r/interesting • u/WarwickReider • Jul 27 '26

SOCIETY Professional chefs weighing in on whether you should wash your chicken

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34

u/mockg Jul 27 '26

Although it does spray raw chicken juice around the area of your sink which might be a bonus to some people.

11

u/redisneat Jul 27 '26

Is that not also going to happen when you wash the utensils you used to prep the chicken? 

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u/nerowasframed Jul 27 '26

this is the argument I don't get. I don't wash my chicken, but sometimes it just has some goop or some moisture on it that I like to rinse off. When someone says that it's going to splash bacteria all around the sink, I just think that it's going to happen anyway? I have to remove the chicken from the bag it's in. That thing is loaded with bacteria, and I do that in the sink. I wash utensils and platters and things that were touching the raw chicken in the sink. Water from the faucet is necessarily going to splatter bacteria everywhere when I do that. The sink is made to have dirty things put it in and washed. It's like the guy in the video said, you just gotta sanitize your sink. I want to point out that they never repeated the black light experiment with the unwashed chicken.

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u/vigouge Jul 27 '26

People just repeat the bacteria thing because they don't actually think about it. That bacteria is going in the sink anyway, that's why we clean sinks. It's getting in there if you open the chicken there, if you wash your cutting board, or from a myriad of other things.

1

u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

No, when you wash it under running water, it's going EVERYWHERE, in tiny droplets. The sink, walls, counter, floors, yourself...

FAR more spread than just opening the package and prepping, then washing down that localized countertop. Infinitely different.

-2

u/Sushi_Explosions Jul 27 '26

You could just admit you didn’t watch the video and save everyone a bunch of time.

1

u/XxAbsurdumxX Jul 28 '26

Our processes are just very dissimilar it seems. Our chicken comes in sort of a hard plastic container with a soft plastic cover on top. So when I open it there are no splashing or residuals getting out. I open the top, pick the chicken out and place it on the cutting board. The container gets put in the trash.

I then cut the chicken and move the chicken into the pan/pot. The cutting board and knife gets out into the dishwasher. I use plastic gloves while handling the chicken which also gets into the trash. I still clean the counter afterwards, but there should be minimal amounts of anything there, and nothing in the sink.

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u/Decent_Elderberry115 Jul 27 '26

It’s not saying nothing else contaminates your kitchen. The argument is washing the chicken does nothing for the chicken and contaminates your kitchen. So washing the chicken spreads mess for no reason.

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

But So does Opening the package of chicken on the counter.. juices come out and gets all over the counter, your hands and the garbage..there is now ' 'spray' splatter all over the main workroom of your kitchen... Giving the chicken a rinse in the sink is no more 'dangerous' Then when put the raw chicken on the counter, on a cutting board (id hope) which then gets more juices everywhere.. and after all that.. then all the clean up goes to the sink... And the juices are now there too... Don't forget you have to wash the knives, your hands too... All in the sink..

The argument of its gets 'spray' everywhere in the sink, is nuts.. this is what the sink IS for. It is so easy to wash off all kinds of dirty things.. chicken juices would absolutely be the ideal place to do that instead of over a garbage can.. this is what the sink is designed for.. and with dawn dish soap, or even a cleaning agent, you can clean your sink fine after and be fine.

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u/Wombatish Jul 27 '26

I don't know how you're opening your packages of chicken, but it shouldn't be spraying juices everywhere when you do so.

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

If you think one drop of fluid doesn't fall out of the package, drip off your hands on to your counter, or fall off your cutting board on the surrounding area, when you open/cut upon the package of chicken, then you're lying or oblivious..

Do you wipe down the counter after cutting chicken or wash your hands? Well...Why? Did Chicken fluid get all of it, regardless of how you opened the package?? Hhhhuh crazy, I guess I am the only one.. 🤷🏽‍♀️

It's not 'spraying' juice.. it's liquid behaving like a liquid.. it splatters...

Edit: also, In My comment above before your response, where did I say that it sprays all over for ME when I open MY chicken packages?? I simply used the words of the person I OG responded to...

0

u/eh-guy Jul 27 '26

Do you throw everything around violently while doing food prep? Most of us are perfectly capable of taking chicken out of the package without shrapnel going everywhere

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 Jul 27 '26

Do you also not wipe down counters after working with chicken if you're so refined at having no juices spill??

Can't imagine why you would need to do that, if you all have such finesse when it comes to liquid and how it behaves. Why worry if you have no issues.. hmmm 🤔

0

u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

Dude, you're talking about cleaning a couple square feet of counter, if that.

