I have kept chickens for eggs. Excess roosters and layers that quit laying go to the kitchen, but it never occurred to me to wash a chicken, and I don't think the chickens would much like it. Probably make them stop laying, at least for a while.
Washing chicken... for safety?
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expatgirl
Master Chef
My sister and I were respectively 4 & 5 years old........we decided to give two of my grandmother's free-ranging hens a bath......my mother had just taken our brother out of the tub but forgot to drain it........we both rushed outside and scooped up a chicken....we brought them back into the house and threw them into the tub......let's just say that they didn't appreciate it one bit........feathers and flying poop went everywhere..........they were squawking with fear and indignation.....trust me they can fly........my grandmother couldn't believe it.........she managed to grab ahold of them and took them back to their free-ranging ways............she was NOT happy........but years later she would laugh until she cried retelling the story.........I think that we kept her young..........
BreezyCooking
Washing Up
I used to raise chickens too. Just for the eggs & as pets & gardening companions. Never ate them. Don't want that type of intimate relationship with my food - lol! Once I've given something a name, I don't want it looking up at me from a plate.
Folks who raise poultry for show do wash them. In fact, poultry supply companies actually carry specific products for it.
Folks who raise poultry for show do wash them. In fact, poultry supply companies actually carry specific products for it.
I always soak chicken in a big stainless steel bowl in cold water with salt and vinegar and leave it in that solution for about half an hour. I rinse it off, pat it dry and wash out the sink and bowl in hot soapy water with a little clorox. Vinegar is a disinfectant, and quite honestly, I'm not as put off by the smell of raw chicken after I soak it in this solution.
To each his own. A woman from Jamaica taught me that, and I think she grew up doing it because they killed their own chickens. I just got in the habit now and I always do it. Sometimes raw chicken feels slimy when you take it out of the packaging. I can't stand that. I singe the hair on chicken wings. I don't like hairy chicken.
To each his own. A woman from Jamaica taught me that, and I think she grew up doing it because they killed their own chickens. I just got in the habit now and I always do it. Sometimes raw chicken feels slimy when you take it out of the packaging. I can't stand that. I singe the hair on chicken wings. I don't like hairy chicken.
That means you don't eat KFC? Its shocking that their wings have lots of hair on them!
jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
Sometime I wash chicken sometimes I don't but if it's a whole chicken or turkey I definitely wash the cavity to get rid of the extra blood and bits and pieces inside I then dry inside with paper towels.I don't eat KFC. You could give their chicken a perm. It is quite hairy!!
BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Wow - you guys must have some really funky KFC's by you.
We have it once in awhile here & I've yet to come across any pinfeathers whatsoever.
We have it once in awhile here & I've yet to come across any pinfeathers whatsoever.
mozart
Senior Cook
Actually, I sometimes do and sometimes don't. Never wash BS chicken breasts or parts. If they look like they have something a little foreign on them, then I would use a paper towel.
The whole chickens that I buy (At Walmart) are always sitting is at least a cup of bloody fluid. It is impossible to remove the chicken from the package without spilling this mess in the sink, and thats where I want it anyway. At that point, carefully washing the chicken and patting dry with paper towel seems more sensible to me than placing the dripping chicken somewhere else.
Either way, understanding the risks of salmonella and how it can be transferred from the chicken to you or your family is the best protection.
The whole chickens that I buy (At Walmart) are always sitting is at least a cup of bloody fluid. It is impossible to remove the chicken from the package without spilling this mess in the sink, and thats where I want it anyway. At that point, carefully washing the chicken and patting dry with paper towel seems more sensible to me than placing the dripping chicken somewhere else.
Either way, understanding the risks of salmonella and how it can be transferred from the chicken to you or your family is the best protection.
Jikoni
Sous Chef
Well, 'Supermarket' chicken I never wash, but there are times while I am in Kenya and we have to select one in the garden for dinner and run after it and catch it and and and kill it! We certainly have wash it, well first we have to put it in boiling water to pluck it, then cut parts and just have to make sure the gallbladder does not burst and so the bile goes all over the chicken, then the gizzard had to be washed anyway. Basically we have to wash the chicken before cooking.
! We certainly have wash it, well first we have to put it in boiling water to pluck it, then cut parts and just have to make sure the gallbladder does not burst and so the bile goes all over the chicken, then the gizzard had to be washed anyway. Basically we have to wash the chicken before cooking.I'm not talking about pinfeathers, I'm talking about hair. You can pluck pinfeathers, you have to singe hair.
Callisto in NC
Washing Up
Are you complaining about the cleanliness in regards to workers as opposed to the actual chicken?
BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Oh for heavens sake - pinfeathers, hair, whatever (oh & by the way, chickens don't have "hair"). The chicken at the KFC's around here are CLEAN of any skin projections. Does that do it for you as far as explanation? Geesh.
Geesh.
Callisto in NC
Washing Up
The bold part is where I'm confused. I thought she was talking about like the workers' hair falling into the food or something.Oh for heavens sake - pinfeathers, hair, whatever (oh & by the way, chickens don't have "hair"). The chicken at the KFC's around here are CLEAN of any skin projections. Does that do it for you as far as explanation?
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
She was talking about the finer pin feathers - more hairlike than the larger pin feathers.
expatgirl
Master Chef
Well, 'Supermarket' chicken I never wash, but there are times while I am in Kenya and we have to select one in the garden for dinner and run after it and catch it and and and kill it
boy are you bringing up memories when we used to visit my grandmother!!! I remember my grandma doing the same thing, Jikoni......she had a big porcelain pan and a huge kettle of hot water.......she'd pour it all over the dead chicken and just start plucking away......actually I still remember the smell and that was about 50 years ago....soak your feather pillow in hot water and do a sniff test.......this would be on a Saturday......she'd cut it up and put it in the fridge......Sunday morning it would go in salt water (brining) and we'd all go to Mass.........after an hour and a half (had to wait for everyone to comment how much we looked like our dad, Billy, etc......and as soon as we arrived home, Granma, would get out of her church clothes, housedress on, and then an apron........her fried chicken was to die for.....mashed potatos......fresh green beans from the garden and her homemade bread.......
falcontook
Assistant Cook
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yeah i also wash chicken, but i think ill take the advice and reconsider. It makes sense that the water can spread the bacteria onto counter top and etc.
expatgirl
Master Chef
I can't promote clorox cleanup enough----------in addition to being a general cleaning/disinfectant I always use it after working with meats and fish.......everything is sprayed down: sink(s), wash pans, and countertop, cutting boards(let set for a few minutes and then wipe away with a damp clean cloth)......you can find the offshoot brands at any of the dollar stores, too.........I also wash my dish cloths frequently to prevent cross contamination and will spray those down with cc--no they don't last long but you can buy the cheap bundles of washcloths.........when storing meats and poultry in your fridge you should be sure that they are on the bottom shelf with no other foods under them....I'm sure our chefs chefs and axillary food staff people wil tell you that's one thing that most bulldog health inspectors check for in addition to making sure that everthing is at proper temps...but yes, I still wash off my chicken
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