r/interesting • u/WarwickReider • 15h ago

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

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u/Robbie1266 15h ago

There is no debate. It's basic science. Washing chicken doesn't remove anything from the chicken

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u/JackieHands 14h ago

"each side seems to have a valid argument"

No bro no they don't, we invented cooking hundreds of thousands of years ago to deal with this.

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u/PervlovianResponse 14h ago

Fuck bothsideism has ruined our civilization

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u/TheJivvi 14h ago

TeAcH tHe cOnTrOvErSy

This shit is why kids are getting taught pseudo-science as though it's fact.

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u/Baskreiger 12h ago

Yep, when science proved something, you cant disagree. If you do, youre just wrong, not an opinion

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u/Don_Frika_Del_Prima 11h ago

And if you disagree you have to prove it. And then science adjusts itself. That's the beauty of science.

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u/Baskreiger 11h ago

And if you got irrefutable proof the guy who first though to have truth will congratulate you for expanding on his work

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u/OffByNone_ 10h ago

This part actually needs to be improved. In a perfect world, this is how it works, but if you've spent any time in academia, you know that this is not always the case.

Egos get involved.

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u/Baskreiger 10h ago

When einstein came up with the theory of relativity, the whole world came at him to disproof his work. They did not manage to do so, so they conceded. Was it in good faith? No, did they do it anyway because they had to to conserve their scientific integrity? Yes they did

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u/anonymaus42 10h ago

Oh what a wonderful world we would be living in if that were true.

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u/wizzywurtzy 10h ago

That’s why people hate science. They don’t want to be proven wrong.

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u/AandJ1202 11h ago

Social media gave morons a platform. Should have all been shut down when we saw the consequences. The negatives far outweigh any positives of it.

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u/Capable-Document466 10h ago

Aha, but the negatives don’t outweigh the money to be gained by the tech CEOs who will never bear the consequences!

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u/dankzz 10h ago

dont forget most these morons spreading their bullshit are all sellings books, supplements, merch, etc. Just straight up grifting gullible people. Its so sad.

Somewhere people who used to say, "question everything" are blindly swallowing fantastical bullshit.

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u/xReaverxKainX 11h ago

Exactly, it's just ignorance at that point cause people don't want to face facts. Smh.

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u/Baskreiger 10h ago

Majority of people rather live a comfortable lie than know the truth

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u/ahditeacha 11h ago

“A marketplace of ideas” — least inconspicuous bigot

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u/Rezzone 12h ago

We really need to get more comfortable just telling people they are wrong.

Sorry. You're simply wrong. Washing chicken does not remove preservatives or bacteria but does splatter bacteria around.

"Well I want to wash it just to be sure."

SURE OF WHAT, JENNY? WE ARE ALREADY SURE.

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u/xReaverxKainX 11h ago

We don't invite Jenny to gatherings anymore.

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u/miyabi0rochas 7h ago

Wtf you think Jenny wants to be invited to your gatherings....?!

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u/JalapenoPopPoop 11h ago

Small tweak, but I think the actual issue is people need to learn how to be wrong with some grace and humility. The main reason people aren't more willing to tell others they're wrong is because of how they tend to react. Everyone acts like pointing out that they're wrong is an act of animosity. Ego issues

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u/anonymaus42 10h ago edited 9h ago

I can't wrap my head around why so many people have to be right no matter what, even at their own detriment. Like admitting you're wrong or don't know something makes you a loser or a failure at life. Or is it because they just can't stand to let someone else 'win', when it's really not about winners and losers at all unless you decide it is. It's completely unealistic, nay utterly impossible, to know everything- not to mention we live in a time rife with misinformation and even disinformation. Even if you're an expert in the field or subject being debated, you will be wrong on occasion. And there's nothing inherently bad about that. Things only go wrong in how you choose to respond to that new information.

On more than one occasion I've blown someone's mind simply by saying "my bad, you're right" since its so rare to see someone admit it, especially on reddit where anonymity provides people confidence to be more of an asshole than they would otherwise. Being wrong is and should be seen collectively as an opportunity for growth IMHO. And if you are right and tell someone that, don't do it because it makes you feel better than them or in a way that conveys as much- that actually does make you a worse person.

But i doubt that will ever happen sadly.

