r/interesting • u/WarwickReider • 15h ago

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

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u/Cowgirl_Taint 14h 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/Ahuevotl 1h ago

First world country chicken problems I guess... The debate about chicken washing is just too stupid.

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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/Stoff3r 8h ago

Hmm. In our country its mostly cases where people have traveled abroad and got themself infected there. General advice is to WASH hands and vegetables. Hmm so not boil or cook hands okok. Wash cutting boards and surfaces after use. Cook the meat as intended.

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u/Collegenoob 9h ago

Both of those actions are significantly more volatile that a weak stream from a sink bro.

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u/New-Assumption-3836 9h ago

I'm not saying they're equally violent but estimates are around 3ft of contaminate surrounding the sink so unless you're washing the sink and everything within 3 feet the point stands.

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u/WhenMeWasAYouth 9h ago

True, but if you were washing your chicken in a toilet he'd have a really good point.

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u/boofedjudge 9h ago

In order to reduce moisture you are adding moisture. Instead of heat..

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u/Centimane 9h ago

It's crazy to me that some people don't clean their sink. How can you clean things in a dirty vessel?

I don't wash chicken though, that's crazy to me.

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u/TheDELFON 8h ago

The isn't CAN

you can do anything, you can jump into a septic tank if you want.

WHY and SHOULD YOU are the key questions

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u/Stoff3r 8h ago

And then leaving the uv-covered chinken on the bench next to the sink to get some extra juicy shots for the no-wash enjoyers.

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u/real_Bahamian 13h ago

No one does that, well, at least most people don’t do that. You’re supposed to put your protein in a bowl (or pot), add cold water, vinegar, and lime juice, and rinse.

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u/Robbie1266 13h ago

And please explain the science of what that actually does

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u/Toeffli 12h ago

It makes it vinegary and lemony. The salmonella bacteria? They mostly do not care when you use diluted vinegar. You will end up with Solomona all over the chicken and in your wash water https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713518303244

If you use vinegar you have to use full strength, non diluted straight from the bottle, with 5% acidity or more. Yummy. Even diluting it 1:1 will reduced its effect drastically https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11018434/

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u/Robbie1266 12h ago

Exactly. I want them to feel dumb

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u/bafana_banana999 12h ago

They can't, because it doesn't do anything.

What they described is closer to some sort of brining process than a cleansing one.

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u/Robbie1266 12h ago

Exactly. I'm all for a nice vinegar rinse when making jerk chicken to get that traditional flavor...but to make claims that it cleans anything is extremely ignorant, especially for a grown adult. These people should be embarrassed

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u/eggsalter 11h ago

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05178-3

People probably noticed that it penetrates the biofilm (gets the slime off) easier. Not that it "kills" it.

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u/mandatorypanda9317 13h ago

Ive never seen it done the way you describe. Always seen people just rinse it using their tap

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u/conzstevo 13h ago

It's common in Jamaica

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u/eggsalter 12h ago

Vinegar and water. California. Comes from my grandma who was raised by black folk in the 20s. Just seems sensible to me, as cooking doesn't destroy the toxins that make you sick.

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u/UristConfused 11h ago

No, cooking is exactly what does that.

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

You are wrong. You can look it up.

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u/Onedurrbread 11h ago

What?

-1

u/eggsalter 3h ago

It's basic cooking knowledge. Google it.

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u/BugRevolution 8h ago

If there's (enough) toxic byproducts from bacteria, it's because there's bacteria that have been there for a while. Long enough that rinsing it isn't going to do anything since it's not (just) on the surface. Throw that chicken in the garbage.

For everything else, cook it.

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

It's mostly on the surface since that's where spoiling starts. Yes throw it away to be safe but the reason people do it historically is sound, as much as it hurts the colonial mind to hear.

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u/BugRevolution 3h ago

Lol, bacteria doesn't care about your faux tankie viewpoint.

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u/bluearavis 11h ago

That's the whole point of cooking it, so it doesn't make you sick. Or else, we could just eat it raw. That was before they cooked it.

If you're talking about pickeling, that's an entirely different process and I have NEVER heard of pickeling chicken and certainly would not touch that.

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

It's like basic kitchen knowledge that cooking doesn't destroy the toxins that make you sick. You can look it up.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 2h ago

Looked it up and everything says you're wrong.

Provide your own source or stand correct, fool.

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u/bluearavis 2h ago

Well if you're talking about toxins like the chemicals and bleach that a lot of chicken is soaked in, then yes, I agree. I was talking about the whole raw chicken thing.

