Should You Rinse Your Chicken Before Cooking It?

OK, so this question regarding chicken rinsing causes a lot of debate online. Apparently, the reason why is because most people, at least in the US, rinse their poultry, probably because that's the way people were raised and because Julia Child did it.

My mother rinses. For me, the rinsing itself isn't the problem. IT'S THE FRIGHTENING SCENE THAT HAPPENS POST RINSE THAT HAS SCARRED ME FOR LIFE.

When you rinse chicken in the sink, you need to clean everything in sight afterwards, and my mother is a wild woman with her bleach. To her, Clorox is a verb. She has to Clorox everything and it's very stressful for a germophobe and angsty person like me to watch and eventually replicate on my own.

So I've done some investigating, and pretty much all the experts, including the US Department of Agriculture or whatever it is, recommend not rinsing the chicken. If you cook the chicken long enough, meaning an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, you're going to kill off any of the bacteria that's going to make you sick.

So get friendly with a good meat thermometer. Learn how to use it. Make sure you cook your chicken thoroughly.

If you rinse your chicken, you stand the chance of spreading the bacteria. You don't think you are. My mother's like, "Well, I don't ... You know, I'm very careful," but you don't see it splatter. It could splatter some sort of microscopic bit and get on something. You completely miss it, and that can be problematic, because someone could touch it later. Someone could come to the kitchen and turn on the faucet, or touch the contaminated area, and then touch food, or touch their mouth, or whatever.

Not having to rinse chicken is great news for me because I feel so much more confident and comfortable about actually working with chicken since I don't have to go through the process of rinsing beforehand. And it worked the other day when I made my chicken dish. I had the chicken in the package. I chunked the chicken right in the package. I put the chicken right into the pan. Then, I simply discarded the package into the trash. And yes, I wiped down the countertop with a Lysol wipe, but it was quick because I'd contained everything to the package.

As for the dish itself, I didn't notice any difference in taste, and I didn't get sick, and I'm still here, so there you go, fellow idiot cooks.

The thing I was using to chunk the chicken—the knife—I did use bleach for that. I had a glass underneath my sink filled with water and bleach, and the reason why it was under my sink was so that I wouldn't accidentally drink from it. I put the knife in that and let it soak. Then, I rinsed it off and put it in the dishwasher for final decontamination.

Some people are going to say, "Well, if you wash your hands in the sink after preparing chicken, what's the difference?" The difference, according to one of the articles I read, is that you can't cook your hands, meaning you NEED to wash your hands because you can't cook the bacteria off your hands. And your hands will have very little bacteria on them in comparison to the chicken.

If you wash your hands with hot water and soap for 20-30 seconds (I do it for at least 45 seconds), you'll be good. Whatever is there will go down the drain along with the soap and hot water.

So, bottom line: no need to rinse your chicken.

If you disagree, OK. I'm sure you’re not alone. In fact, I'm going to survey my friends about their chicken-rinsing habits, because I have a feeling probably most of the people I know rinse their chicken. BUT I'M NOT.

#rebelcook

#stillanidiotcookexceptinthiscase