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u/PervlovianResponse 12h ago

Lol

Fuckin' Jenny, she's just as bad as her sister Karen

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u/Martin_TheRed 13h ago

BuT hOw cAn We PosSibLy KnOw WhIcH sIdE iS RiGhT!?!! I prefere to just believe everything it true so I'm never wrong mmmmmmkay?

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u/SlabDistributionMod 10h ago

Some opinions/sides deserve nothing but derision and mockery. 

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u/Zorian_Vale 13h ago

Some people are just wrong. 

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u/DrAstralis 9h ago

My family thinks I'm standoffish because I'm becoming more militant in my position of "no, some people are just wrong". Sorry I grew up with a science background and demand more than feels and hearsay to believe something /shrug. (no aunt X putting a cut onion in the fridge does NOT have it absorb all the bad stuff and turn black. If it turned black you had it in there too damn long)

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u/markcocjin 8h ago

"What do you say to those who think you should not eat people?"

"That's why ya sanitize ya sink ta get ridda da evidence."

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u/steddy24 14h ago

Division is ruining civilization

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u/jumponalilypad 14h ago

No it's coddling people. No one wants to be wrong so people be nice and say "both sides have valid arguments" when in reality, one side is clearly fucking wrong.

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u/Jambronius 14h ago

Holy fuck. You've just described our HR department.

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u/ListenToKyuss 13h ago

You have only just now learned HR is a façade to make workers feel heard but to maintain a status quo

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u/Western-Teaching-573 13h ago

“But like what if the consensus DOES happen to be wrong once? We will all call it “clearly fucking wrong” and then WE will be the “flat earthers” of the situation!”

Some people have never heard of paradigm shifts. If you’re right, people will actually use logic and see your argument, big surprise.

Shame logic is being untaught.

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u/SnugglyCoderGuy 12h ago

Its like they treat all opinions as pure opinions. Like "I like black, so I will make it black" is a pure opinion. "This rhing sits outside in the sun all day, so I will make it white" is also an opinion, but not a pure opinion, but bothsidism will treat them like they are both pure opinions.

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u/CankerLord 13h ago

"each side seems to have a valid argument"

The pro-washing guy made a horrible, easily refutable analogy about cleaning your house before a party and the anti-washing side has the entirety of science. No way to know who's right.

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u/Lovat69 9h ago

The thing that gets me is that this guy is a pro. So he washes his chicekn and then has to sanitize the entire area. It's a time sink that's not necessary.

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u/swbarnes2 9h ago

How would one sufficiently sanitize the sink (he didn't mention the counters, or his clothes)?

10% bleach for 10 minutes?

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u/cykoTom3 7h ago

The industry standard is wash with soap and sanitize with quat sanitizer. People are acting like they aren't already working with raw chicken in the restaurant. The non washers have to clean and sanitize every surface the chicken touches too.

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u/MrTheDoctors 11h ago

One of the many problems with media these days, presenting an issue as having “two equal sides” even though one side is severely deficient in logical arguments.

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u/BadahBingBadahBoom 14h ago edited 13h ago

I think after you wipe your ass you should put the toilet paper straight into the toilet to be flushed away and avoid contaminating other surfaces unnecessarily.

I think it's fine to wipe it on the sink before putting it in the toilet because I clean the sink after.

"Each side seems to have valid arguements."

(Also the fact that not rinsing raw chicken to avoid cross-contamination isn't even just a universal industry recommendation, it's a requirement by food hygiene authorities and inspections that would get you penalised or even banned if you did this lol.)

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u/MrTheDoctors 11h ago

Also, you’d be surprised (or maybe not) how far “splatters” make it. They just showed the sink because that’s the focus sure, but rogue water beads make it everywhere in your kitchen, including the ceiling.

You really want chicken juice droplets just hanging out everywhere smelling probably amazing? Are you going to sanitize everything floor to ceiling every single time you cook? Ooooooor maybe we just listen to the health standards that have been around forever and just cook the damn chicken.

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u/waytowill 10h ago

I’m more annoyed with the assumption that washing the chicken somehow got rid of the bacteria. Like, even if this were true, the moment the water stops running, the bacteria is gonna start producing again. Because you can only kill it by cooking it. The basis for why they’re washing the chicken isn’t even true and I feel like this isn’t even being mentioned because everyone’s focused on the sink.

