The One Meat You Should Rinse Before Cooking (2024)

FAQs

The One Meat You Should Rinse Before Cooking? ›

USDA research has found that washing or rinsing meat or poultry increases the risk for cross-contamination in the kitchen, which can cause foodborne illness. From a food safety perspective, washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking it is not recommended as the safest method.

But when it comes to meat and poultry, that's another story. "Some people think they are supposed to wash their meats and chicken before cooking. I recommend not washing them because that puts you at risk for spreading the bacteria around your kitchen and around yourself," Hill says.

Washing meat with water vs.

Raw meat, poultry, and fish may be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses that lead to food poisoning ( 1 , 3 ). Common foodborne pathogens include the bacteria Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, and E. coli, plus the viruses norovirus and hepatitis A.

Due to this, some people wash meat before cooking, freezing, or marinating it. However, this is unnecessary and potentially even dangerous. Generally speaking, it is a bad idea to wash meat. Washing it will not kill all of the bacteria but will increase the risk of spreading potentially harmful bacteria.

Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe.

Salmonella, Campylobacter and other harmful bacteria live on raw chicken. Washing or rinsing doesn't remove this risk, it worsens it by helping the bacteria spread. When you add water through washing or rinsing, you give these bacteria a way to travel throughout your kitchen.

The majority of people in Southeast Asian countries wash raw poultry meat at home before cooking, according to a study. People are advised not to wash raw poultry before cooking because it increases the risk of cross-contamination.

As many as 7 in 10 Americans wash their meat before cooking—despite warnings from the CDC. Here's why people say the guidance isn't so cut and dry.

My process of washing meat starts with a running water rinse, then soaking in a large bowl of cold water plus lemon juice and/or vinegar for a few minutes to "wash" away the germs.

While it might have been appropriate at one time in order to remove impurities due to self-slaughtered meats, according to the USDA, in modern times, no further washing is needed as meat and poultry are cleaned during processing.

Why do Chinese wash meat? ›

“You'll see in a lot of Chinese recipes that you're either rinsing the meat or you're massaging water into the meat before you stir fry it. That little bit of water really improves the texture.

In a bowl or in a baking dish, put the vinegar, oil, vegetables, herbs and spices you have chosen. Stir slightly and then immerse the meat. Make sure all parts of the meat are completely covered by the marinade. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for a time from 2 to 12 hours.

Do not wash or rinse raw meat or poultry before you cook it. Washing can cause bacteria found on the surface of meat or poultry to be spread to ready-to-eat foods, kitchen utensils, and counter surfaces. This is called cross-contamination.

The consideration of its purpose is related to washing for the removal of bacteria or washing as a part of the preparation process to remove unwanted matter. Most Jamaicans, and other Caribbean nationals, would have been taught to clean and wash meats and poultry before cooking.

“But in all seriousness, it's important to wash rice because it removes any excess starch so that when you cook it the grains remain separate.” For creamy dishes like rice porridge, risotto, or rice pudding that benefit starch's sticky nature, you can skip the thorough rinse.

The last thing you want to do is rinse your meat after marinating it — this defeats the purpose and dilutes the flavor.

Saltwater brine “denatures” meats by encouraging the proteins to bond to more water. This helps explain how cuts of meat tenderized by brine typically weigh between 6 and 8 percent more before cooking. The brining process generally takes at least 30 minutes before the meat is tenderized.

Steaming and boiling, which cook your food using moist heat, are some of the healthiest ways to prepare meat. 3 Both methods require low temperatures, which helps preserve nutrients and protect against harmful fumes and substances.