Essay
Washing Meat Is Cultural, Yet Mandatory
The process of washing raw meat, poultry, and fish has been passed down like family recipes.
I felt sick the first time I ate unwashed chicken.
I watched my friend de-package the chicken breast. He rinsed one side for all of one second; placed the chicken, with its package juice-water still dripping, in a baking pan; sprinkled a few seasonings then popped the pan in the oven for the breast to bake. I knew people didn’t wash their chicken, or any meat for that matter, but witnessing it was an entirely grotesque experience.
Even though the USDA does not recommend washing raw poultry, beef, lamb, pork or fish because bacteria can spread to other foods, surfaces and utensils, I can't bear not washing meat. In my family, washing meat is the start to well-prepared food and something my parents, sister, cousins, and so forth do. To us, it’s a ritual, a mandate. We care equally about cleaning, eating, and communing. Because of this, I don’t eat food from potlucks; I can’t vouch for who may or may not have cleaned the meat.
My process of washing meat starts with a running water rinse, then soaking in a large bowl of cold water plus lemon juice and/or vinegar for a few minutes to “wash” away the germs. I inherited washing meat from my Belizean-Nigerian family.
Cousin Bobbi, my family’s matriarch, recalled buying meat and fish at the only market on the river in Belize City approximately half a century ago. “Outside of extremely wealthy people, most bought their food, raw meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and seasonings, at the market. Beef was hung up and you told the person—he wasn’t a butcher; he could have been a farmer or a man there to just sell meat—what part you wanted, and he chopped it off and gave it to you.” At 83 years old, Cousin Bobbi’s memory is still sharp. She adds, “There weren’t mosquitoes or bugs flying around so that wasn’t a worry, but you saw someone handling your meat with their bare hands. That was more than enough reason to wash it at home.”
When she left Belize for the United States, she left the open market shopping behind; when she returned to her home country for subsequent visits, the market was replaced by modern grocery stores, all with pre-packaged meat. Yet, it never changed her stance on meat washing.
I never visited the market Cousin Bobbi referred to, but growing up, I always accompanied my mother to a live poultry shop for fresh-killed chicken. Feathers were everywhere, and I recall a Spanish-speaking man wearing a thick rubber apron and rubber boots splattered with water and flecks of blood. He used to jokingly ask me to show him which fowl to pick. I hid behind my mother’s hips and peeked out only when the chicken he grabbed from the cage started to squawk. The feathers floated to the ground and left a trail as the man disappeared in the back, the chicken’s neck firmly in his large hand. Shortly after, he always handed my mother a heavy brown paper bag which was placed in a white plastic bag. That was our dinner. When we got home, my mother washed all of the chicken by soaking it in a water, lemon, and vinegar mixture. Sometimes she let the neck sit a little longer since it was harder to wash.
My mother no longer frequents live poultry houses and local butcheries; neither do I. Instead, I purchase most poultry and meats from Trader Joe's in vacuum-sealed packages labeled natural or organic, and yet, I still wash each piece.
Cousin Bobbi’s meat washing process varies slightly from mine. She washes her meat in designated bowls or aluminum pans by rubbing half or quartered lemons on each piece. Immediately after, she seasons the meat, then cleans her sink and countertops with the leftover lemons to avoid cross contamination. I refuse to sanitize with used lemons, preferring to clean my sink, surfaces, and utensils with apple cider vinegar followed by soap and water. Sometimes after washing the utensils, I still place them in the dishwasher and turn on the antibacterial setting. My process is more time consuming but personally more reassuring.
The only person I know of Caribbean descent who does not wash their meat is my acquaintance Tracy. “I don’t have time for that,” she once said. “My mother did that often but it’s an old and outdated practice.”
I have also never seen a chef wash meat as I sat at the chef’s table or in a restaurant that has an open view to the kitchen. And while culinary shows are edited for television, I have also not seen one piece of meat washed. Lastly, the handful of times I participated in culinary classes, no one ever suggested that the meat needed to be washed. So. I know restaurant chefs are unlikely to wash their meat, yet, Julius Jackson, a St. Thomas-based professional chef, author, boxer, and former Olympic competitor, does. “The United States Virgin Islands was a port for slavery. Food for [slaves] were leftovers kept in dirty buckets. [By nature], animals aren’t clean. Chicken feet, pork feet, and pork snout are especially unclean,” he said in a phone interview.
