule. The tub nobody threw out is the one an inspector finds. **9\. Fill line bins to the normal stock depth (par) only. Deep bins go back in the fridge, not on the rail.** Keeping food cold fails in 68.24% of fast-food inspections, and over-filled rail bins are the reason: the top third of a deep bin never reaches a safe temperature. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the correct way to thaw frozen burger patties or chicken?** In the fridge at 0–5°C (32–41°F), covered, on the bottom shelf so nothing drips onto ready-to-eat food - or as part of cooking. FDA Food Code 3-501.13 allows four ways in total: in the fridge, fully underwater in running water at or below 21°C (70°F) under the conditions the code sets out, as part of cooking, or in a microwave with cooking started right away. Thawing on the counter is not one of them, because it keeps the surface of the food at an unsafe temperature for hours while the middle is still frozen solid. No study has measured how often restaurants break this rule, which is why the checklist covers it: thawing is not something the FDA risk-factor study measured, and EHS-Net has not published numbers on thawing methods. **How should raw chicken be handled on a burger prep line?** On separate boards, with separate tools and gloves, and hands washed before touching anything else. CDC EHS-Net found that 1 in 4 managers said workers do not always use gloves with raw chicken, and 4 in 10 said they do not always have cutting boards kept just for raw meat. Raw chicken is why this care matters: FSIS rules allow up to 15.4% of raw chicken parts and 25.0% of ground chicken to test positive for Salmonella (8 and 13 out of 52 samples). So some contamination is expected when chicken arrives, and cooking it properly is the only way to kill the bacteria. **How long can prepped sauces and slaws be kept?** Seven days maximum from when you prepped it, for refrigerated ready-to-eat food, and sooner if your recipe says so. Write the product name, prep date, and use-by date on every container. FDA Food Code 3-501.17 makes date marking and the 7-day limit a Priority item. It is one of the most-failed checks in this segment: inspectors found it missing in 32.09% of fast-food inspections. Prep for how busy you expect to be, not for the recipe card, and you will rarely even reach day seven - 45% of hospitality food waste happens during prep. ## More Burger Joint checklists [Receiving Goods](/checklists/burger-receiving-checklist/)[Opening & Starting the Line](/checklists/burger-opening-checklist/)[Grill & Fryer - Cook to Temperature](/checklists/burger-cooking-temperature-checklist/)[Keeping Food Hot, Building Orders & Speed of Service](/checklists/burger-hot-holding-and-assembly-checklist/)[Closing, Waste & Food Cost](/checklists/burger-closing-checklist/)[Weekly Checks](/checklists/burger-weekly-checklist/) One free app has all of them: [open the Burger Joint Checklists app](/run/burgers/) - offline, no account, add it to your home screen. ## Sources Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data: - [FDA, Report on the Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors in Fast Food and Full-Service Restaurants 2013-2014](https://www.fda.gov/media/117509/download) - [FDA, Report of the FDA Retail Food Program Database of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors](https://www.fda.gov/media/157223/download) - [CDC EHS-Net, Ground Beef Handling and Cooking Practices in Restaurants in Eight States](https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/48227/cdc_48227_DS1.pdf) - [FDA Food Code 2022, full document](https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/FDA-FoodCode2022-FullDocument-01182023_0.pdf) - [Food Safety Magazine reporting CDC NORS contributing-factor analysis 2014-2022](https://www.food-safety.com/articles/10209-new-data-from-cdc-on-contributing-factors-of-foodborne-illness-outbreaks-in-20142022) - [CDC, Chicken Preparation](https://www.cdc.gov/restaurant-food-safety/php/practices/chicken-preparation.html) - [FSIS, Salmonella Categorization Process for Raw Chicken Parts and Comminuted Poultry Products](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2020-12/FSIS%20Salmonella%20Categorization%20Process%20for%20Raw%20Chicken%20Parts%20and%20Comminuted%20Poultry%20Products%20.pdf) - [QSR Magazine with Intouch Insight, The 2025 QSR Drive-Thru Report](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/the-2025-qsr-drive-thru-report/) - [QSR Magazine, The 2024 QSR Drive-Thru Report](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/the-2024-qsr-drive-thru-report/) - [Intouch Insight, 2025 Drive-Thru Study: Key Insights from our Annual Report](https://www.intouchinsight.com/blog/drive-thru-trends) - [WRAP, Overview of Waste in the UK Hospitality and Food Service Sector](https://bfff.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/WRAP-Waste-in-the-UK-Hospitality-and-Food-Service-Sector-2012-Report.pdf) - [Mlcek et al., Assessment of Total Polar Materials in Frying Fats from Czech Restaurants, Italian Journal of Food Science](https://www.itjfs.com/index.php/ijfs/article/view/182) - [FDA factsheet, The Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors in Fast-Food and Full-Service Restaurants 2017-2018](https://www.fda.gov/media/169391/download) - [National Restaurant Association, Restaurant operators kept food cost ratios in check in 2024](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/analysis-commentary/restaurant-operators-kept-food-cost-ratios-in-check-in-2024/) - [National Restaurant Association, Elevated labor costs had a significant impact on restaurant profitability in 2024](https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/analysis-commentary/elevated-labor-costs-had-a-significant-impact-on-restaurant-profitability-in-2024/) - [Bartsch et al., Estimated Cost to a Restaurant of a Foodborne Illness Outbreak, Public Health Reports](https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/a-foodborne-illness-outbreak-could-cost-a-restaurant-millions-study-suggests)