In general, though, chefs in the U.S. and Europe rarely wash chicken before cooking it for both flavor and safety reasons. “As a private chef, I've never washed a chicken in my life,” says Christina Woodlief, private chef and culinary instructor for Cozymeal.
While washing meat and poultry to remove dirt, slime, fat or blood may have been appropriate decades ago when many slaughtered and prepared their own food, the modern food safety system doesn't require it. Meat and poultry are cleaned during processing, so further washing is not necessary.
It is not recommended to wash chicken meat before cooking. This recommendation has the endorsement of the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC). Washing is likely to splash raw meat juices and any bacteria in to the kitchen sink, bench top and utensils and washing will not remove all bacteria.
Washing or rinsing chicken increases risk.
Salmonella, Campylobacter and other harmful bacteria live on raw chicken. Washing or rinsing doesn't remove this risk, it worsens it by helping the bacteria spread. When you add water through washing or rinsing, you give these bacteria a way to travel throughout your kitchen.
Some believe there is a need to wash faeces and other matter off the chicken meat. In fact, modern processing techniques mean chicken carcasses do not need additional cleaning. Others believe washing with a slightly acidic solution (such as vinegar or lemon juice) will kill bacteria.
“Washing raw poultry is a 'habit' for some consumers but for others it may be a cultural practice that is much harder to change,” said Quinlan.
Registered dietitian Laura Jeffers, MEd, RD, LD gives these guidelines for food safety. Don't rinse meat before cooking. Many people believe you should wash or rinse raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking, but it's actually not necessary.
Why Do You Let Meat Rest? Internal juices constrict during the cooking process, and resting meat allows its juices to reabsorb and redistribute. Cutting it too soon will cause its juice to pool out and yield a dry cut of meat.
Natural way to tenderize
To ensure tender meat, Chinese cooks wash it thoroughly. The meat is tenderized as they rinse the meat and wring it out (via Milk Street).
Australian farmed chickens, including organic chickens, are always treated with chlorine. With organic chickens, the final wash spray lasts for 3 to 4 seconds, where chlorine is added at a rate of 20 parts per million (p.p.m.). Then the birds are put on racks for draining and air-chilling.
Do You Need to Wash Chicken before Marinating? No, you shouldn't wash chicken. Washing raw chicken doesn't clean it, but it can actually spread germs in your kitchen. Raw chicken can have bacteria on its surface, including Salmonella, which can transfer into your sink, on your dishes or even onto nearby food.
In professional kitchens most chefs enforce the “clean as you go” rule, which prevents unsightly messes from building to unmanageable levels and removes clutter, which can distract even the most efficient cooks as they chop, grill, and plate through the evening.
Chefs and head cooks work in restaurants, hotels, and other food service establishments. All of the cooking and food preparation areas in these facilities must be kept clean and sanitary.
Acidic ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt and wine weaken collagen and protein in meat. Once the proteins are broken by acid, one loose protein can bond with another and trap liquid in the meat, making it juicy and tender.
To clean, wash pots and pans with hot, soapy water. To sterilize, either wash with water above 180º F (82º C) or soak in a bleach solution (1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water). Replace any sponges used to clean up dishes and utensils that have touched raw chicken.
Roughly 90 percent of people say they wash their chicken before cooking it, as recipes have historically called for chicken washing.
Washing Chicken Splashes Bacteria Around
The study clearly showed bacteria can be transferred from the surface of the chicken to surrounding surfaces via water droplets. Using high-speed imaging, the researchers found a higher tap height can increase splashing.
According to the USDA, you should not wash raw poultry or any other meat, because you may spread bacteria that's potentially in the poultry juices to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. And in fact, washing it isn't even getting the bacteria off your chicken.
Put simply, if you wash raw chicken, you are cross-contaminating your kitchen. Yes, fresh fruit and vegetables should be washed with cold water before preparation, but raw poultry should not. Don't worry: Properly cooking chicken will destroy any pathogens. In fact, it is the only way to destroy those pathogens.
Soak chicken in equal parts white vinegar and water for about 30 minutes. This is Edna Eaton's surprise preparation. The vinegar removes all the gooey, fatty residue from chicken skin so that chicken parts hold coating better. Rinse off vinegar water and pat chicken pieces dry.