It’s a pretty common practice for people to wash their chickens in their sinks. As we know, chicken can be home to a host of various bacteria that we don’t need in our lives – most notorious of them all, salmonella. This dangerous bacteria is the reason why it’s of the up most importance to make sure that chicken is completely cooked. Otherwise, the bacteria could still be alive and posing a threat to your personal health.
At the same time, some people opt for rinsing chickens in their kitchens to aid in the cleansing process. But is it really helping? It turns out that while not even being that useful in washing away bacteria, rinsing your chickens can actually be dangerous.
What gives?
When you wash chickens in your sink, you’re actually making three costly mistakes that can ruin both your meal and your health:
1. You’re Hurting the Quality of the Meat
You may not know this, but if you’re planning on roasting a chicken and dressing the skin to get that tasty, crispy texture – rinsing it could prevent that from ever happening. When it comes to cooking perfect skin, one major rule applies:
Wetter isn’t better.
Wet meat does not brown anywhere near as easily as dry meat. So the drier the chicken, the more crispy and flavorful the skin will ultimately end up. The drier the skin, the better the meal.
2. You’re Splattering
I get the idea of wanting to rinse a chicken in your sink. Especially if you don’t know where your meat has been, it seems like an appealing option to give it a good rinse prior to dressing and cooking it.
But what happens when you give it a wash?
When the water from your tap impacts against the outside of your chicken, you’re actually spreading toxic bacteria all over yourself, your sink, and your counter top. The water that hits the meat can splatter “chicken juice” up to 3 feet away from the source, all over the place. Areas may be affected that you may not be cleaning regularly, or that you may bring into contact with other objects and people around your home.
3. You May Be Adding More Bacteria
One of the biggest issues with using tap water to rinse your chicken is that the water may be carrying a number of dangerous toxins that become absorbed by the meat. Exposure to fluoride, arsenic, and chlorine can poison your meat before it even gets popped in the oven. Even if you’re using a filter, there’s always the chance that some of those toxic materials are still making their way through the tap. This creates an entirely new set of potential health problems that you may have to deal with.
While rinsing your chicken may seem like a great idea to keep your food clean, make sure you keep these risks in mind. You may be creating more danger than you’re preventing – and the worst part is, it can happen without you even realizing it. The only way you’ll notice is by actually becoming sick. That’s the last thing anybody needs.
Sources:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278328.php
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pages/Warning-issued-over-washing-raw-chicken.aspx
