Do you wash your chickens?

[FineBaker]

I wash mine. Put it in a big collander. Rinse with cold water for a few seconds, mix it around, then rinse it again. Then I go wash my hands. I can't help myself. I feel better about it. I don't splash or cross contaminate because it is done with great care.

[Chef Heather]

Originally Posted by phoebe

I just read the following in an e-mail newsletter from Cook's Illustrated. I always wash chicken before cooking (and sometimes meats as well), but after reading this, I'm wondering if it's necessary. What do you folks think?
.

Hi People...newbie here...and Personal Chef.

This washing chickens debacle conjurs up an image of Fred and Ricky in "I Love Lucy" when they were about to suprise the girls with Arroz Con Pollo. The chicken landed on the floor and we see Ricky applying what appears to be Comet Cleanser to it, and washing it! I give my chickens a quick rinse inside 'n' out with cool water, and give it a nice pat dry. Then I massage with butter. It makes 'em happy. Dayummm...I treat those birds better 'n' I treat my man! But...seriously...I don't know if the chicken really digs it, but I always feel "cleaner" doing so. To each his own.

[travelchick]

Heather -

Thinking of any Lucy episode makes me laugh! And I remember that one

[AmbrosiaFood]

Originally Posted by Nicko

I typically brine a chicken before roasting it and prefer to rinse it off just to remove any bloody juices that it may have been sitting in.

I once saw a cooking show with Jaques Pepin and Juilia Child and JC said she always rinses her chicken whereas JP said that he never rinses the chicken.

LOL. I watched the same show with my girlfriend. She had a regular fit when Pepin said that he did not wash chicken. Nothing I could say could change her mind. My friend said she absolutely refused to watch Jacques again, he was just "nasty".

[shel]

Yes, more or less.

When roasting, I'll generally rinse the cavity and the outside of the bird, dry, season, and then roast. However, when making soup, stock, or broth, I use a completely different technique taught to me by a Japanese chef: I will have a large pot of rapidly boilyg water going on the stove and immerse the bird in it just until the water comes back to a boil, at which time a lot of scum and dirt seem to rise to the top. The chicken is removed from the water, rinsed, and then put into the stock pot. There is somewhat less of a need to skim the foam when cooking the chicken, and the final result tastes somewhat cleaner and fresher.

Call me crazy, or perhaps just a bit compulsive

Shel

[siduri]

No matter how dirty the chicken might be, since chicken is thoroughly cooked before eating, i don;t see the point of washing it first. Yes, there might be germs, but they will cook too.

[oldschool1982]

Always have always will. Mainly to remove that "slime" that seems to be kinda nasty. Plus the "juices" that are on the meat tend to make nice stocks more difficult since they curdle when ya cook'em. JMHPO

[chris1980]

I'm with oldschool. The fact that rinsing the chicken doesn't kill any bacteria makes perfect sense, but we always divide our meats, freeze, and thaw. Out of the bag they are always covered with a film and juices and 'cleaning' them before slapping them onto the cutting board makes for less mess.

[Jayme]

Originally Posted by kuan

I will always wash my chicken. Till the day I die I will wash my chicken. For no good reason I'll wash my chicken!

It's habit of mine. Don't listen to me. CC makes sense. Keep it cold and cook it well.

LOL Kuan- you crack me up!
I do rinse my chicken, for the same reasons as previously mentioned- ice crystals, packaging crumbs, etc... and if it smells bad, obviously, pitch it- this isn't KFC! LOL
(and my sink and cutting boards get cleaned with bleach anyhow)