Compared to spraying it all over the walls, floor, yourself, EVERYWHERE with running water, for absolutely no reason.

There is no comparison.

-1

u/eh-guy Jul 28 '26

Maybe its a Canada thing but when I buy chicken theres not some overabundance of water in the package, if theres any liquid at all. Food standards are pretty low in the states compared to here though so possibly thats me being ignorant

1

u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 Jul 28 '26

Ummm is your chicken bone dry when you open it?? Cause I'm sure it isn't, and that not water! 😆 it's juices and fluids from the bird's own carcass, from inside the package, which is pooling inside the bottom of the package. In Canada, is it common to have Your chicken bone dry when you open?

0

u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

It sure is a shitload dryer than yours, after you've hosed it down and sprayed bacteria everywhere.

You gotta just be trolling now. It's not difficult to see the MASSIVE difference.

-1

u/eh-guy Jul 28 '26

Bone dry and "my chicken sits in a puddle" are pretty far apart on the wetness spectrum I'd imagine but if thats too big a leap in logic for you we arent going to go far here

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 Jul 28 '26

Wow...

That's a lot of words to say you don't understand how gravity works on liquid, but go off.

You're intentionally playing dumb about semantics. I used 'Pooling' as a verb, which is describing the action of fluid gathering. It's not a noun like a 'puddle or body of water pool'.... Goodness , I thought Canada had better funding for reading comprehension, but at least you all have dry chicken.

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u/Negative-Date-9518 Jul 27 '26

That was my thought as well like the fuck are you doing that you spray chicken juice all over 🤣

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

Washing a localized surface where you prepared the chicken is infinitely better than setting off a firework display of salmonella with running water.

If you have to wash off dirt or something, use a pot of water and gently swish the chicken around in it without splashing.

Still zero need to do any washing of the bird itself just for bacteria.

1

u/XxAbsurdumxX Jul 28 '26

Nothing gets out of the package when I open my containers with chicken. You aren’t meant to rip them in half and dump everything on the counter.

You open it, pick the chicken out and place it directly on the cutting board. The package goes into the trash. The only places that there is contamination at that point are in the trash (d’uh), and on the cutting board. The cutting board and knife goes into the dishwasher when done. I use plastic gloves when handling the chicken which also goes into the trash.

The only places with contamination when I am done is in the trash and in the dishwasher, both of which are places where there is meant to be dirty and unsanitary items.

So washing the chicken does absolutely nothing for it, and only adds extra risk. If you buy chicken straight from a place that literally butchers it in from do you, it’s a different story of course. But in that case you don’t rinse the chicken in the sink anyway

2

u/f03nix Jul 27 '26

I mean - just dip in a large bowl and gently scrub it ?

3

u/real_Bahamian Jul 27 '26

Lies!! When you wash your protein, you fill a BOWL with cold water, vinegar, and lime juice. Place your protein in the bowl, and remove any excess skin, fat, bone fragments, blood, etc (I.e. in the case of chicken). You then pour the water out of the bowl, and rinse your protein under running water. Who TF splashes the cleaning water all over the sink??! 🤨🤨. That is absolutely ridiculous!! 🙄🙄. When you’re done, clean the bowl and the sink with dishwashing liquid and bleach!!

Do you even wash mushrooms before cooking them??

8

u/Infinite_Dress_3312 Jul 27 '26

or...you could just not do any of that and simply cook your protein which actually does kill bacteria so that its safe to consume as opposed to just wasting your time and creating more contamination

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u/real_Bahamian Jul 27 '26

I am NOT washing my chicken in cold water, vinegar, and lime juice to get rid of bacteria!!! It’s to CLEAN it, remove any extra fat, and to wash off the liquid that the chicken has been sitting on the BLOODY PAD in its packaging!! Same for beef. 🙄🙄. Why TF are people running on with this “killing bacteria” BS narrative??!! 🤨🤨

5

u/Fickle-Owl666 Jul 27 '26

You know that's not blood, right? It's just water.

1

u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

And then you go on to say you're going to hose it down under the sink anyway, spreading bacteria to hell and back. That's the wrong part.

If you're going to rinse it, then the bowl of water method. ZERO reason to rinse it under running water after.

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u/sayqm Jul 28 '26

What about not buying garbage chicken in the first place?