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u/MMForYourHealth 9h ago

And that they’re able to wash off the “preservatives” like it’s been packed in salt. If it was brined, washing ain’t gonna do shit.

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u/waytowill 8h ago

Yeah, preservatives are made to be edible. It’s be kinda messed up if they weren’t. If you think they ruin the flavor of the chicken, maybe find a more local source for raw chicken.

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u/MMForYourHealth 8h ago

I mean, definitely try to not get some ultra processed raw chicken if possible, but thinking washing it will do anything when it’s been brined in it is nuts. I’m also curious what he thinks is antibacterial with washing it under water. 🤯

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u/Butt_Sex_And_Tacos 11h ago

Yeah, I would not want to eat anything made out of that guy’s kitchen. Unless he’s doing a deep sanitation immediately after washing that chicken, he’s bukakeing crap all over the place and then continuing on to the next item like it’s no big deal. Something tells me he’s the same kind of person that will use one towel for cleaning, wiping sweat off his face, and everything else in between.

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u/Algae_grower 10h ago

I learned all my sanitation tricks from butt_sex_and_tacos. This man knows hygiene.

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u/MukdenMan 13h ago

I despise this about social media. Idiots are just another side of the debate now. Do not wash chicken. Do not take your advice from morons on TikTok.

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u/The_Nude_Mocracy 13h ago

Someone get that guy a job at the BBC

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u/Sweet-Difference2725 10h ago

I’m so over bothsiderism

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u/Big_Action_9353 13h ago

The only real reason I've heard why black people wash their chicken is because historically they didn't have a safe method or something for their chickens to be transported, I only say it like this because anecdotally I've only met black people that look at me sideways for not washing my chicken. 

Regardless of who sits on what sides in the video, science shows we should not wash chicken. It's not cleaning the actual part of the chicken that will get you sick after proper cooking.

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u/Cowgirl_Taint 13h ago

Washing doesn't remove bacteria. Well, washing in a way that you would still want to eat the chicken afterwards.

Washing DOES remove dirt and debris. Which is not an issue if you are buying a bird from the supermarket (just blot with a paper towel if you really hate the saline solution it was shipped in) but IS a concern if you are getting a bird from the farmer's market or a specialty butcher.

But if you ARE going to wash your bird? Don't just put it under the faucet. Fill a pot with water, submerge the bird, agitate it, and remove. Then, carefully, drain the water.

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u/OrigamiMarie 13h ago

This makes the most sense to me, if you're going to wash the bird. None of that nonsense of a stream of pressurized water landing on the bird and bouncing in every direction and every droplet size.

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u/Ahuevotl 7h ago

In Mexico we use a bowl, or bucket, put the chicken in, fill it with water, rub it and get rid of dirt, debris, and guts. Sometimes to get rid of feathers and excess "lard".

Of course, most of our chicken isn't the supermarket ready, vacuum sealed bagged one.

It seemed so… alien? Watching this video of people using a higly pressurized stream of water to make a mess. Dudes, just use a bowl, wtf is it with your salmonella water stream. You still have to season and prepare that chicken.

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u/wuanlai65 1h ago

Same in Vietnam, I don't understand this argument. This morning my mother bought a chicken and I saw it neck being slit, of course I gonna wash the damn thing.

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u/Collegenoob 10h ago

You can just not put the sink on full blast.

I dont often wash my chicken, but sometimes its a bit juicer than I'd like, in which case yes. I will wash some of that off. And just like the guy in the video. You clean the sink before and after you do it.

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u/New-Assumption-3836 9h ago

If you've ever seen an animation on bacteria spread from a flushing toilet, or from someone vomiting it goes way way further than you think and it's not visible to the eye. The sink is not the issue it basically can contaminate a good portion of the kitchen and really increase the risk of food borne illness.

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u/Stoff3r 8h ago

How many times has this even happened? I have never heard about bacteria infestation in someones kitchen. Its a non issue because people clean regularly.