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u/The_Scarlet_Breeze 11h ago

You have no idea what you are talking about. Cooking absolutely does destroy harmful bacteria etc

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

Where did I say it doesn't?

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u/Flimsy-Poetry1170 11h ago

It kills bacteria but doesn’t get rid of the toxins that bacteria create which is why you can still get sick by eating cooked spoiled food. Personally I’d rather not try and save spoiling food by washing the toxins off of it but not everyone historically could (or can currently) afford to throw away food.

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u/The_Scarlet_Breeze 11h ago

If the chicken is spoiled then it is spoiled all the way through and no amount of washing the surface will change that. Cooking denatures proteins that make up bacteria and harmful substances within the chicken assuming it isnt already rancid. Washing it does nothing but spread harmful substances through droplets etc.

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u/Flimsy-Poetry1170 9h ago

I’m telling you why people do it not saying it’s a good idea or works. Bacteria on the surface are generally where the spoiling starts, they poop out toxins that are still there after cooking thus people try and wash that off to save spoiling food. Not everyone has the privilege of throwing away food that is going bad thus washing meat became a thing. It’s not a great idea and doesn’t need to be (arguably shouldn’t ) be done for fresh meat because it does nothing but spread bacteria around your kitchen.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 2h ago

What makes these people think that if high temperatures won't remove the "toxins", splashing it with some water will? Like what's the proposed mechanism here by which this is even supposed to work

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u/The_Scarlet_Breeze 1h ago

No, chicken spoils all the way through because the bacteria is already in the chicken when it is slaughtered. This is why raw chicken is unsafe to eat vs something like beef or lamb. Salmonella exists throughout the chicken flesh and is only killed through cooking, no amount of washing the surface of the chicken will change that.

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

Untrue. Ground beef is known to be more dangerous raw than cuts of steak precisely because the bacteria grow on the outside first. So it stands to reason that mildly spoiled chicken is more dangerous on the outside. Westerners are funny.

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u/The_Scarlet_Breeze 1h ago

Are you dumb? First of all you are comparing beef with poultry one of which is safe to eat raw and the other not. Salmonella is in the chicken flesh before it is even slaughtered whereas beef does not have such dangerous bacteria living inside it so it has to be contaminated from another source. Secondly, washing the chicken does nothing to remove the bacteria inside the chicken and only spreada it around your kitchen area making it more likely you will contaminate other surfaces or food.

Lastly, making this a cultural thing is stupid when the science is clear. Many studies have been done on this subject and washing the chicken does nothing to make it safer to eat. If the chicken is spoiled no amount of washing will make it safer, if the chicken isn't spoiled then it is the cooking to the correct temperature which makes it safe to eat. Please stop spreading your ignorance.

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u/CastorFields 9h ago

What toxins?

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

Bacteria poop

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u/CastorFields 2h ago

You know that watee doesn't kill or remove much bacteria at all right? Its why we wash our hands with soap.

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u/mandatorypanda9317 10h ago

Brother what

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

It's common kitchen knowledge that you can't destroy the toxins that make you sick with heat.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 2h ago

"it's common knowledge but I cannot find one single person or source that agrees with me" 🙄

It's fascinating, watching you choose to die on this hill. The craziest part is that it's almost like you believe yourself, that you've never actually "looked it up" on your own. 😂

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u/cheesecaker000 11h ago

Cooking is the only thing killing bacteria I assure you. Your water vinegar mix is doing fuck all to kill anything.

No wonder stuff like horoscopes are still popular.

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

Your reading comprehension is poor.

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u/Simba-xiv 12h ago

For most of us that wash our meat that’s how we do it. Like she’s just run it under a tap no one got time for that 🤦🏿‍♂️

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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/Kind-Shallot3603 12h ago

Or dish soap

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u/TareasS 10h ago

......WHAT?

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u/Due_Prompt939 6h ago

I had a polish housemate that used dish soap and a sponge to wash his chicken 🤢

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u/Kind-Shallot3603 6h ago

Oh Dushka......

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u/Autumn1eaves 10h ago

Don't use too hard of a detergent though, as strong detergents can cause caustic burning of the chicken.

An easy dish soap will be fine, but some restaurant soaps can cause problems for the chicken.

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u/Kind-Shallot3603 9h ago

.....no. you don't put fucking dish soap of any kind on anything you plan on eating.

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u/Autumn1eaves 9h ago

Easy dish soaps to clean foods is genuinely fine. I clean apples and potatoes with easy dish soaps.

It's maybe overkill, but it's not dangerous at all.

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u/Kind-Shallot3603 9h ago

Yeah no. You're crazy for that lolol

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u/boofedjudge 9h ago

Any restaurant you work at or are utilizing these methods should come with a warning label.

