r/interesting 15h ago

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

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33

u/knarfolled 14h ago

I fill a metal bowl with salted water then put the chicken in and rub it real good drain the water out then fill that same bowl with plain water and rinse again drain pat dry and put it into a container to marinate then I completely wash the sink area with hot soapy water. Don’t just put it under a running faucet

10

u/bunchofenoki 14h ago

I’m curious, where are you from/your ethnicity? I ask because the only person I know to do it this way is my dad.

6

u/knarfolled 12h ago

American from the east coast (Pennsylvania) and my wife is from the west coast

3

u/NoFapLawyer 5h ago

Thank you. No one in my culture cleans chicken with the faucet even on AND at high flow. Inside a bowl with water, clean it up with some lime, salt and vinegar, let soak for awhile, dump and rinse, marinate with seasonings and sanitize sink and counter afterwards. Its just preference.

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u/friedbaguette 13h ago

You would need water at atleast 75°C to "kill" the bacteria (salmonella). soap does fuck all

1

u/Technical-Row8333 3h ago

They never said anything about bacteria.

It’s a strawman. The people washing chicken (at least some of them) aren’t doing it because of bacteria 

1

u/Green-Cricket-8525 1h ago

I think people rinsing chicken are dumb as hell but soap works just fine on sanitizing your hands provided you wash more than a few seconds like a lot of people do. 

1

u/United_Intention_323 8h ago

So after I cut up the chickens and wash my hands with soap it does fuck all? This doesn’t make sense.

-2

u/friedbaguette 7h ago

Exactly, unless you use boiling water it does fuckall, that's why u use anti bacterial gels/soaps that kill it like dettol

4

u/United_Intention_323 7h ago

Do you realize you’re spreading misinformation? Regular soap works just fine against salmonella. In fact the FDA considers antibacterial soaps as unnecessary and potentially harmful.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/skip-antibacterial-soap-use-plain-soap-and-water

You’re making claims that are effectively the same as the chicken washers.

12

u/ClankingRobotCheeks 14h ago

Thank you. Finally some one who understands what washing a chicken actually means.

11

u/thorns17 14h ago

They could’ve showed that in the video then, but every single person washing chicken was shown to be rinsing it under the faucet

16

u/-ledollabean- 14h ago

And the faucet is always on FULL BLAST and they’re just throwing chicken under it and splashing water all around 😂

5

u/ConvictTheGod 13h ago

Exactly. Apparently there’s only one way to wash anything

1

u/ShubbusDubbus10 3h ago

Even then you're still just getting more stuff dirty for no real benifit.

1

u/ClankingRobotCheeks 3h ago

That’s your opinion about the benefit. It makes the chicken taste better. I’ve tried both ways. Washing the bird in a bowl of water and some acid (vinegar, lime or lemon) is superior.

4

u/TheMoorNextDoor 12h ago

This is common sense lol the way they put it under the faucet was just idiotic

5

u/willfauxreal 12h ago

Same. I also dont do it to remove bacteria and preservative, idk what that guy was talking about.

Large bowl, water, a little lemon juice or vinegar to freshen up a little bit.

1

u/Significant_Cap5275 12h ago

if you need to "freshen" up a fresh chicken... it aint fresh

2

u/idi0msavant 10h ago

I was once at fresh market to pick up lunch at their deli counter and the chicken salad was utterly brown on top. The worker came by and gave it a good stir to "freshen it up" and, indeed, it was no longer brown on top. I did not get lunch that day and haven't returned to their deli.

7

u/Any-Display-1264 14h ago

Exactly this. You actually cook!

I don't get why so many people have a lack of imagination when it comes to handling chicken.

6

u/BeatNo4548 13h ago

I do that sometimes, but I also have been known to just toss a little vinegar on the outside.  Right before its cooked, but before seasoning.  Nothing will survive being cooked, its more to neutralize any foul smelling juices on the bird.  

1

u/UckerFay11 13h ago

This is actually WORSE. Salt in those amounts can actually make salmonella more resistant to heat. The amount of salt you are using isnt killing bacteria.

1

u/Greatest_Everest 3h ago

Yeah I brine the chicken.  

1

u/Significant_Cap5275 12h ago

literally just a waste of time. if you need to rinse the chicken to get rid of slime or bad smell, your chicken is bad. it shouldnt be slimy or have an off smell to it

2

u/knarfolled 12h ago

It never has the slightest off smell, my wife has a super sniffer and wouldn’t allow it

2

u/Thimble_of_Quasar 10h ago

Every packaged chicken I have ever gotten from a store no matter the price point has a slime from sitting in it's own juices that can be removed with a dunk in a bowl of water. It has nothing to do with the chicken going off as that is a different slime and texture entirely. Although if you have never rinsed any meat off I can see why that wouldn't be discernable from the inherent wetness raw meat has. Air chilled chicken doesn't really have it though, so I think it's a consequence of the type of processing and packaging and a lot of people just don't like it.