# Do you wash raw chicken before you cook it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963 "2019-08-20T21:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/1 "2019-08-20T21:05:47Z")
I was reading an article about food cross-contamination, and it said that in test group of 300 people who were asked to prepare raw chicken, 61% of the washed it in the sink first. Some even used soap, lemon juice or vinegar in their washing regimen. > **[Many people think washing raw chicken cleans it. It actually greatly...](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/washing-raw-chicken-won-t-clean-it-it-could-make-n1043706)** > > Here's proof that washing raw chicken can splatter unwanted bacteria around your kitchen. I have never heard of such a thing. I just use common sense about not reusing utensils that have been used on raw chicken, and cooking thoroughly to kill bacteria. Do you wash your chicken before cooking? PTF ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/2 "2019-08-20T21:20:33Z")
I’ve heard about it, I’ve known people to do it, but I’ve also known for a long time it just splashes contaminated chicken juices everywhere. Just cook the chicken, any icky juices will cook along with it, and you’re good. And have less chicken juice to clean up from the rest of the kitchen. (Now, if you butchered the chicken yourself and plucked it and had to deal with pin feathers by singing them off rinsing makes some sense to get rid of extra blood, lingering innard bits, and feather soot but most people don’t do that stuff themselves these days.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/3 "2019-08-20T21:24:08Z")
Oh, god yes. I rinse raw chicken. I have raw meat phobia. I dont know if that’s a real thing. I just know I feel it. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/4 "2019-08-20T21:29:31Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Oh, god yes. I rinse raw chicken. I have raw > meat phobia. I dont know if that’s a real thing. I just know I feel it. Don’t, it can actually cause you to spread bacteria unnecessarily. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/5 "2019-08-20T21:40:29Z")
Aaaaccckkk! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/6 "2019-08-20T21:41:20Z")
I don’t wash it, but I definitely _dry_ it, just patted with paper towels. Dry meat cooks way better than wet meat (for dry cooking methods, obviously). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/7 "2019-08-20T21:45:12Z")
I have but not every time. It’s when the chicken feels especially sticky or slimy or there’s a lot of liquid in the package. I usually brine or marinade chicken so it’s getting wet either way. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/8 "2019-08-20T21:46:27Z")
I think I did when I started learning to cook. I don’t anymore. As far as I know it’s just to get rid of some of that slimy/slippery stuff, but I’ve never noticed any difference one way or the other. And as others said, I’d prefer not to get raw chicken all over everything in my sink. Personally, I put on a disposable glove, use the gloved hand to open the package, do whatever I need to do to the chicken and place it in the cooking vessel. Then I can throw out the glove with no (well, little) concern about any food born illnesses on my hands that may get onto other foods that won’t be cooked and/or work surfaces or eating utensils. Don’t even have to wash my hands. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/9 "2019-08-20T23:40:08Z")
I rinse it with cool tap water. Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/10 "2019-08-20T23:49:59Z")
No no no no. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/11 "2019-08-21T00:15:21Z")
Potentially contaminated chicken versus potentially contaminated sink _ **plus** _ anything that gets hit by splashing water (which happens even if you don’t see it and think it happens, no matter how careful you think you are being). If you wash your chicken in the sink, do you then immediately clean your sink? If not, you are definitely making things worse. If yes, then you are still possibly making things worse. This needs to go to the same graveyard that “you have to cook pork chops until they are well-done” should be in. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/12 "2019-08-21T00:37:02Z")
Never saw the point of it. It’s better to just pat dry with paper towels. It’s kind of silly. The outside of the chicken is going to be heated the most, so any bacteria are going to be killed in the cooking process. The interior might be an issue, but as long as the rest of the chicken is fully cooked, that will also be hot enough to kill bacteria. So what exactly was it accomplishing? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/13 "2019-08-21T01:44:26Z")
I used to rinse it with cold water. Then I heard about the “splashing contaminated chicken juice” thing, so I don’t any more. Gonna cook this sucker up, KILL all that bacteria! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/14 "2019-08-21T12:23:08Z")
I know you’re not supposed to, but I do. Rinse with water, then pat dry with paper towels. I do the same thing with fish. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/15 "2019-08-22T23:50:49Z")
I voted no, but there are circumstances where I will: if I’ve been soaking the chicken in a super salty solution, I may rinse off the excess salty solution prior to cooking. In general, though, no, I don’t wash any meat. My wife, though, wants to wash everything. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/16 "2019-08-25T04:19:18Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I have but not every time. It’s when the chicken feels especially sticky or slimy or there’s a lot of liquid in the package. I usually brine or marinade chicken so it’s getting wet either way. If your chicken feels _slimy_, you probably waited to long to cook it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/17 "2019-08-25T15:59:20Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > If your chicken feels _slimy_, you probably waited to long to cook it. Whaa…? Fresh packaged chicken is almost always somewhat slimy/slick/slippery. If it’s excessive, I’ll rinse it. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/18 "2019-08-25T16:20:53Z")
I always wash chicken because there is always something that needs removing from the surface, be it bone grit, pin feathers, or anything else that gets stuck on it at the processing plant. Whole chickens usually have too much lung/other-gunk tissue left inside that I remove by hand-scraping and rinsing. I also find more and more that the plucking machine didn’t work completely and have to pull out stubborn feather “stubs”. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/19 "2019-08-25T20:52:34Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Whaa…? Fresh packaged chicken is almost always somewhat slimy/slick/slippery. If it’s excessive, I’ll rinse it. No, there’s a difference. Fresh, raw chicken is slick and slippery as you say, but slime is like a layer of something else that’s slick and slippery. If you leave raw meat in the fridge too long, it will get a bit slimy. The good thing is, you can wash it off and it will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963/20 "2019-08-26T23:04:50Z")
I used to, but was swayed by the “get icky chicken juice particles all over everything” argument so I don’t anymore. We haven’t gotten food poisoning yet. I also got a fancy meat thermometer that I can stick in it while it’s in the oven and have it go off when it hits 165 degrees, which has added to my peace of mind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-raw-chicken-before-you-cook-it/838963.md?page=2)