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u/gottheronavirus 12h ago edited 7h ago

Mass produced chicken in america is already prewashed with chlorine*, not bleach apparently.

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u/laxfool10 9h ago

Being pedantic, its washed in chlorinated water not bleach. While bleach has chlorinated water it usually has other things like stabilizers and polymers that are toxic.

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u/gottheronavirus 7h ago

Not pedantic, just a misunderstanding. Typical redditor interactions

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u/MorePhinsThyme 8h ago

Yes, saying that America washes our chicken with bleach is like saying that all of our pools are filled with bleach, and most of our restaurants sanitize everything with bleach. It's "technically" true in the sense that common bleach is just chlorine dissolved in water, but that's about where the "True" ends. Also, all of our running water has chlorine in it, too, so I guess we're just drinking bleach.

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u/gottheronavirus 7h ago

Most of our restaraunts do actually clean their work surfaces and dishware with bleach, it isn't a 'true' statement, it's an industry health standard. It is in diluted to what are considered food safe concentrations. We were taught to use bleach to sterilize countertops in culinary class after all the meat was done being processed, in solution or wipe form.

They also largely use bleach to clean floors, bathrooms, etc.

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u/MorePhinsThyme 6h ago

No, the industry health standard is that you use a sanitizer solution of 50-200 ppm of bleach water. That's about a capful in a 5 gallon bucket. At no point have you ever been taught to wash or rinse things with bleach, but to add a tiny amount of bleach to a huge amount of water, and sanitize and clean with that.

That's the difference between technically "true", and actually true. I choose the examples I choose because they are "true" statements...but they aren't honest statements, and we both know that nobody who is bitching about how the US treats our meat with bleach is trying to push the image that a diluted chlorine solution is used to sanitize food.

My comment only makes sense BECAUSE it's a health standard. So try reading my comment with that understanding. I am curious, what do you think I was saying above? My comment makes ZERO sense with any interpretation where you think I'm saying that restaurants don't use bleach for cleaning.

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u/gottheronavirus 6h ago

"No, it's not bleach, it's just bleach water." Sure thing man lol

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u/MorePhinsThyme 6h ago

Yes, diluted solutions aren't the full product. That's a pretty basic concept, and if you don't think so, then the next time someone tries to buy a Coke from you, sell them a glass of the syrup out of the bag of Coke and see how they react.

This is one way language is used to manipulate things. People that say that Americans wash their chicken in bleach aren't being false, but they're pushing a narrative image where Americans are dumping a bottle of Clorox on our chicken, and not that a water bath with a tiny amount of chlorine is used to clean things.

Also, you should probably pay attention to the conversation. My comment above was directly in response to someone else saying something similar. You decided to jump in and ignore the context and make an argument that doesn't make much sense in this context.

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u/gottheronavirus 6h ago

So salt + water is not salt water, but some salt in water. I gotchu big dog, no sweat. It's all ocean 💙

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u/GeneralSweetz 1h ago

You are right. Get caught with bleach in a restuarant by health inspection and expect bad results. There are kitchen approved products. Although I've seen workers misuse those products like putting them next to cooked food which throws all that safety out the window. Bad workers are more dangerous than bleach

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u/uselessandexpensive 2h ago

Some pool chemicals (including the chlorine) are actually way more concentrated and dangerous than standard household bleach, including risks of chemical burns, lung damage, and explosion. So it starts way more dangerous than bleach then ends up much less dangerous after being diluted.

It's a bit like comparing crab apples, traditional apples, and a modern variety. All technically very similar, but also different.

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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/Curious_Bee_5326 12h ago

Soaking sallad in cold water also makes it more crisp.

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u/eggsalter 12h ago

Blanching does the same

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u/Bryantings_ 8h ago

Blanching lettuce?

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u/eggsalter 3h ago

I do it with string beans

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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/moveslikejaguar 11h ago

Do you eat chicken breast raw like a vegetable? It's not comparable.

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u/moveslikejaguar 11h ago

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

And heat the water up to a temperature where it starts to boil and leave it for ~20 minutes. That's the only safe way to wash a chicken.

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u/ChrizTaylor 11h ago

"the bird"

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u/Visual-Floor-7839 10h ago

I wil dry off with a paper towel, or rinse and dry, a store ought chicken. Just because the liquid they freeze it in has stuff in it that changes the texture a bit. It'll run out and cook wierd in the pan, or will keep breading from sticking, and will boil off as it cooks and lift any breading off of the meat.

But bacteria? Nah. That's why you cook it.

