When dealing with food safety in backyard barbecuing there's a rule of "hot foods, hot, cold foods, cold," says Barbara Troy, Associate Professor at Marquette University. She says when foods are 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit it's in a "danger zone" which bacteria can multiply.
The registered dietician says especially on warm days it's important to pull out the meat products right before grilling, then any leftovers should immediately go into the refrigerator.
Troy says when cooking sausages that are made from scratch its safer to cooking them inside first then finish them off on the grill.