Do you wash your meat?


 
J

Jeff Calhoun

TVWBB Fan
I know this sounds strange but I have a question for everyone here. Do you rinse off your meat with running water before you trim or add your rub? I'm talking about Brisket and Pork Butt mostly.

None of the recipes here mention washing off the blood/gunk before cooking. In the Brisket preparation section it says to "pat it dry with a paper towel". I'm assuming you do this dry.

Do you wash your meat before cooking?

Brisket Selection/Preperation
 
If the meat comes in a cryo vac pack (it's encased in blood), yes I do wash it off with cold water and then dry with paper towels. Chicken always.
icon_smile.gif
 
Ditto the chicken. Now I will do the same with cryo-briskets. I learn something new everytime I'm here.
 
The USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service says that there's no need to wash or rinse meat or poultry, and goes on to say it is not a recommended practice due to possible cross-contamination to other foods, surfaces, utensils, etc. See Washing Food: Does It Promote Food Safety? for more details.

My personal view is that if it makes you feel better to rinse meat for aesthetic or psychological reasons, then go right ahead and do so. I always rinse chicken, but never ribs, pork butt, or brisket--I just blot these dry with paper towels.

Regards,
Chris
 
I always rinse everything before I cook it. The USDA probably has a good point about cross-contamination, but my work area is so small that I have to move everything subject to contamination out of the way beforehand, just to have room to work. Then I lay paper out on the counter areas where I'll be working. I open the cryovac packages in the sink, and I see no more (and probably less) potential for contamination if the meat is rinsed and patted dry before I move it from the sink to the cutting board. And cleanup always includes wiping down all the surfaces with either a bleach solution, or antibacterial wipes, when I'm done. (My wife makes sure I don't skip that step.)
 
Usually I don't rinse, I figure I'd just be rinsing away what's on the exterior, but the same juice/liquids remain on the interior so what's the point? I stopped rinsing poultry some time ago after reading what Chris mentioned; there's a good chance of cross contamination in the handling process.
 
I pat dry wiith towels whatever I'm cooking, meat or fowl, never rinse.

The issue with rinsing/washing and cross contamination is spray--not the spray easily seen, but tiny unseen droplets of water that have hit the meat or fowl, picked up pathogens, and bounced off--landing on the counter, faucet or backsplash--or your clothing.

With poultry, bacterial contamination pretty much throughout the bird must be assumed. Cooking makes it safe; rinsing has nothing to do with it.

With intact meat cuts, i.e., whole roasts and cuts--not ground meat nor meat that has been pierced or Jaccarded--contamination is not likely in the interior portions of the meat and we really don't think of the interior portions of meat being contaminated. It's the surfaces that might be problematic. Cooking makes the meat safe; rinsing has nothing to do with it.

(A significant number of food-borne illnesses come from how the meat, fowl or other cooked item is handled after cooking.)
 
I read a really in depth article in a cookbook (forget the name) and it was based on why not to wash meat for many of the reasons Kevin stated.
 
I rinse, wash everthing, even bologna, etc.
I then sanitize all areas, cabinets, sink, faucet and everything near. then dry meat with paper towels. I dont like that scum, skim or whatever comes on all meat.
i'll wash mine EVERYTIME. Wife is a fanatic with this.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris Allingham:
The USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service says that there's no need to wash or rinse meat or poultry, and goes on to say it is not a recommended practice due to possible cross-contamination to other foods, surfaces, utensils, etc. See Washing Food: Does It Promote Food Safety? for more details.

My personal view is that if it makes you feel better to rinse meat for aesthetic or psychological reasons, then go right ahead and do so. I always rinse chicken, but never ribs, pork butt, or brisket--I just blot these dry with paper towels.

Regards,
Chris </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the reply Chris. My wife thought I was going to kill the family by not rinsing my Brisket and Pork Butt. I usually wash chicken but maybe I won't in the future after reading the article. Good info here as always....
 
What I have always wondered is should I wash my hands with soap before I clean dishes that have had contact with meat or should I clean the dishes that have had contact with meat before I wash my hands with soap?

I always feel like in either case I am possibly contaminating the dishes. If I wash my hands first with soap then touch the dish that's been in contact with meat then I have "dirtied" my hands again which I will be using to hold the dishes. However, if I wash the dish with soap first then I would be "dirtying" it again with my hands. What to do?

Erik
 
It depend on your process but either way is usually fine. Effective cleaning comes from the combination of friction and flowing water. Soap simply helps out the process. I usually wash my hands first then pick up the pan/board/plate/whatever to clean. My fingertips become contaminated, presumably, but they get soapy while cleaning the item in question and are easy to scrub at the same time. All gets rinsed simultaneously, item and fingers.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
I pat dry wiith towels whatever I'm cooking, meat or fowl, never rinse.

The issue with rinsing/washing and cross contamination is spray--not the spray easily seen, but tiny unseen droplets of water that have hit the meat or fowl, picked up pathogens, and bounced off--landing on the counter, faucet or backsplash--or your clothing.

With poultry, bacterial contamination pretty much throughout the bird must be assumed. Cooking makes it safe; rinsing has nothing to do with it.

With intact meat cuts, i.e., whole roasts and cuts--not ground meat nor meat that has been pierced or Jaccarded--contamination is not likely in the interior portions of the meat and we really don't think of the interior portions of meat being contaminated. It's the surfaces that might be problematic. Cooking makes the meat safe; rinsing has nothing to do with it.

(A significant number of food-borne illnesses come from how the meat, fowl or other cooked item is handled after cooking.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin, what about a whole Chicken or Turkey? When I pull the guts out of the center it makes a mess. Don't you fill up the Bird with water and rinse all the gunk out several times?
 
I don't rinse meat for the purpose of'decontamination'...

That being said, I do rinse the cavities on all my poultry. At the modern processing plants I just don't think they do that great a job...

As Kevin stated cooking the meat to temp is what renders it safe.

just my .02c's.
 
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