“I wash down meat when I cook at home and cater for others,” Jackson continued. In his cookbook, My Modern Caribbean Kitchen, Jackson doesn’t need to tell recipe-followers to wash their meat before seasoning; this pre-preparation stage is expected. Again, it’s cultural. “Everyone I saw in the kitchen, including my mother, cleaned their meat before seasoning. My mother used acid—warm water and lemons or vinegar—to wash meat. This was especially true for chicken.”
Growing up, the women in my family did most of the cooking. My Nigerian dad, who I’ve seldom seen cook, is big on things being clean and organized, so I asked him about his preparation practices. When he cooks, he washes every piece of meat three times with a lemon-water mixture and after, cleanses it again with just lemons, then adds seasonings. While my dad’s practice started with meat, he extended a similar process to almost all food; he washes produce and rice thrice in water as well.
Of course, not everyone agrees with the process of washing meat. Jamila Robinson, assistant managing editor for food, dining, and community through food at The Philadelphia Inquirer, is totally anti-washing since it can spread salmonella and e-coli everywhere. For fish, she rinses and pats it dry.
“Meat washing is such a curious thing to me. You would never wash ground round or sausage so why wash a chicken?” Robinson says. “I definitely think it’s cultural. It’s important not to castigate cultural practices around food but also raise awareness about food safety.”
When washing meat, there is always the possibility of cross-contamination and spreading bacteria. This is why cleaning sinks and surfaces is integral to decontamination. In addition to Cousin Bobbi’s quick clean method and my lengthy one, Chef Jackson offers a step-by-step approach for cleaning meat. “Use a really large bowl because it prevents splashing and try to avoid washing in your sink.” He recommends using a stainless-steel bowl because it holds bacteria less than plastic. When it’s time to clean surfaces, “Always have vinegar because it doesn’t go bad. It also cleans and sanitizes surfaces if you don’t have bleach,” he said. Alternately, if vinegar is unavailable, lemon or limes work just as well, Jackson indicated.
Remember my opening story about my friend dripping chicken juice? I always believed meat juice was the culprit for spreading bacteria; it was the reason for my disgust and not just a figment of my imagination. While meat washing as well as cleaning and sanitizing after varies by individuals, even within my family, there is one thing every who washes meat should have: bleach.
Benjamin Chapman, professor and food safety extension specialist in the Agricultural and Human Sciences Department at North Carolina State University stated, “Any time we’re doing meal preparation at home, it’s important to understand raw meat, poultry, fish and egg products can come into our kitchens contaminated. The challenge with raw meat and poultry is the water that purges out of the meat during storage or refrigeration. That liquid contains pathogens that can be easily spread from the packaging, the meat itself, hands, countertops, and utensils. Sometimes it contains pathogens, sometimes it doesn’t.” He added, “Washing meat does not reduce the risk; it increases the chance of pathogens.”
But, for people like myself, my family, Jackson, and countless others who accept this practice as a cultural norm, Chapman adds, “Bleach-based solutions are the safest for cleaning. We don’t have good data that proves vinegar kills what’s in your sink. It does [help], but lemons and vinegar don’t do enough. Look at the liquid like it’s a pathogen, limit where it may tread then do a good job of cleaning and sanitizing. Clean to remove the liquid then sanitize to take care of any bacteria that may be remaining that you can’t see.”
I started keeping a notebook with recipes for my son. While he’s too young to touch raw meat, I allow him to pour vinegar in the water for soaking. When he’s older, I’ll show him how to wash meat to maintain family and cultural traditions; it will also ensure I’ll dine at his home. Today, however, I will, update my family tradition by sanitizing with a bleach-based solution instead of vinegar because tradition can change a little.
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Written by: Carolyn Desalu
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65 Comments
Interestingly, the opposite of this is why I don't eat food from potlucks; I can't vouch for who may or may not have spread salmonella, E. coli, trichinella, etc. to the salad dressing, sliced fruit, or other uncooked foods because they're not as diligent as the author about sanitizing their entire kitchen after washing their meat.
The author says she's never witnessed a professional chef washing poultry. That's because guidelines--in my case, the county health department--forbids it and will count against you if you're caught doing it during an inspection.
One of he first lessons on food handling I received in culinary school was cross-contamination with a focus on residue from washing chicken. We did a test using an ultraviolet light and even after we carefully cleaned surfaces after we washed chicken, droplets remained on surfaces. It's more dangerous to introduce bleach in food prep areas than simply allowing heat to render the bacteria harmless.
