To ask if you clean your meat?

[Cleopatois]

I use lemon and water or white vinegar and water to clean all my meat.

A colleague said she didn't just through it from pack to pan :O

Her reasoning was 'its free range so that means it clean'.

Another colleague said it is a culture thing. What do you do?

I'm not convinced.

I don't wash fruit or veg either unless it actually had earth on it.

Re blood I take the view if you're casseroling or stewing red meat the blood enriches the sauce.

The only exception if it's game which I've plucked and cleaned myself I would run water through the cleaned carcase but that's because you sometimes get food the bird has eaten in its crop and I'd want to make sure I'd got rid of it.

I wash the meat to get rid of the rawness. It's not a cultural thing in Britain (amongst the long time English, especially). That is why I do not really eat from "English" people. Food looks pretty on the plate, but the prep is not up to scratch. make of that what you will.

Ive never washed meat before.

From pack to pot is how I cook.
My oh is a butcher so I know hes got no 'dirt' on him!
I vary rarely wash and fruit or vegies either.

Fairylea. re fruit and veg.
I gave up washing that too. My reason was because,even if there were or are insecticides, they would be right through the fruit?
Am willing to be persuaded that I am wrong on that too.
Glad I have got it right about the meat!

I am really shocked by some of these answers.

That's funny stooshe, I tend to cook meant to get rid of the rawness.

Washing gets rid of the rawness? I thought cooking it did that. Washed meat is still raw until it is cooked.

Well I'm not English and you'd never eat my cooking. How does washing remove rawness?

You are not right about the meat.
Buy a bag of cheap lemons or a bottle of vinegar from the supermarket and try it!!

Why would anyone want to dry washing their meat with lemon and vinegar when there's no need. I certainly can't imagine it will enhance the flavour.

Washing it to change the flavour is different to washing it because it's dirty. Which are we discussing here?

I don't wash meat, fruit or veg, my mum used to wash a whole chicken before roasting it no idea why. I have mad it to 45 and both my kids have managed to become healthy teenagers.

Why should we try it, nobody who does not already do it sees any point in it and nobody who does do it has offered any evidence to suggest it is a good thing?

I saw this topic with interest. Both my parents rinse meat under the cold tap; things such as chicken wings or a pack of chicken breasts. Whole birds or cuts of meat, depending on the situation. So from seeing things prepped this way, I will think about running meat under the cold tap too. I think it's to rinse off any grit or dirt it may have picked up when being processed or as Cleopatois said feathers too. It makes sense to me. You can shake the water off or use kitchen towel to soak up excess water before cooking. You don't know what might have stuck to the meat in the processing of it, and although sites may be more health and safety these days, means you don't get a feather in your dish. For the same reason - grit, I was taught to rinse rice before cooking. Amazes me some people just put it straight to cook.

givemushypeasachance - I remember a chicken or turkey last Christmas which said the same on the packaging. For that one, it had been 'pre'basted' - water plus something else injected under the skin or soaked in so that the bird was moist and apparently didn't need basting. Clever in a way but don't get me started about how I don't like food being 'tampered' with like that for convenience or what looks like convenience and call me a cynic but also to make the meat heavier for profit.

How many people handled your meat before it got to you?
Chicken especially has a 'fresh' smell.

What a waste of time!

Misspixie agree re black pudding

OP, yes I'm shocked too but not for the same reason. I'm 54 and an enthusiastic cook. Never had, nor given anyone else, food poisoning.

Theplanets good answer.

Do people really not wash their rice either :o

Who cares how many people handled it??
When you cook it, the heat kills any bacteria.

When meat has been washed and cleaned it is obviously still raw meat but it does not smell raw.

I remember eating turkey at a work Christmas meal and it had obviously not been cleaned due to the repulsive raw smell the fact it was very lightly seasoned I.e. salt/pepper did not help. I could not eat it.

The only time I've had food poisoning is when I left chicken out of the fridge too long. No amount of washing would have prevented that, considering cooking it for a few hours to a high temperature didn't.

I would never eat black pudding that is just vile.
I don't think it is really about the blood though, I think it's the bacteria, who has touched your chicken, what has it been exposed to etc.

Cleaning it removes the germs before you season it, giving you piece of mind.

It also removes the raw taste from chicken and fish.

Cleopatois how do you actually wash the meat? Do you leave it to soak for a bit with water/vinegar, or just briefly wash it in a water/vinegar/lemon solution? Do you then dry it?

I wonder if what you are doing is similar to what my IL's do which is leave meat sitting in water/plus acid solution for a small while and then cook it. It does change the flavour, I do know what people mean by 'less raw'- it tastes less bloody/alters the flavour.

Washing meat just sounds wrong. Washing it to get rid of the rawness is just nonsensical. How does that make it any less raw? Cooking makes meat now raw. Never washed a piece of meat and not about to start!!