Hi everyone, so just a thought that just popped up in my mind after reading some of the comments from the recent raw roast chicken deal…
I personally do not wash my meat and at most pat it dry with paper towels before cooking but should I be washing it instead? What do you all do and why
Raw mince and raw meat, yes.
Fresh fish, yes.
Chicken pieces, yes.
Burgers/hotdogs, no.
Wait u wash mince? That sounds like a disaster
Raw mince
What? How do you wash mince, and why? And why not burgers if you're washing mince? So many questions.
Mince tends to have more myoglobin and other liquids to clean out. Burgers tend to be more dry and good to go. Could just be a habit thing.
yeah but you cook mince, right? so how would any bacteria/germs survive that process. I'm a bit confused.
I guess it can't cause any problems so if it makes you happy go for it.
How do you dry it? And wouldn’t go down the drain? (All the bits would fall off)…
@SF3: 500g mince punnet into a fine mesh steel colander, run tap gently quickly and drain. It's not a bath soak.
@FLICKIT: Just perceived cleanliness as there's always lots of residue in the bottom of the meat punnet.
The rinsed mince usually goes straight into my Philips All-In-One Cooker with the other ingredients and browned onions etc so not an issue if a little wet.
I didn't think it was a contentious issue, but clearly others disagree. That's why we have forums to share opinions. :)
@Ryanek: Might be also a cultural thing?
Coincidentally saw a cooking video that did just this and I was surprised.
At about the 2:44 mark, though the whole video is also interesting
https://youtu.be/mj0TfWngl3A
Care to link to this deal?
And no. You don't need to wash the meat because you're literally going to cook it at a temperature that not only cooks and produces a crust on the meat but would kill any bacteria/germs.
link now in post
Eh, Qld health advises not to wash chicken so that's good enough for me https://www.healthier.qld.gov.au/guide/chicken-why-you-shoul…
Washing it spreads bacteria, leaving it on the meat and cooking it kills the bacteria.
Easy
Here's some data for ya:
Consumer-reported handling of raw poultry products at home: results from a national survey from Kosa et al.
A nationally representative Web survey of U.S. adult grocery shoppers (n = 1,504) was conducted to estimate the percentage of consumers who follow recommended food safety practices when handling raw poultry at home.
Nearly 70% of consumers reported washing or rinsing raw poultry before cooking it, a potentially unsafe practice because "splashing" of contaminated water may lead to the transfer of pathogens to other foods and other kitchen surfaces.
They also say throw out anything if it has been on the counter at room temp for 4 hours.
I agree its a dangerous practice but.
I'd be throwing meat away that's been in the danger zone for 4 hours.
Same for ice! If i can find it. They disappear and leave a wet mess!
I'm confused!
Unless your 'making' something like Kibbeh nayeh, then you would be cooking it.
In turn, if doing so properly, then it's cleaned throughout the cooking process. (as others have said).
I will however, 'rinse' oysters and the likes, not washing, but rinsing. Just to ensure, where possible, that any extra salt, sand, or shell is cleaned off. Even though, I go Kilpatrick for my oysters. Other seafood such as prawns and the likes is similar, rinse then cook.
but if u rinse ur oysters you lose the seawater taste
To so much to a point that you lose it all.
And when you throw W'sauce and bacon onto it, then under a grill, it changes a lot of it anyways. When an oyster is shucked, usually they are rinsed at the same time anyways.
If you like natural and the taste of the sea/salt water, then sure - skip! :)
And when you throw W'sauce and bacon onto it, then under a grill, it changes a lot of it anyways. When an oyster is shucked, usually they are rinsed at the same time anyways.
Yeah this is like how we add so much butter and garlic to lobster that the meat just becomes a carrier for those flavors. I guess the same with burgers.
Don't wash your meat. FDA says it spreads germs all around your kitchen, especially with chicken. If you really want to maybe blanch your meat in hot water to get rid of that old blood smell.
