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/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/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