Washing Meat?
 

I just read a recipe that called for using frozen turkey in a crock pot. Someone commented asking about how to wash the turkey if it is frozen, and that brought up a discussion of whether to wash meat or not. Some people are squarely in the camp of washing poultry and even other meats. I was always told not to wash meat, because it can spread bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. Why do people wash meat?

I've always been told to wash the surface of poultry and fish, and then pat it dry with a clean paper towel. For poultry, you might also want to rinse inside the body cavity of poultry such as a whole chicken to remove any remaining bits of organs that hopefully were removed when the bird was processed.

I always rinse off meat, to get rid of the layer of whatever-it-is on it from the processing plant.

I do not routinely wash meat. The exception is when I spy a feather or a hair on the surface or in the package. It's been a long time but every once in a while I will be given a package of meat (usually something hunted by a relative) and find a stray hair or purchase chicken and spot a stray pin feather.

I’m with you. There is no need to wash meat that will be subjected to heat that will kill any bacteria.

I certainly wouldn’t wash poultry, on the basis:
1) I’m going to cook it to a safe temperature to kill pathogens
2) I’m only likely to spread said pathogens all over my kitchen, utensils etc. by washing it

That said, I’m conscious in the EU we don’t permit things like chlorine washing of food. If we did, I might be more inclined to wash my meat!

Exactly! I imagine one might give a chlorinated chicken a rinse for the same reason we rinse coffee filters before using them (with a Chemex or V60 for example).

Only meat I rinse periodically is fish. For some dishes I will add salt, leave it for 30 minutes or so then rinse the fish before continuing. I rinse it by dunking and washing it in a bowl, am not spraying germs everywhere that way.

Never wash it, it just gets bacteria all over your kitchen. I pat it dry with a paper towel, and let the heat kill the bacteria.

I don't wash meat or poultry. Like someone mentioned, I do wipe the inside of a whole bird to get out yucky stuff. I do rinse shrimp and scallops.

If cooking kills the bacteria then what's the concern?

I just want to get rid of the ick from the processing plant. That's why I wash.

What? All over your kitchen? What are you doing? Playing with it like a kid splashing in a bathtub?
A thin stream of running cold water over a sink to rinse away the "fecal soup" that chicken and chicken parts are drenched in during slaughter should not get bacteria "all over your kitchen". Heat can kill bacteria, but doesn't kill that "flavor" undertone.

The concern is that washing it spreads the bacteria through your sink, onto your counters, utensils, etc.

The public health message is not to wash meat

Don't bother except if obviously dirty. If you are going to do it, at least do it away from anything else that isn't going to get washed again before use (such as your dish drying rack, your cutting board that you are prepping salad or something that won't be cooked to at least 165F) and wipe down your counters and sink after with soapy water.

CDC link: bullet point #3
https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/chicken.html

• Do not wash raw chicken. During washing, chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.

Well not in my kitchen it doesn't. But I guess they have to tailor such recommendations to the lowest common denominator.