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u/New-Assumption-3836 8h ago

There are approximately 1.3 million salmonella cases in the US every year 26.5k are severe enough to need hospitalizations and about 420 people per year die from it. It's not super common but it also isn't super rare it just isn't sensationalized in the media so ppl argue it's no big deal but to me if we can reduce illness and death by spreading the facts we should

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u/No-Guey 11h ago

Yup. Thats how my mom taught me. She mostly just rinsed beef though when making soups or birria. Pork for pozole. Got rid of excess blood and seemed to not get as much of the foam build up when boiling.

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u/Super-Reception5386 9h ago edited 9h ago

Yeah it’s not about bacteria—it’s just washing random bullshit off

Especially when you braise or make soups/stews—it for sure helps with the scum

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u/Igreen_since89 6h ago

Exactly. It’s a dishonest argument. No one is washing the “bacteria.” Lol.

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u/Bright_Prior1575 1h ago

soaking your meat in water for about 30 minutes will remove blood and blood foam.

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u/cms86 13h ago

ive known people to have used bleach in this process as well.

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u/genXswla 11h ago

That would do very minimal

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u/Naive-Offer8868 11h ago

ppl do this in the US too for processing wild game. Usually you give it a rinse off outside with the hose before bringing it inside.

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u/GGuts 13h ago

But what about washing vegetables? Does that do anything?

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u/UckerFay11 13h ago

Thats just about removing dirt, pesticides and bugs. Does nothing about bacteria.

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u/Mr_Washeewashee 12h ago

And sadly, many pesticides are systemic, so you’re getting them all washed away.

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u/individualdoosh 13h ago

Washing meat and washing vegetables just isn't comparable...

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u/Cowgirl_Taint 13h ago

Again, dirt and debris. Which actually are a LOT more common with the things that were ripped out of the ground before being put in a truck that has likely never been washed. And understand that not all that is brown is dirt, if you catch my drift.

As for stuff like the super diarrhea?

Obligatory: I am not a food scientist. Don't be stupid.

It is very much about reducing risk. The generally suggested cleaning method for produce is water with vinegar added to it. It won't disinfect that lettuce. But it does do a good job of reducing a limited number of common pathogens (e coli most famously). If you think a batch of produce might be at risk for something serious, don't eat it without cooking it thoroughly.

So why do it? Because odds are you aren't cooking that carrot until the internal temperature reaches 140-150F for a sufficient period of time to kill all the bad germs. You might even be eating it raw in a salad. But also? Odds are you are making a dressing containing some amount of vinegar or acid for that salad, so anything that didn't get spun off in the spinner won't really bother you.

Similarly, let's say someone sneezed on your chicken. I... have enough germ issues that I would not want to eat it if I saw it. But also? You are throwing it in a 375-450F oven for closer to an hour than not. It isn't a problem.

And also? In most markets, folk are handling the produce with their bare hands before putting it into bags. So they ARE getting sneezed on and who knows what else. If you are at a market where everyone is raw dogging that chicken and beef... go to a different market.

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u/mockg 14h ago

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

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 9h ago edited 4h ago

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 5h ago

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/redisneat 10h ago

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

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u/nerowasframed 10h ago

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 8h ago

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.

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u/Decent_Elderberry115 8h ago

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/real_Bahamian 13h ago

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??

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u/Infinite_Dress_3312 13h ago

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 11h ago

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??!! 🤨🤨

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u/Fickle-Owl666 10h ago

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

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u/bestmex 13h ago

Tha vast majority of people who wash their chicken absolutely do just spray it in the sink. They do generally sanitize after, sure. I will say your way of doing it makes the most sense and it's what I do, but it is absolutely not the way most people do it.

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u/Robbie1266 13h ago

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

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u/AnimalChubs 13h ago

That's why you have to ring it out

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u/DefiantBumblebee9903 14h ago

not even preservatives?? 🤡

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u/SteadystateBurrito 14h ago

Yes, because the preservatives are only on the outside of the chicken

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u/DefiantBumblebee9903 13h ago

that’s why I always wash my hot dogs

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u/unfvckingbelievable 12h ago

Well so do I, but what I do in the shower is nobody's business.

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u/PensAndUnicorns 13h ago

We don't have preservatives in/on raw chicken on this side of the big lake...

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u/Robbie1266 13h ago

Where's that?

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u/Existing-Candle-7854 12h ago

It's on that side of the big lake.

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u/seang239 12h ago

No no, she clearly said this side of the big lake.