Fill up a bowl with water in the sink, dump meat in, light scrub with hands to remove slime layer on fish. No splashes.
it spreads germs all around your kitchen,
sounds like the FDA thinks people use the meat as a sponge and wipe counters down with it before cooking.
i'm not sure how other people are doing it, i just clean it in the sink. and then clean the sink.
put chicken in… birdbath?
I was my meat in the shower
Rarely. Not beef or chicken.
I wash frozen salmon fillets after they defrost as they get a layer of slime on them. Same goes for Aldi fresh salmon fillets. The ones at my Woolies don't have any fishy smell or slime so they don't need to be washed.
That fish slime has strong taste, and washing it away gets rid of it completely and allows the salmon fillets to uptake more marinade also. It's a must with defrosted salmon fillets IMO.
Same goes for Aldi fresh salmon fillets.
Yeah I've never understood this. The Aldi salmon always seems more slimy than any others to the point that it puts me off.
You need to clean that off, and any moisture, if you're pan frying too.
If I had to guess I'd say maybe because Aldi fresh salmon are actually frozen at some point in the supply chain and then defrosted in those blue trays in store.
No idea if that's the case though, but Woolies ones are much nicer and easily worth the $1 premium over 4 fillets.
The big packs of frozen fillets are great to keep in the freezer.
Never even knew this was a thing
I always put all my meat on a cycle through the dishwasher.
Or a washing machine quick cycle on cold with sanitiser whilst you prep the rest of the ingredients
Cook 'em? I eat them raw
of course
when you buy those pre packed lilydale chicken breasts, it comes with all that slime on them
I clean items in contact with raw meat, with a sponge and water and soap. But sometimes raw meat partices get stuck in the sponge.
And sometimes the item is just rinsed with water, as its in the same container.
Haven't died yet, while some other people spray bleach.
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I would only wash meat if it smelled bad,
I would only wash meat if it smelled bad
OMG. If it smells bad, throw it out!
This is crazy. People washing meat need to see a psychiatrist.
You would eat fish slime rather than rinse it off?
It tastes like crap and the texture is disgusting, but each to their own.
Sounds like you're describing an oyster, rinsed or not
You would leave the slime on the fish and eat it, rather than rinse it off and pat it dry?
@studentl0an: You misunderstand my humour lol
An oyster IS fish slime. It tastes like crap and the texture is disgusting.
No amount of washing will make "snot in a shell" taste any better.
(Besides, washing a whole fish is different to washing a raw fillet or washing beef mince)
@Switchblade88: Aldi individual salmon fillets come slimed up, they really need a rinse to get the most out of it. I didn't for years until someone told me to try it and once I did there was no going back.
Can I suggest to try it with a salmon fillet if you can detect some slime on it? It just takes one min to put a fillet into a bowl then fill it up with water (on low so no splashes) and then giving it a bit of a rinse before patting dry with a paper towel? It not only makes it taste fresher, but assists in marinades getting into the meat.
I've never had an oyster (raw or not) and it's not high up there on foods I want to try.
Never in a million years; if you're washing meat to 'clean it', just cook it.
You should wash it after cooking it. Much better-er.
I only ever wash seafood.
the seafood has been in water its whole life I think its ok if you don't wash it
depends on the way it was purchased..
if you only bought fillets of fish that has been cleaned off the bone and scaled you probably wouldn't clean it
if you bought whole fish that wasn't scaled and gutted properly… then you would clean it before you cooked it…
No
A pointless exercise.
Before cooking, all of our meat products go into the washing machine (on the gentle/hand wash cycle) with some Vanish Napisan Oxi Action to really bring out the vibrant colours.
I think mostly asians wash their chicken/meat because it's a cultural thing as usually meat are sold in wet market there and handling is completely different from sterile conditions in abattoir here.
Asian here, don't know anyone who washes their meat
depends on the type of meat
depends on where it was bought
depends how it was packaged
depends on how i intend to store it
depends on how i intend to eat it
Never heard of such a thing until seeing this. Oh you mean wash the endangered wild animal meat you buy at wet markets - sound practice - recommended by WHO.
I don’t meat