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Poultry - To rinse or Not to Rinse?

3K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  luc_h 
#1 · (Edited)
Poultry. Do you rinse? Use it out of package? Had to laugh when I watched this



What prep methods, if any, do you use when using fresh poultry?

 
#3 · (Edited)
The latest food safety recommendation from the USDA in the States is to NOT rinse poultry or meat, in order to prevent spreading any surface bacteria around the kitchen via water droplets. 

That surface bacteria will be killed by the high temperatures of the cooking process. I think it was Jacques Pepin who once said that any bacteria that had survived a 450 degree oven for the hour it takes to roast a chicken deserved to kill him.

It's hard to break the rinsing habit, though. and I usually scoop out the bloody bits inside and rinse that out, anyway. Got used to chickens from the Chinese market which are spotlessly clean inside. 
 
#5 · (Edited)
Nope. I used to, but read an article that convinced me it is a waste of time and splatters nasties around my sink - as has been stated above. Besides, if you cook the bird to the right temp, no need to wash. Pat dry only. 

I seldomly buy packaged chicken though. Usually at a butcher shop where I know where the bird came from and who processed it. Never Perdue or Tyson. At the restaurant I staged at they did not rinse or clean the birds. They came clean already. 

If I see dirt or such, I'll clean it after removing everything from around the sink and wipe down. Same with any protein.
 
#7 ·
I still rinse. Ive always been very careful about splash....and then sanitizing everything after.

funny story.....  well not so funny for the prep cook. He took a case of chicken into the dish room, grabbed a colander and slid the whole case in. It was not in the sink but on the drain boards.....  he took the sprayer blasted the chicken... it sent water everywhere!!!!

*eye twitch*

he was not happy when i made him sanitize the whole room. Everything.....  Every dish, pot, plate, glass had to be taken off the rack. The racks had to be sanitized and scrubbed....along with the walls,ceiling and dishwasher then everything had to go though the dishwasher again with a double boost of sani.....  he was at it all day. Needless to say... he was pretty pissed off at the pastry chef.
 
#8 ·
I do rinse and then I sanitize everything.  Even if I didn't rinse the chicken I would still sanitize the sink, faucet handles, soap dispenser, and all the knobs and handles in the kitchen.  

I rinse not because of the bacteria but because of the dirt particles, bits of plastic etc. Sometimes there are little feathers or bits of bone from where the chicken was processed.  

I rinse beef too and all other proteins.
 
#10 ·
I do rinse and then I sanitize everything. Even if I didn't rinse the chicken I would still sanitize the sink, faucet handles, soap dispenser, and all the knobs and handles in the kitchen.

I rinse not because of the bacteria but because of the dirt particles, bits of plastic etc. Sometimes there are little feathers or bits of bone from where the chicken was processed.

I rinse beef too and all other proteins.
Me too.

Surprising how much yuck is left on a bone in chuck roast.

mimi
 
#14 ·
I think the Dept. of Ag. recommened not washing the birds or proteins due to the mere fact that most foodborne illnesses occur in the home. Mostly hand to hand. Plus I don't think the FDA wanted to address it because the % is so high. I personally still wash and sanitize area and tools. Especially if the birds are packaged at the retail outlet from bulk buy.

@ED BUCHANAN,

Chef, hypochlorite? I would think the residual chlorine could be worse the the bacteria. Unless you were kidding. You could use sodium hydrochlorite and then throw the birds in the pool to clear the water/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
 
#21 ·
I'm going to put my life on the line and roast a bird tonight without washing it. Never have washed a bird, bleach clean up of the counter, board and sink afterwards yes.
Working in medicine for over 20 years thoroughly brainwashed me re sanitation.

It is a miracle I don't rub everything in the kitchen down with hand sanitizer every 8 hours.

I still have trouble using a public restroom.

Just imagining your dinner is making me twitch lol .

mimi
 
#24 ·
Working in medicine for over 20 years thoroughly brainwashed me re sanitation.

It is a miracle I don't rub everything in the kitchen down with hand sanitizer every 8 hours.

I still have trouble using a public restroom.

Just imagining your dinner is making me twitch lol .

mimi
I worked in sterile environments for years - biochemical labs, doing bacterial cultures which naturally had to be kept very clean. We never used bleach. Detergent and/or ethanol for work surfaces was all that was ever needed. We only broke out the hypochlorite for deactivating prion protein when we worked with that, absolutely no need for bleach to sterilize anything in the kitchen, that is a purely American obsession.
 
#25 ·
I worked in sterile environments for years - biochemical labs, doing bacterial cultures which naturally had to be kept very clean. We never used bleach. Detergent and/or ethanol for work surfaces was all that was ever needed. We only broke out the hypochlorite for deactivating prion protein when we worked with that, absolutely no need for bleach to sterilize anything in the kitchen, that is a purely American obsession.
Human cell cultures, been there and done that (never worked with prions though).

Yep bleach is way overkill and nasty. 70% ethanol works!

In food environment, peroxide is an excellent no rinse sanitizer because when Peroxide, H2O2, reacts it makes water.

Oh and I usually rinse out with running water the chicken cavity in the sink.

Luc H.
 
#26 ·
Human cell cultures, been there and done that (never worked with prions though).

Yep bleach is way overkill and nasty. 70% ethanol works!

In food environment, peroxide is an excellent no rinse sanitizer because when Peroxide, H2O2, reacts it makes water.

Oh and I usually rinse out with running water the chicken cavity in the sink.

Luc H.
Our biosafety guy hit us with that when we started to work with recombinant prion protein - either it gets autoclaved at 138°C+ or hit with saturated hypochlorite solution, freshly prepared. You can imagine the fun we had when a culture got spilled and we had to scrub the floor with hypochlorite. Suffice to say that we broke out the gas masks due to the amount of Cl2 gassing out...
 
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