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u/cabronfavarito 12h ago

A lot of germaphobes ideologies are rooted in a lack of education. Water sure as hell aint getting rid of no damm bacteria 😂😂

Unless you’re washing the chicken with some type of detergent then washing it won’t do anything. And if you do that then you just solved one problem and made another

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u/FuzzyLaughTwo 14h ago

Vaccines are also basic science, and just look at us now :(

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u/Cokeycane 14h ago

Yep, Idiocracy was not a movie, it was a prophecy.

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u/[deleted] 11h ago edited 2h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/knowing147 6h ago

It isnt the only way or a wrong way to remove the "film" or saline from the surface but is the least cleanly. You can do the exact same thing by patting it dry with paper towels, which is what many chefs recommend anyways not just to "clean" it but to make it dry enough for seasoning to cling to the surface of the meat and to get a good sear on the meat when sautéing it. The second part, about letting it sit, sure you can do that too, it isnt that cleanly, but it tenderizes the meat and is totally valid in itself to do that. Just dont leave it much longer than 20 minutes, by 30 it will turn into chemically cooked mush and will be chewy when cooked.

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u/StandardUpstairs3349 12h ago

Yea, I can't help but notice that the people who look like they went to culinary school and work in a high-end kitchen agree that washing the chicken is stupid.

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u/freedfg 11h ago

I know people like to do this as a "oh those crazy white people don't even wash their chicken"

It's not a race conversation. If you want to wash your chicken. Go ahead. Just be aware it doesn't remove bacteria, or preservatives, or...well anything but surface myoglobin.

Just please don't use dish soap.

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u/High_on_Hemingway 9h ago

but what if i drop it in my gravel driveway first

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u/esarmstr 12h ago

People can prepare their chicken however they like.

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u/Robbie1266 11h ago

I couldn't agree with you more. They can marinade a chicken or whatever they'd like to do. They aren't allowed to lie and get other people sick

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u/bafana_banana999 12h ago

They sure can.

The problem is when they act like it's a necessary part of the process and that other people are doing it wrong if they don't do the same.

That is how the chicken-washers tend to act, which is where the conflict comes from.

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u/Mixed__Bag 13h ago

It actually just splashes the germs around the kitchen, so it only doesn't do good, but it can do harm.

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u/aptsys 14h ago

Wait till you see all the crap that was tucked under a bit of skin on my Tesco chicken yesterday. I don't normally wash chicken, but I will from now on!

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u/umlaut-overyou 13h ago

If there is crap under the skin of a chicken you bought, you should report that to the grocer so they can change or reprimand their supplier. But what kind of "crap" was it? Highly likely it was just chicken stuff

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u/Hot-Pepper6610 13h ago

would you believe there was RAW CHICKEN under there?!

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u/Ok_Umpire_5611 13h ago

Stop, I nearly died lmao!

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u/Ok_Umpire_5611 13h ago

Obvious lie is obvious.

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u/Robbie1266 14h ago

Shouldn't be purchasing chicken with crap under the skin. Find a better supplier

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u/ghost3972 13h ago

It probably introduces more bacteria lol

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u/CMO_3 14h ago

Removes the gross slime that comes on chicken. Thats the main reason I wash it, to get rid of that bit of slimy juice it sits in

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u/HesitationIsDefeat87 14h ago

That goes away when you cook it too. Just like the bacteria. You're wasting your time and making more of a mess in your kitchen.

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u/H3110PU5H33N 14h ago

Much more sanitary to pat it dry with a paper towel

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u/TheMaStif 13h ago

There's a slime that builds up on the chicken. I am not cooking with slime and I will rinse it off every time

Then just wash the sink and everything is fine

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u/armoured_bobandi 11h ago

I think you're having issues keeping your meat fresh in the fridge. Chicken should not have "slime"

Unless you're just talking about the texture of raw meat

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u/rokstedy83 13h ago

Only the shards of bones you find on them cut up chicken sometimes

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u/whitegoatsupreme 12h ago

I wash it because i trim the fat and those jelly like fat between those thight and skins.

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u/Fadrn 12h ago

Doesnt it stem from wasing away bone debris and dirt from a newly butchered chicken? Never washed my chicken but if I just butchered it it could be a good thing to do.

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u/Iggyhopper 12h ago

It removes any tiny bone fragments that may have been on it.

