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Original poster

Do you wash chicken?

145 replies

beebee25 · 07/04/2026 19:36

I have a friend who was horrified when a foreign visitor washed chicken and spread chicken juice everywhere. I don't wash chicken but back in the 80s I did as that seemed to be the thing to do. Do you wash your chicken?

OP posts:
SpottyAlpaca · 07/04/2026 20:53

NO!!

Washing chicken is both unnecessary & horribly unhygienic. You’re about to put it in a hot oven or a hot pan. Then cook it to an internal temperature of >75C.

That will very effectively kill any pathogens without distributing them around the kitchen first.

Iwantsandybeachesandgoodfood · 07/04/2026 20:52

I wash all meat and I do think it’s usually cultural (family from the middle-east). I also “rinse” mince. I am extremely hygienic, I cook for 6 most days and we are all still alive and healthy.

Ablondiebutagoody · 07/04/2026 20:50

No, because I'm going to cook it.

sittingonabeach · 07/04/2026 20:49

@Dentalmum2 I put those kitchen items in the dishwasher. I’m not putting my chicken in there

And if washing a chicken involves putting in a bowl of water and rubbing with lemon etc, how do you wash mince?

Dentalmum2 · 07/04/2026 20:44

XenoBitch · 07/04/2026 20:41

You wash the bowl and chopping board because they need to be clean for when you use them again.
You cook chicken then eat it.

Show quote history

But the bacteria on the chopping board and mixing bowl is still "being splashed all over the kitchen". It's the same thing.

XenoBitch · 07/04/2026 20:41

2boyzNosleep · 07/04/2026 20:35

I fail to see how its any different from people marinating their chicken, then having to wash the dish/bowl it was marinating in? Or brining it in salt water? What about washing the chopping board that you cut it on?

I know that the advice is not to wash meat/chicken, people who do put it in a bowl of water &vinegar/lemon juice, then rinse it off. That minute or 2 does add a better flavour.

You wash the bowl and chopping board because they need to be clean for when you use them again.
You cook chicken then eat it.

ToddlerMumma · 07/04/2026 20:40

My husband is from the Caribbean and washes chicken. He splashes raw chicken water all over the kitchen, drives me nuts

GoodkneeBadKnee · 07/04/2026 20:38

Yes. 🇯🇲

2boyzNosleep · 07/04/2026 20:35

I fail to see how its any different from people marinating their chicken, then having to wash the dish/bowl it was marinating in? Or brining it in salt water? What about washing the chopping board that you cut it on?

I know that the advice is not to wash meat/chicken, people who do put it in a bowl of water &vinegar/lemon juice, then rinse it off. That minute or 2 does add a better flavour.

OlympicProcrastinator · 07/04/2026 20:33

Yes but not rinsing it in sink and splashing bacteria everywhere. I use warm salted water in a large mixing bowl, gently put it in and wash it and remove all the white gristle bits. I then throw all the grey nasty water down the toilet, disinfect the bowl, wash hands thoroughly.

WeirdyBeardyMarrowBabyLady · 07/04/2026 20:32

All American cooking videos do it but it’s because of their horrible chlorinated chicken I think. No need at all here.

Ineedanewsofa · 07/04/2026 20:32

Nope - having worked in food retail and sat through more than one presentation about the dangers of campylobacter from chicken (which is what gets spread around by washing) I never would.
Also our meat in the UK isn’t chlorinated so no need to “rinse the chemicals off” which is an argument I’ve heard before

Flannelfeet · 07/04/2026 20:31

I remember visiting a friend in the 90s, she was a few years older than me and helped making the dinner because her mum was disabled (sure she was 17/18 at the time). Sunday roast she was preparing this day everything normal to my eyes, tatties peeled, carrots topped, peeled and chopped, same with sprouts and green beans....then came the chicken 🐔 out the packaging and under the sink and filled with cold water and salt. Never seen it before that in my own parents or anyone else. I wondered to this day why?

She is still alive, so it can't be that bad 🤣.

Dont fancy trying that mind you 🤢

Dentalmum2 · 07/04/2026 20:29

RedWineCupcakes · 07/04/2026 20:24

Correlation does not equal causation.

I have never washed chicken and also no one in my family has ever had salmonella.

Rinsing mince is even more rank

What bits are coming off your chicken though? Are you using a jet washer?

Show quote history

Yes that's exactly the point, for all of the pearl clutchers who claim it's inevitable that washing chicken will cause food poisoning. It might increase the risk of proper hygiene isn't adhered to, but it certainly doesn't happen where I'm from (land of chicken washers).

I put chicken in a bowl, fill bowl with water and immediately bits are apparent and I pour off (rinsing stage). If I'm using legs or skin on parts, I then sprinkle with salt, massage in for a few seconds and occasionally then use lemon juice or vinegar to massage further. I then rinse off a further few times until the water is clear and no bits are apparent.

vodkaredbullgirl · 07/04/2026 20:28

Hell no.

RedWineCupcakes · 07/04/2026 20:24

Dentalmum2 · 07/04/2026 19:52

Yes, always have done and always will. The amount of bits that come off chicken (and red meat to a lesser extent) is disgusting. I wash it carefully away from dishes and completely bleach the surrounding area afterwards. I've never heard of anyone in my family having salmonella and it's been done for generations. I love the outrage this always causes on mumsnet though. I rinse mince too.

Correlation does not equal causation.

I have never washed chicken and also no one in my family has ever had salmonella.

Rinsing mince is even more rank

What bits are coming off your chicken though? Are you using a jet washer?

Weirdconditionaltense · 07/04/2026 20:22

No

Brodo · 07/04/2026 20:22

100% No and for what it's worth I'm in south Europe.

Dentalmum2 · 07/04/2026 20:22

curlyfriess · 07/04/2026 20:10

Bits of what come off? I'm baffled.

Show quote history

Lots of weird membranous stuff and tiny bits of extra meat maybe that has resulted from the butchering process. Even if you wash very nicely packaged chicken breast, the water goes cloudy and looks rank.

MummyWillow1 · 07/04/2026 20:20

No

Credittocress · 07/04/2026 20:18

Absolutely not! Big big no. Cooking it kills the bacteria, washing it just splashes it round the kitchen.

wizzbitt · 07/04/2026 20:16

We always washed chicken in my house growing up - Nigerian mum. So that’s what I always did. Now I rarely cook but Scottish partner never washes chicken due to aforementioned comments.

TomatoSandwiches · 07/04/2026 20:14

Washing your meat doesn't mean holding a chicken breast under a running tap, it means making a bowl of water with vinegar lemon and lime, triming your meat/bird and placing it in the bowl and scrubbing the meat with the lemon/lime.
People who "wash" their meat are used to cleaning the area and not splashing germs about.

This is a goady post.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 07/04/2026 20:11

No. I remember my mother washing a joint of meat before cooking.

curlyfriess · 07/04/2026 20:10

Dentalmum2 · 07/04/2026 19:52

Yes, always have done and always will. The amount of bits that come off chicken (and red meat to a lesser extent) is disgusting. I wash it carefully away from dishes and completely bleach the surrounding area afterwards. I've never heard of anyone in my family having salmonella and it's been done for generations. I love the outrage this always causes on mumsnet though. I rinse mince too.

Bits of what come off? I'm baffled.