If I see food sitting in warming pans at an eatery, I will usually avoid that because I once got sick that way.
I learned to cook through mostly Asian foodways so I almost always rinse or blanch meat (especially chicken and pork feet). My family cooks Anglo food so I won't die from an unwashed roast, but I definitely think of Anglo kitchens as dirtier (especially since Anglo Australians don't usually rinse soap off dishes). Some things don't need a scientific explanation, like how soup scum in Japanese sounds the same as "bad".
It's probably fine but I'll always toss it, same as wearing shoes inside.
I think not rinsing dishes is gross, my fellow potatoes think rinsing meat is gross. We can just have our icks guys, you don't need to justify it!
You are forgetting that washing meat spreads salmonella which is potentially deadly... There is no way to properly sanitize stupid.
Lets use a different example and say someone wrote an article about how they ingest silver for health reasons. Someone else write that it can cause kidney damage and has no health benefits. The first person writes back that they know its not "scientific" but that it gives them a healthy blue feeling. Is this, lets make an asinine assumption and call them white, person being ignorant? You judge...
I am even more disheartened that this article doesn't explain the science behind not washing meat. Heat destroys bacteria. Washing meat spreads droplets of salmonella and e. coli all over the kitchen. Washing surfaces isn't enough to decontaminate the kitchen as the droplets go anywhere and everywhere.
Lemon and vinegar don't kill bacteria.
If you absolutely insist that it be washed, get a kosher chicken; it has already been washed. It does not matter that you're not Jewish, you can but it anyhow!
I made an account just to say this, and am aghast that no one else in the comments has already said it. Bleach is poisonous! It can corrode metal; you do not want that in your digestive system!
While there are methods to use bleach to purify drinking water IN EMERGENCIES, that is for emergencies, and the ratio of water to bleach is so high, you only use 6 drops of bleach per gallon of water. Boiling your drinking water is more recommended than using bleach on your drinking water, so if you're so dead-set on rinsing your meat, might as well boil it instead!
Food 52, please remove the racist comments about the author's culture asap.
Also a note on lemons and limes, while they are acidic, the level isn't consistent so you can't ever know if you have changed the pH of a surface enough to sanitize it or not; and the sugars will help anything that isn't killed grow. Vinegar was standardized to 5% because it was proven to be an effective strength for sanitation purposes.
No one here is talking about using bleach on food, just in their counters and sinks where it belongs.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/washing-food-does-it-promote-food
The practice of refrigeration is a really interesting part of this story that I believe to be missing. And it might be apparent to the average us citizen at this moment as we're heatwave bound from coast to coast. While triple digit heat might be uncommon, countries in Africa and the Caribbean are pretty much 90 degrees all the time. In these places we see the combination of acid wash/soaks and long cooking times for meat. We even see this in the American South - fried chicken and barbecue. Both require significant cooking times and in many cases deploy sorts of acid washes or marinades.
Apple cider vinegar on fried chicken, chic fil-a. And in t.he case of barbecue long marinade times in cayenne pepper; over time the capsaicin breaks down into phenol acids. So the washing off of the acid doesn't occur but the main steps of placing in acid and long cooking times do happen. It's not surprising that these sorts of foods can last longer than say your medium rare steak without refrigeration.
Personally, I love my parents food traditions and cook them true to the handed down recipe; but I also love rare steak, which I don't wash before throwing it on the grill. The washing in acids does change the flavor and texture of the meat. Acid is particularly hard on beef and virtually makes every part no matter how prime into beef for stew.
So this is something I always think about. It's fascinating to see it written up. Only wish it included a bit about refrigeration and to a lesser extent pepper; bc I really believe that it proves the efficacy of the methods described.
A relatively weak food acid added to water will absolutely not accomplish any kind of disinfecting of contaminated meat. It's not quite strong enough at the shelf strengths, and any dilution makes it essentially as effective as water. While lemons have a strong taste the acid in lemons is not that strong against microbial pathogens.
What kills pathogens is the cooking - application of heat at a high enough temp for a long enough duration will accomplish what all the washing in the world cannot.
While there is always something to be said about traditions and the feels that come with that, when those traditions are tasked with an outcome they cannot produce, but people feel good about that outcome, is when you run an elevated risk of illness or spreading contamination inadvertently.
The Freakonomics folks have always maintained that we tend to assign bad outcomes to things we shouldn't, and don't assign bad outcomes to the things we should.
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