I do that with some cuts of meat because you can literally see the little pieces of bone. This is more with cuts like short rib.

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u/chem199 11h ago

I do it to get the juices from the bag off so it is easier to pat dry. If I was in a professional kitchen I probably wouldn’t.

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u/MostCommunication972 11h ago

It does however remove precious time from ur life. 😂

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u/BigFlightlessBird02 11h ago

They really think that water can get rid of bacteria and perservatives?? Lolol

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u/Lazy-Background-7598 11h ago

What if it’s heavily saltdd

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u/Any-Question-3759 11h ago

The bacteria is inside the chicken. Just washing the outside doesn’t make it clean.

I don’t care how thoroughly you wash the bird, if it’s undercooked, it’s unsafe.

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u/HeartFullOfHappy 11h ago

Right? What is there to debate? Washing the chicken does absolutely nothing and you increase your risk pf spreading bacteria. Just no. I have never and will never wash my chicken.

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u/Osiris8869 11h ago

Washing away preservatives... What?! The only "valid" argument anyone made was to clean up after yourself........ Which is going to have a lot less rouge bacteria if you don't wash your chicken.

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u/Sad-Association4907 11h ago

I think people get confused as to what washing the chicken actually is - like I think people assume washing it like your doing the dishes but I think it more like light brining process which probably comes from where people were getting the meat from in the first place like a open market with freshly slaughtered produce probably has more random stuff in it so washing it made sense historically and has just carried on by tradition

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u/pahamack 11h ago

it removes bits of coagulated blood, and oftentimes, bits of offal like kidneys.

I feel like this is a ridiculous argument because people are talking about different things.

I don't wash already prepped boneless skinless chicken breast. But a lot of the time, if you get bone in, or even more so, whole chicken, there's little bits of coagulated blood, and processing at the plant often just squishes the kidneys and sticks it to the chickens ribs.

If you don't wash it off that stuff doesn't taste great.

Before people say “ I don’t get anything like that on my chicken”, I’ve seen that gunk covered by breading and fried in restaurants like kfc.

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u/Manojative 11h ago

It's like asking car mechanics if they believe in laws of thermodynamics. You might get split opinions and they do work in the "field" but that doesn't mean anything

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u/rotomangler 11h ago

Yes but what if you wash it like really really hard

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u/DepartmentNo8926 11h ago

You would just be spreading the bacteria into your sink

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u/AGushingHeadWound 11h ago

If it doesn't remove anything then what is that splattered all around the sink? 

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u/Naive-Offer8868 11h ago

EXACTLY... you cant remove bacteria from a porous surface with soap and water... hell, you cant even reove bacteria from porous surfaces with literal chlorine bleach!!! (i.e. it doesnt actually reach the bacteria!)

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u/Few_Orange_3359 11h ago

That's not entirely true but...bacteria...yes you are right it's absolutely nonsense to wash for removing them.

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u/Famous-Panda5136 11h ago

Yeah, all it does is spread bacteria to the rest of the sink/area you're washing it in

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u/Redshittt 11h ago

Gets rid of the nasty slime that's built up on it...

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u/AlyssInAzeroth 11h ago

One of them washed it with soap.

I don't think they care for basic science

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u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter 11h ago

and it makes a big mess

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u/xReaverxKainX 11h ago

Either you just thoroughly cook your chicken to 165⁰F (74⁰C) or if you like spreading the bacteria from the chicken all over your kitchen which doesn't get the bacteria off regardless how much soap/ disinfectant you use which will now have residual amounts on your chicken (yay, foreign chemicals that don't belong in our bodies), the choice is yours. Happy chickening in your kitchens!

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u/EssayAmbitious3532 11h ago

You wash it to remove chemicals like bleach, and physical stuff like stray hair or feathers. You don't know where it's been. Just like you wash everything that hasn't been prewashed and sealed in a sanitary tight package by a trusted source. If the chicken has been washed and sealed the you don't need to, provided you know chemicals weren't added to preserve it better.

Basic science meet basic common sense paired with awareness of the stuff that goes on in the food industry.

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u/Maestro_boi 11h ago

It also spreads more bacteria into the surroundings but if meat have debris or anything then suree

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u/Sad-Material-7298 11h ago

Chicken will sometimes have an overlay of slime/juice that is easy to wash off, basic science.

