Do you wash/rinse your...

[Elegant]

meat?

Yesterday I went to the butcher''s and got some steak, and when I decided to make it later that day, I looked at it and wondered if I should wash it.

Personally, I tend to wash/rinse it before I cook it...

What about you?

** This totally sounds like a DF question, sorry!

 

[Diva0413]

Actually, I do. I think I got into the habit from my Mom. She washes everything. Meat, fruit, vegetables, etc.

 

[monarch64]

I used to, when I ate meat. Question: how do you wash ground beef? LOL

 

[D&T]

yep on meats, fruits and veggies - before and after peeling as well (oh except corn, I boil with the shucks on)

 

[pinkstars]

Oh no, never. I heard that rinsing/washing makes it more likely to get bacteria and such.

 

[tigian]

I rinse everything before I cook it. That''s how my mom does it. Not sure how necessary it is since the meat is being cooked...plus ground meat doesn''t get rinsed.

 

[Elegant]

Date: 7/16/2009 3:03:03 PM
Author: D&T
yep on meats, fruits and veggies - before and after peeling as well (oh except corn, I boil with the shucks on)

Really? Shucks and all, huh? Interesting...

 

[Elegant]

Date: 7/16/2009 3:00:31 PM
Author: monarch64
I used to, when I ate meat. Question: how do you wash ground beef? LOL

Yeah - that''s called soup!

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I usually at least rinse things that are in a bunch of juice, like the chicken breast that come in the packets or something - the ones that are dripping with slimy stuff....

Egh, makes me shudder just thinking about it... hehe I hate handling germy stuff like raw meat.

Don''t rinse meat usually that comes with one of those absorbent pads underneath it - steaks, or even chicken when it comes like that. Don''t rinse ground beef either, of course.

 

[mrscushion]

Yup -- I rinse all meat, poultry and fish.

 

[D&T]

Date: 7/16/2009 3:30:51 PM
Author: Elegant

Date: 7/16/2009 3:03:03 PM
Author: D&T
yep on meats, fruits and veggies - before and after peeling as well (oh except corn, I boil with the shucks on)

Really? Shucks and all, huh? Interesting...

yep, I cut both ends enough to keep the whole corn, and I learned from my folks, it really keesp the flavor in and retains the moisture, I can keep it longer in the fridge too, the kernesl don''t dry up and shrivel. But it is a pain to pull out the husk when I am ready to eat. It obviously take longer to cook too, DH thought it was odd at first when got married, but its now a normal thing.

 

[Black Jade]

The heat will kill the germs. There are places where you find out what internal temp to get the meat to, which is the important thing.

I tend to wash whole chickens/turkeys before I roast them because they tend not to be quite clean inside. You want to get all the remains of innards out of there and often there is some fat left in there to raise the weight of the chicken somewhat (and charge more). Ditto with whole fish. I don''t tend to wash steaks or pork chops and I certainly don''t wash ground beef.
But I don''t think it HURTS steaks to wash them. Although if you used soap, you might get a funny taste! Some people I know ''wash'' their meat with lemons.

 

[somethingshiny]

No rinsing for me. The rinse removes the blood which adds flavor and moistness to the cooked meat.

 

[HollyS]

If you had ever been to a meat processing plant, any meat, you would certainly wash off your meat before cooking. And you would darn sure never eat it raw.

My mother, was a home-economics major. To get the degree, a field trip to the Stockyards of Chicago, et al, was necessary. She, who loved beef and pork, darn near became a vegetarian after that! She taught us to be very careful with handling and washing both meats and produce, whether we would cook them or not.

 

[Hera]

I just read that the USDA says you shouldn''t rinse meat because of cross contamination. The heat from cooking kills any harmful bacteria.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 7/16/2009 4:03:57 PM
Author: somethingshiny
No rinsing for me. The rinse removes the blood which adds flavor and moistness to the cooked meat.

Ditto.

I do wash out whole poultry an fish, but not steaks, etc.

 

[LadyBlue]

I do wash the meet, not really sure if is better or not to wash them

 

[nycbkgirl]

yep i rinse everything!...my fam never rinses raspberries ...but i do

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/16/2009 4:07:39 PM
Author: HollyS
If you had ever been to a meat processing plant, any meat, you would certainly wash off your meat before cooking. And you would darn sure never eat it raw.