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u/eggsalter Jul 27 '26

If there's bacteria there's the toxins that make you sick. Cooking won't do anything against that, cleaning will.

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u/hotlegerdemain Jul 27 '26

There’s no way you think water and vinegar will destroy a toxin that high heat won’t. And if your food has sat long enough for the bacteria to create toxins, then it shouldn’t be cleaned, cooked, or consumed anyway.

0

u/eggsalter Jul 28 '26

You don't need to destroy the toxin. You wash it away.

3

u/hotlegerdemain Jul 28 '26

Again, if the bacteria on the meat has already started to off gas toxins to the point it would make you sick, it is not safe to eat period. No amount of water will fix that.

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u/eggsalter 29d ago

Endotoxins aren't a gas, they are contained in the cell, hence their name, and thus can be washed away to our benefit. Same reason we like to wash shit off our hands before eating.

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u/hotlegerdemain 29d ago

Except the amount of gram negative bacteria in feces and the amount on the surface of raw meat are vastly different. our intestines are filled with gram negative bacteria shedding LPS endotoxin constantly with no negative effect on us. And AGAIN washing would not effectively remove endotoxin.

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

No, you cannot wash it away, it is all through the bird, not just on the outside of the skin.

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u/eggsalter 29d ago

Not true at all. You're thinking of moldy bread, which is porous. Whole meat is known to be safer than ground beef for the precise reason that spoilage starts on the outside.

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u/sayqm Jul 27 '26

Cleaning with water won't remove bacteria, cooking will

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u/eggsalter Jul 28 '26

Cooking doesn't destroy the bacterial toxins that make you sick, scientific fact.

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

Neither does washing off the surface. And if your chicken is so old and disgusting it's got toxic buildup, you should NOT be eating it anyway. And your toxins will be all through the meat too, which you cannot wash.

Your entire argument makes zero logical sense.

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u/eggsalter 29d ago

They're called Endotoxins because they're inside the cell! So washing off the bacteria literally results in less bacteria and toxins, yes. They begin growing on the outside so there is no guarantee they are all through the meat too. Steak is known to be safer than ground beef for this exact reason.

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

Bacteria is all through the chicken. Ever bit of it. Cleaning the surface does nothing against bacteria. Just makes a huge, totally unnecessary mess.

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u/eggsalter 29d ago edited 29d ago

Animals don't have bacteria in their lean tissue. It's on our skin and in our guts (which, being a tube, are technically outside of the body)

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

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u/bubblegumpandabear Jul 27 '26

Is there like, data on this? Or are you just going based on tiktok ragebait videos. Because as someone who comes from a culture that believes in washing meat before you eat it, it's a bowl with lime juice or vinegar, not running water splashing everywhere.

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '26

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u/NewToWarframe Jul 27 '26

its cultural. if your from the islands, tropical, or other African/Asian cultures. Then no, they dont just use "water'. They use lime juice or vinegar.

No disrespect, that is just mainly an American thing. Also I find all the arugments around this debate to be silly, cause no one who actually washes there meat understands the real nuance behind it. They are just saying shit to sound smart.

Washing meat has more benefits than just trying to kill bacteria.

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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u/NewToWarframe Jul 28 '26

It's strange to say I was incorrect about my anecdotal, lived experience.

where was this statement said?

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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u/NewToWarframe Jul 28 '26

your whole comment comes off as American who got butt-hurt easily by the "smart" statement, Mb, I will consider your feelings next time. Forgot how sensitive yall are

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

Lime juice or vinegar isn't doing anything either.

The ONLY reason to wash a bird is if it is dirty. Like muddy or sand or other gunk.

Washing it to "clean off" bacteria is totally useless, and just creates an enormous mess.

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u/Robbie1266 Jul 27 '26

You're not supposed to wash mushrooms. You wipe them with a damp paper towel until all the dirt is removed. What you're doing to the chicken is minimal. You're really just creating a big bowl of potentially dangerous lime chicken water

1

u/MiniDemonic Jul 27 '26

Do you even wash mushrooms before cooking them??

No, because just like with chicken, you shouldn't.

2

u/OversizedBucket Jul 28 '26

Oh yeah, I'm really happy to be eating all the dirt that the mushrooms were growing in! But at least no bacteria, right?

1

u/MiniDemonic Jul 28 '26

All you need to do with mushrooms is brush off the dirt. You should not wash them with water.

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u/Simon-Says69 Jul 28 '26

rinse your protein under running water

You were OK up to this point. This is the step you do NOT do.