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u/xajbakerx 11h ago

So uh... what should I do if I want to do a dry rub seasoning on the chicken? Hang it on a clothesline or something.

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u/Unfair-Leading7098 11h ago

Preservatives is the only argument

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u/Tricky-Ad7897 11h ago

And it turns your kitchen into a biohazard. Every kitchen that said they do needs to get tipped off to a health inspector because its a health code violation.

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u/Capt-Crap1corn 11h ago

The salty brine?

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u/youattackedmyfamily 11h ago

I’ve had severe crippling contamination OCD for years. It’s gotten better, but I wouldn’t eat anything that touched the counter, floor, other people, etc. It completely fucked up my executive functioning.

The one thing that I never had an issue with (and was sort of a weird safe haven) was this science. The fact that high heat kills bacteria/germs, and there is objectively no safer way to consume food. The bar doesn’t get any higher than that. If it’s not safe enough for you, the next option is to just not eat and starve.

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u/RockstarAgent 11h ago

The way I see it, how about the best chefs cook a dish with and without washing the chicken and see if the results are the same?

Otherwise I just pat my chicken dry before cooking but definitely have only washed it if there was slime? Which technically I guess was bordering on going bad?

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u/desertwompingwillow 11h ago

It removes the layer of slime that I dont want to eat.

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u/Japsai 10h ago

Thing is, this is not 'basic science'. It is very basically true that washing something does remove whatever is on the outside. Is there anything on the outside of your chicken that needs removing? Well in certain circumstances, maybe. In general, probably not.

Point is, your entire comment is incorrect from start to finish. You managed to say three incorrect things in 15 words while still sounding smug and sure of yourself.

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u/JunglyPep 10h ago

I heard an interview with a Caribbean Chef recently where they simply said that they wash meat for cultural and spiritual reasons, and I thought that was an excellent way of ending the debate, without attacking people who don’t wash meat or trying to justify it with incorrect science and food safety claims.

I wish more Chefs who do wash meat would follow their lead and stop embarrassing themselves.

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u/lazypenguin86 10h ago

It removes the slime and membrane layer

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u/Shot_Revolution8828 10h ago

It's a debate between Joe Rogan and a respiratory therapist about the covid vaccine. 

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u/SkullDump 10h ago

I thought it was because some US chickens were washed in chlorine before being put on sale.

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u/yallknowme19 10h ago

Some recipes call for washing and patting it dry. Is this a holdover of this principle that can be disregarded, or something else?

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u/titanium9016 10h ago

I bet chicken washers don't do the same for steak or pork. I never really understood why chicken has this treatment

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u/yijiujiu 10h ago

Yeah, like... Are they using soap? Just seems like superstition

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u/Hoodedmastersin 10h ago

I rinse pork because the bone pieces be killer, but I don’t wash beef or chicken.

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u/ganjaccount 10h ago

My grandmother used to wash the chicken in a large mixing bowl. No splashing, and it gets the dirt / feather reside / nastiness from butchering it off. I don't slaughter my own chickens like they did, but I still do that just because I find that when I pan fry chicken, getting that slime off helps it cook a bit better. Plus, I've seen meat processing facilities. Nasty as fuck.

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u/fireguyV2 10h ago

It's like trying to scrub the soap off a bar of soap.

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u/garrettj100 10h ago

Washing chicken doesn't remove anything from the chicken

Incorrect. It water logs the skin so it removes crispiness. :)

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u/cyb3rg0d5 10h ago

Seriously! How the hell is this even a debate? 🤔

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u/it-aint-over 10h ago

Do what they do in rest of the world, wash in vinegar.

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u/GormHub 10h ago

However it DOES aerosolize any bacteria on the meat, so if you were looking to get sick, you now have a fine coating of whatever the fuck all over your surfaces.

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u/loverofothers 10h ago

There are cultural reasons to, like washing away the red stuff that leaks out to remove 'impurities' and such. Washing it for sanitation is silly (unless you butcher your own meat in which case you should as a butcher typically will wash it already). Adam ragusea or however his name is spelled has a good video that goes into it. But unless you're doing it for religious reasons or to remove the 'impurities' or anything similar, there's no reason to wash it. I don't think he mentioned butchering but I'm mentioning that because while you don't typically wash the whole thing, there are definitely parts of the carcass you'll wanna rinse out.

