Do not wash chicken before cooking

[Frozen Smoke]

At least according to this article. I always do and will probably continue to do so along with pork products. I think what they are really saying is don't make a huge mess while doing so and if you do wipe everything down with a disenfectant. I go through a ton of Clorox wipes when cooking. Constantly wiping down countertops, prep tables and cutting boards.

http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/07/24/why-should-never-wash-chicken-before-cooking.html

[smokenoob]

I never do, figure I clean the chicken and spoil the area. Tried to convince wife, no way! Then her and a friend read something that agreed with me......I have been elevated from the primordial soup kitchen

[gcdmd]

Similar experience here with a variety of topics. I can reason with my wife until the cows come home but until she reads something on the internet or elsewhere she won't believe it.

[Frozen Smoke]

I don’t think there’s any right or wrong here as long as things are done properly.
It’s a old habit with me which means if the habit is old then so am I! Old habits are hard to change especially for us old guys!

[smokenoob]

agree, we just have so many "clean" dishes in close proximity to the wash sink that propability of splashing chicken juice on them is high and requires rewashing a lot....

[FireMan]

I stopped "cleaning" chicken & other meats when I caught wind of this a few mos. or a year ago. The splash effect is definetly to be considered cuz you don’t see everywhere you splash. And , who wants to wipe everything down when you don’t have to. I’ve been known to be over the top when it comes to chicken & clean. In this case I trust science.

[EdF]

My wife, a germ-o-phobe, absolutely forbids washing poultry in our kitchen (or elsewhere for that matter).

[RonB]

I will always rinse the slimy coating off chicken - if if it's not there.

I also rinse anything that has a bone that has been cut with a meat saw. I don't want to serve bone chips.

[HawkerXP]

Amen brother, a little prep, like moving everything away and a post wash detox is fine with us;.

[customtrim]

From the freeside from meathead

https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...d-grill-safety

[Histrix]

Apparently it is very easy for "stuff" to become aerosolized and float around the sink and land on things you might not think are being exposed/contaminated.

If you don't think it happens when you are rinsing/washing/spraying foodstuff at your kitchen sink then you really don't want to learn what is found on toothbrushes kept in your bathroom.

[FireMan]

Yup! And, how did it get all the way over there. 👀

[gcdmd]

Also, closing the lid on that thing in the bathroom before you flush can avoid at least some domestic strife.

[fzxdoc]

Which is why I keep my toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet. I also put the lid down each and every time before I flush. Not so much so for my esteemed roomie of several years. Husbands are difficult to train, take it from me.

Kathryn

[Jerod Broussard]

Big waste of time.

Waaay better off spatchcocking the carcass and getting a little looksee inside, and then trimming.

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[gabulldog]

Makes a mess regardless of how careful you are and isn't necessary. My mother-in-law cannot be convinced of this, however, and also still insists that her tomatoes and onions be refrigerated, expiration dates don't matter, and pork chops be cooked to 165 degrees...​​​​​​

[Huskee]

Lol on refrigerating veggies. They're out in 95 degree sun for months, but now they suddenly need refrigerated. I grew up eating 165+ pork and beef roasts. Now my mom finally understands that's false notion from the 70s after having a few dinners at my place.

[HorseDoctor]

Unless you live in a gnotobiotic bubble, E. Coli, Salmonella and all manner of other nasty beasties are a part of our everyday environment. They are everywhere! It’s the numbers of them that is far more important than their mere presence. Commercially processed chicken is known to frequently have high (infective) levels of various pathogens which are almost always highest on the surface. Rinsing the surfaces of the chicken will never sterilize it but CAREFULLY rinsing the surfaces will certainly reduce the amount of bacterial contamination. Careful being the operative word! Rinsing the chicken in a deep sink with a LARGE volume of running water is not necessarily a bad idea. Most any surgeon or ER doc will confirm that "Dilution is the solution to pollution"! Slopping or spraying rinse water all over &/or having clean dishes nearby obviously not a good idea. Could you possibly culture a nasty beastie from your sink or countertop afterwards? Probably, but at a very low level if your rinse volume was high. Could you have cultured a similar beastie out of your sink prior to rinsing the chicken? Very possible, perhaps even likely. Hopefully both at low (non-infective) levels. OK, cleaning your kitchen with dilute bleach on a relatively frequent basis is probably a good idea! Sorry, but I’m gonna continue to carefully rinse commercially processed poultry prior to doing anything else with it.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Rinse before cooking? Are you implying you cook before eating? That's what I love about this place, you learn new things everyday! 🤯

[Jerod Broussard]

The carcasses go through numerous rinse cabinets, some HIGH pressure (really high), then they spend about 2 hours 15 minutes in agitated water during the chilling process (unless air-chilled). If something stayed on the carcass after that, my little sink isn't accomplishing anything significant, however my 325+ pit temperature will.

I liken it to bathing without soap.

[HorseDoctor]

That’s probably very effective and if one were to take the carcass straight from the chill tank home there would be little need to treat it like it was radioactive! It’s what conditions the chicken has been subjected to in the interim that may have allowed a minimal bacterial population to proliferate.

[Jerod Broussard]

HorseDoctor if the USDA FSIS felt that you could decrease (by any significant amount), any log growth of salmonella & campylobacter that occurred after processing by rinsing your chicken in a sink, I would have a thread on this forum showing everyone the best way to do it.

[HorseDoctor]

The govt knows best... I’ll still rinse mine and feel better for it. 😁

[Huskee]

I still rinse fish fillets after cleaning the fish, this is a must in my book. No other meats though. And definitely not chicken or pork after removing from a wet brine or marinade. I hate reading that instruction in recipes.

[smokenoob]

When you rinse fish after filet, you are washing off blood, guts,bait, & bones.....prolly not much bacteria, don't ya think? I wil eat fish raw after a good filet and rinse! (well, not the ones with worms.... )

[Jerod Broussard]

smokenoob Removing physical matter like bone chips by water is a good practice. It helps a little on leafy greens too, but people still get E.coli with the greens since you don't get much "micro-physical" stuff.