My mother, was a home-economics major. To get the degree, a field trip to the Stockyards of Chicago, et al, was necessary. She, who loved beef and pork, darn near became a vegetarian after that! She taught us to be very careful with handling and washing both meats and produce, whether we would cook them or not.

Oh, I can only imagine.

I was so thankful to be a vegetarian since birth when I read Sinclair's The Jungle in high school. Ugh.

Too bad I'm a hard-core meat eater now.

I never wash or rinse meat before I prepare it. I'm off to do some research on it right now, though . . .

 

[Elegant]

Date: 7/16/2009 4:57:16 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 7/16/2009 4:07:39 PM
Author: HollyS
If you had ever been to a meat processing plant, any meat, you would certainly wash off your meat before cooking. And you would darn sure never eat it raw.
My mother, was a home-economics major. To get the degree, a field trip to the Stockyards of Chicago, et al, was necessary. She, who loved beef and pork, darn near became a vegetarian after that! She taught us to be very careful with handling and washing both meats and produce, whether we would cook them or not.

Oh, I can only imagine.

I was so thankful to be a vegetarian since birth when I read Sinclair''s The Jungle in high school. Ugh.

Too bad I''m a hard-core meat eater now.

I never wash or rinse meat before I prepare it. I''m off to do some research on it right now, though . . .

I remember reading that book too, but I still like grilled beef. On the Interstate 5 freeway, in Central CA, there are so many cows, and I feel so sorry for them, but when I grill beef, I just enjoy it too much...poor cows and things...

That actaully makes me stop eating beef for a while, but then my body needs the beef.

 

[zoebartlett]

I''ve never washed it but an old roommate of mine used to rinse chicken just before cooking. I''m not sure it did much but she seemed to think it was better to do so.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 7/16/2009 5:18:00 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
I''ve never washed it but an old roommate of mine used to rinse chicken just before cooking. I''m not sure it did much but she seemed to think it was better to do so.

My mother stopped eating at a friend''s house because she didn''t wash off her chicken before cooking. That''s how sure she was, with her HomeEc degree, that it was important to removing bacteria.

A package of chicken breasts may not be as bad as a whole chicken, but considering how they remove the entrails at the processing plant, I''m gonna stick with rinsing well before cooking.

With beef, you aren''t ''removing'' the blood and therefore the juices from the meat. The meat will continue to ''bleed'' as it cooks. And of course, you can''t rinse hamburger.

I thought I''d just say that for any non-cooks out there.

 

[somethingshiny]

Meat can only bleed out what it initially has, after all, it''s dead. By rinsing, you ARE removing some of the blood, by rinsing a lot you are removing a lot of the blood. It only has a finite amount of blood and yes, it dries out the meat.

Not trying to argue, but my family is comprised of many farmers and butchers.

I stand by my no rinse beef method.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/16/2009 2:43:37 PM
Author:Elegant
meat?

Yesterday I went to the butcher''s and got some steak, and when I decided to make it later that day, I looked at it and wondered if I should wash it.

Personally, I tend to wash/rinse it before I cook it...

What about you?

** This totally sounds like a DF question, sorry!

i do, sometime.

 

[cellentani]

I''ve always rinsed poultry (whole birds and pieces), and one of the Cook''s Illustrated TV shows also recommended. A 10 second rinse will remove any yuck which could lead to off-flavors (you never know the conditions it was processed in), and such a short rinse will not dry it out. I do not rinse beef, but will pat dry with paper towels.

 

[atroop711]

I always wash and rinse anything I''m going to cook. When I see Rachel Ray open up a pack of chopped meat or chicken and she doesn''t rinse...I think to myself ewwww

.

 

[strmrdr]

You should always rinse whole poultry and pork
I don''t rinse beef

 

[HollyS]

Date: 7/16/2009 7:35:49 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Meat can only bleed out what it initially has, after all, it''s dead. By rinsing, you ARE removing some of the blood, by rinsing a lot you are removing a lot of the blood. It only has a finite amount of blood and yes, it dries out the meat.

Not trying to argue, but my family is comprised of many farmers and butchers.

I stand by my no rinse beef method.

You''re right. Dead meat can''t bleed out, it''s dead! What I meant was that what is left in the tissues of the roast or steak will come to the surface with cooking. All I do is rinse off residue from the cutting on the outside layer of the meat; I''m not trying to scrub it clean.

 

[Linda W]

Well I just learned something tonight and thank you. I always rinse beef. Now I won''t do it anymore.

Thank you for posting this info.

 

[Indylady]

Yes! Almost always.