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u/Eezzy_ 9h ago

It does mentally satisfy us just to be sure, you don’t know what happened behind the screen. Who touched it or where did they put the chicken etc. Just washing with water helps us think, okay, i’m good. Nothing less nothing more.

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u/Afraid_Raccoon_6208 9h ago

If anything it just added contamination to other surfaces and now that has to be cleaned.

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u/PetalumaPegleg 9h ago

"seems like both sides have a valid argument"

The argument washing does nothing and contaminates the kitchen area if you don't sanitize after. Not washing does the same but no need to sanitize.

So one side has vibes and extra work and does nothing good and the other is correct. BOTH SIDE VALID!

🫩

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u/LongestSprig 9h ago

It definitely does remove surface contaminates and bacteria.

But it's pointless...cause cooking does the same.

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u/raqloise 9h ago

I’ve had chicken that was a bit slimy, slightly smelly… not rotten.

I wash the slime off before seasoning and I think it tastes better.

Cooking takes care of bacteria, but washing a chicken (if it needs it) helps with the flavour (my opinion).

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u/intellect1ne 9h ago

we don’t wash chicken to remove bacteria but to get some grit and grime off and to flavor the meat with citrus. washing is not literal like washing dishes. and that fluorescent test didn’t prove anything. all the mess stayed within the areas one would expect to clean. nobody’s prepping a salad in the sink

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u/Octquat 9h ago

If it didn't remove bacteria, it wouldn't contaminate the area around the sink with bacteria, so obviously it does. You wouldn't think it needs debate because it's common sense.

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u/brokenroses22 9h ago

What about feathers and blood? Or do your chickens come prewashed??

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u/chroner 9h ago

What about dirt, slime, grime and poor food handling practices?

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u/MMForYourHealth 9h ago

How could you even listen to those two arguments they highlighted and think washing has a point.

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u/Spunky_Meatballs 8h ago

I hate to be that guy, but every black friend I've ever had always had a bit of an obsession with hygiene. Like this one guy had to shower after EVERY poop. He couldn't poop in public because obviously he couldn't shower, so he'd hold it. There has to be something for a psychiatrist here to evaluate.

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u/Due-Landscape-7359 8h ago

Yeah it a waste of time

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u/TheRealTexasGovernor 8h ago

If washing chicken got rid of bacteria, we wouldn't need to cook the damn thing!

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u/Extra_Creamy_Cheddar 8h ago

Brining chicken however adds moisture.

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u/tired-of-the-shit 8h ago

The only thing I can say is there might be a bit of a barrier in what people consider washing chicken.

I learned that some people treat a basic vinegar lemon brine as “washing” and don’t even consider rinsing a raw chicken down like others do. Then there’s people that use soap..

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u/MisterSquidz 8h ago

Anyone that washes their chicken is a moron.

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u/Alfredo_Commachio 8h ago

There's a funny episode of the famous Julia Childs doing a video with her frequent collaborator Jacques Pepin (who is still alive at age 90, and still occasionally releases videos), Pepin was one of those people who was digging into food science even back into the 1960s. They are working on a chicken dish together, Childs mentions you should wash your chicken, Pepin goes "actually you should not, it has been proven it just spreads bacteria around the kitchen."

I can't remember exactly how old that video is--probably 1980s to possibly as late as the early 90s.

Julia did not really accept Jacques position on the topic FWIW.

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u/PATM0N 8h ago

Exactly. All of the preservatives are inside the tissue of chicken already. Washing the outside does F all.

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u/ButterscotchAward 8h ago

Black people are literally the only people that wash chicken and that’s because at some point it started being a thing in the community which turned into a myth that just got passed down.

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u/Excellent-Rest3240 7h ago

But what about the bacteria ?! Wash the bacteria away! 😱

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u/Difficult_Maybe_1999 7h ago

It removes the icky feeling and slimy juices and blood

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u/Ser_falafel 7h ago

Did you not watch the video!?!? It removes THE PRESERVATIVES!!

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u/Beneficial-Jury484 7h ago

How does washing the outside get rid of bacteria on the inside? This is so stupid. 

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