It stems from the fact that rinsing it in the sink could spray particles across a wide area way beyond the sink. Plus, it’s not like most are going to clean with anything that will actually destroy the bacteria like a properly cooked chicken would. So why spread it around your kitchen more than necessary?
A few of you mention only buying boneless, skinless chicken. Is that because you just prefer that kind of chicken or do you think it is safer? I would think the more processed and broken down the chicken is, the more it is susceptible to possible contamination.
The CDC seems to be saying that incompetent washing can do more harm than good. With a proper kitchen set up (separate preparation area), of course you should wash it. It’s not just salmonella, who wants to be eating the gunk and slime covering the chicken.
I think you need to find a new place to buy chicken if yours is covered in gunk and slime! I’ve never washed any raw meat. If it’s too moist for whatever seasoning or marinating or cooking method I have it mind, I pat it dry with a paper towel. Never made anyone sick yet.
There are simply too many things on this earth to be worried about! I don’t wash chicken out of the package, but if I brine chicken or turkey I do rinse and dry to reduce saltiness and crisp the skin. I’ve had a lot of chicken in a lot of countries around the world, including street stalls, and never worried about washing and never got sick. Right or wrong answer? Who knows.
Technically I don’t rinse the chicken - H does. I’m working on other dishes. When we cook things like that we work together. We’ve never gotten sick, so have no plans to change.
We often wash steak too - esp since when they cut them they rarely get all the bone dust off. Burger we don’t wash, but most of what we use is deerburger processed, then frozen right in our kitchen. The meat was washed first. Occasionally we’ll do lamburger from the store - that’s not washed.
We tend to not worry about “bugs.” Right or wrong, we believe exposure to more helps make the immune system stronger and none of us are immune compromised (at mom’s we do things differently for her with her cancer). We do wash the sink thoroughly after raw meat is around though - and we wash veggies first. Maybe if we get sick sometime we’ll change, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Not so long ago my husband said as he watched me make chicken, aren’t you supposed to wash it. Our mothers always washed their chicken. I do not, having read something ages ago that you shouldn’t. I do try to be careful about immediately washing anything that touched the raw chicken - plates, counter, utensils, etc.
Another non-washer. I open any packaging over the sink, drain it directly into the drain, bag the packaging over the sink and dump the bag in the trash. I work with the chicken on a cutting board so it never touches the counter. The cutting board and knife if any then go directly into the dishwasher, the counter gets a spray and wipe for good measure and the sink a good rinse.
I find that the issue is less the spray from washing the chicken than the wet chicken dripping on your counter or floor as you transfer it from the sink to the cutting board or pan.
Of course all this is moot, even the gloves, if you’re using your bacteria-covered hands to turn on the faucet or not washing your hands well. I’ve seen a lot of people preparing chicken simply rinse their hands.
I do the exact same as you, @Sue22 . I either turn on the tap before I cut the chicken, which is wasteful, or I ensure one finger never touches the chicken and turn on the tap with the edge of my pinkie. I once saw a home improvement show in which the owners had a pedal-operated tap installed, and I thought that was the greatest idea.
Probably half and half depending on how “juicy” the chicken is - sometimes I also rinse it to complete the de-thawing when just a few ice crystals are left. Makes sense though and while I do rinse the sink afterwards with soap, I’ll be more aware of this.
I buy boneless/skinless breasts which I then use kitchen scissors to trim any fat or anything else that grosses me out, all under running water. I generally have the pan sitting next to the sink so that I can transfer without dripping everywhere and clean the area(faucet handles, sink, adjoining counter) when I am done. I do rinse steaks, pork chops, and just about anything else that can be rinsed, so no rinsing hamburger meat.
I would be willing to bet the people complaining about “slime and gunk” would not be able to tell the difference between rinsed or unrinsed chicken in a taste test.
I do not wash chicken, ever (my mom did and still does), but I do make a production about washing up in between the prep steps and after dinner. I clear the dishcloth and sponge from the sink before starting. Since I won’t touch a cabinet, refrigerator door, spice, etc., without having washed, I probably wash my hands 3-4 times before the prepped chicken makes it into the pan. After, I wash everything, including the knife, acrylic cutting board, counter, faucet handle, spigot, and sink, with hot, soapy water using paper towels and rinse everything in the hottest water I can stand. I know the dishwasher would probably do a better job of sanitizing, but I am skeeved by the idea of raw chicken germs sitting in there and then spewing around inside.
For the knife and cutting board after I’m done using it I load it up with antibacterial dish soap with my hands and give it a good cleaning, then I put them in my dishwasher. I don’t want to use a sponge and keep any germs in there (even though it’s loaded with antibacterial soap?). I know you can microwave your sponge, but I don’t do that every time. Hope I’m doing it right. At least no ones ever gotten sick yet.
I keep the package in the plastic bag from the grocery store. Then I open the bag next to the pot/pan on one of the cooktop grates without removing the chicken package, slice the package open from the top, rest the knife on top of the same bag, lift the chicken out with tongs and it goes straight into the pan. Then the knife and tongs go into the dishwasher and the package, bag and all, goes directly to the garbage. Then I wash my hands for good measure, too. Being careful to turn on the faucet with my forearm and not my hands.
I don’t think hot water that’s safe enough to touch is actually hot enough to kill germs. Hot water starts getting uncomfortably hot around 120-130F, and you need to get up to around 160+ to kill germs quickly.
