Out of an abundance of caution, many home cooks who work with poultry prefer to give their chicken a quick rinse in the sink before sautéing, baking, or frying the bird. After all, we know full well that poultry slaughterhouses can be unclean places, and raw chicken can harbor many harmful pathogens long after it goes to market. Washing the raw meat thus seems like the smart thing to do. But should you really wash your chicken before cooking it to prevent these harmful bacteria from lingering in your food?
Unfortunately, beneath these good intentions lies a counterproductive truth: you’re doing more harm than good by washing your chicken. Here’s why that safety rinse isn’t so safe after all.
Droplet Spread
Throughout the past 18 months of the pandemic, we’ve all become terribly familiar with the concept of droplet spread. Water droplets can carry a lot of passengers as they travel, and they can travel deceptively far. When you spray down raw chicken, you’re sending water droplets every which way—into your sink, onto your counter, and all over every nearby surface in your kitchen. Within those droplets reside Campylobacter bacteria, the pathogen most common to raw poultry. It doesn’t take a large sample of Campylobacter to cause symptomatic infection, which often consists of cramps, diarrhea, and fatigue.
Where Can Droplets Land?
Following the spraying and splashing that comes with rinsing off raw poultry, water droplets can travel nearly two feet in every direction. This could include onto your nearby cutlery, fruits and vegetables you’re planning to cut, and even your sink’s water faucet, where the contaminated droplets can in turn contaminate your drinking water as it runs. This level of spread is why it’s not true that you should wash your chicken before cooking.
What To Do Instead
The best precaution against food poisoning from poultry is a simple one: cook all chicken dishes to an internal temperature of at least 165° F. Unlike beef, where daring diners insist upon rare steak, there’s no spectrum of rareness to flirt with here. Campylobacter and other dangerous bacteria won’t be able to withstand the high heat to which you need to cook chicken. You’ll eat safely as long as you practice good prep habits and fully cook your chicken.