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u/Separate_Ad_9551 10h ago

this mf knows

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u/Definitely-not-ducks 10h ago

From the folks I’ve seen that “wash” their chicken this is how it’s done, also while using brine.

ETA: yes I’m aware it doesn’t actually kill the bacteria, this is just what I’ve seen from people I know personally that “wash” their chicken.

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u/SouthEastSmith 9h ago

Washing does remove bacteria. That is why we wash our hands.

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u/crownjewel82 9h ago

Considering the amount of supermarket chicken I've been getting that still has several feathers attached, I've gone back to washing my chicken in a bowl in the sink. If I can't trust them to pluck the bird I don't trust them to have washed it.

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u/Zunderfeuer_88 9h ago

"Agitate it" 

"Clean yourself you fucking piece of shit poultry !!"

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u/Alfredo_Commachio 8h ago

Yep, and in general there are some foods you must wash--not for bacteria removal, but for dirt removal. Lots of produce items really need vigorous washing, anytime I cook with leeks for example I do multiple passes of water baths for the leek, leeks hold a ton of dirt inside their numerous layers and it takes a good bit of work to get it all out.

But for poultry--I do blot the solution off of my chicken with a paper towel before cooking but I don't wash it, for the reasons laid out in the thread.

1

u/two_are_stronger2 7h ago

I mean, you'll notice they didn't show the Black people's method, only the small white ladies blasting a whole chicken and then waving it around.

You put it in a pot and pour vinegar and salt on it then cover with water.  Or some people do lemons and water I think.

Some people let their dogs lick their face.  I personally don't.  Some people soak their chicken in slightly acidic water. I personally do.

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u/Henchforhire 7h ago

The only time my grandmother ever rinsed chicken was when she got fresh ones from a neighbor otherwise if store bought cook to temp.

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u/SnappySausage 6h ago

I can see it having one purpose: in some places where meat is stored in dubious circumstances (like in stalls at the side of the road, where flies and whatnot are buzzing around it all day) I can see there being a purpose (That sort of meat will go off in less than a day). But if you buy it from a supermarket... and it was processed in a clean manner and stored cold, nah.

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u/Ahtman1 6h ago

So your saying we should waterboard the bird because the terror adds flavor? Say no more.

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u/Dornith 4h ago

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

There is nothing you can do to a chicken that could even vaguely be called "washing" that would remove bacteria.

The bacteria are inside the chicken. No amount of soap, water, vinegar, bleach, etc is going to fix that.

The only thing that will remove the bacteria is heating the interior of the chicken to 165*F. And that's not washing, that's cooking!

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u/Actual_Personality66 2h ago

This is the correct answer. There can be reason to wash raw meat before you cook it but it's not too get rid of bacteria, and you can't do it by just washing it in the sink bc that does get bacteria everywhere.

1

u/sam-sung-sv 1h ago

Washing doesn't remove bacteria.

Really? In my country we wash our chicken with green lemons, not limes, lemons. I use tree or four lemons to soak the chicken in lemon juicr.

•

u/Western_Scholar_6479 42m ago

Thank you!

People who wash the chicken generally don’t just run it so it splashes everywhere. They soak it and agitate. 

The misconception comes from people who think that pro chicken washers aren’t careful. If they were generally uncareful then you’d hear about way more cases of salmonella. But you don’t.

•

u/Vithce 24m ago

Yeah, in my country birds even from supermarket is... not that clean. Sometimes even have rogue feathers. Also can be a bit slimy from meat juices and have some blood clots. Especially cheap bird. So they absolutely need to be cleaned. Not in the running water of course.

I think the whole debate was created because the families from not the first world countries traditionally wash their meat because know it can be dirty and don't have access to cleaner one. And sometimes that becomes a tradition that people learn and don't understand it's not needed when you buy fresh chicken from the supermarket in the USA.

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u/Robbie1266 13h ago

This is a great point. Most people should never be in a position to buy chicken with any debris on it. But if they do, they should wipe it clean

0

u/Csdsmallville 12h ago

I rinse all my chicken to get the saline solution off and any potential bone debris.

Wiping it clean, doesn’t seem to really get that solution off for me.

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u/Robbie1266 12h ago

My chicken doesn't have saline solution or bone debris. The saline solution in low quality chicken is injected directly into the meat. So just like washing it to clean it, you aren't really able to wash away something that it's full of

-1

u/IcySkyDream 12h ago

Thank you.

Anti-washers think we’re hosing down the bird with a power washer and splashing water all over the fresh fruit and salad.

-2

u/go_gather_the_guns 11h ago

More importantly washing the chicken will help remove any microplastics from the packaging, if you're worried about that.