To rinse or not to rinse

Hans61

Going to low n slow some babybacks today, been reading some internet that says thou shall not rinse,  something about cross-contamination, bacteria in the sink. It would be a lot easier to not rinse.  Before I always rinsed every slab and patted dry with paper towels then wiped out sink with Chlorax bleach. 

So so do you guys rinse your ribs? Mine are from Costco.

lousubcap

I rinse and have never worried about cross-contamination.  Figure the adult supervisory beverages have a medicinal side , as well.  

Dobie

I don't rinse any meat. 

Acn

I never rinse meat. Pat dry with paper towels and then apply seasoning.

blind99

No reason to rinse, safety wise. If the surface was covered in pathogenic bacteria that could survive the heat of cooking, a rinse under the sink wouldn't help the cause. 

I rinse the thin sliced beef short ribs only because they tend to have a lot of bone chips from all the slicing. 

bgebrent

No rinse for me.  Don't see any benefit.

johnmitchell

Also in the no rinse camp... However we could bring this post to life next Friday... "Do you rinse your meat"..

VB_egger

I do not rinse. 

Hans61

Majority rules. Going to open pat dry mustard and season. Thanks all!

Legume

I rinse if they have a stank or are slimy or really drippy.  Never have used Clorox in the sink though, just spray it down w/hot water.  I think probably too much pork paranoia still around from our parents' generation.

tikigriller

I don't rinse and even read somewhere as mentioned above that even rinsing chicken is a waste of time. I still rinse chicken, because, well, it's chicken, but have never thought to rinse any other cut of meat. 

Carolina Q

Hans61 said:

Majority rules. Going to open pat dry mustard and season. Thanks all!

A waste of perfectly good mustard.
.

Hans61

@Carolina Q lol

Hans61

Turned out good!

nolaegghead

I put shampoo in my hair, then towel it dry.  In all fairness, I just read the thread subject.

Botch

I never rinse meat out of a "white styrofoam tray covered with Saran Wrap", nor meats wrapped by my meatmonger in butcher paper.  I always rinse meats coming out of a cryo-pak.
There is no method, madness, or scientific reason I do this.  I just do.  

Botch

And is "meatmonger" even a word?  

JustineCaseyFeldown

I rinse

i worked with a kid in the meat department who would randomly snort up some phlegm and spit it into the 99 cent a pound steak tips (ca 1983)

and i myself forgot to put a plastic bin under the output hole of the thing we'd run the subprimals thru to be chopped up. 

It all landed on the floor in the backroom of the meat department. I told my manager, expecting to be fired. He shrugged and kicked a bin over to me and we picked it up and plopped it in. 

Hans61

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

I rinse

i worked with a kid in the meat department who would randomly snort up some phlegm and spit it into the 99 cent a pound steak tips (ca 1983)

and i myself forgot to put a plastic bin under the output hole of the thing we'd run the subprimals thru to be chopped up. 

It all landed on the floor in the backroom of the meat department. I told my manager, expecting to be fired. He shrugged and kicked a bin over to me and we picked it up and plopped it in. 

Wish you had said this earlier :-)

gmac

It's fine. No rinse here 

Bshults1

No rinse.  Cook it.  Eat it.  

nolaegghead

Bah.  Unless you suspect foul play in ground meat, something processed with a jaccard, or mechanically pounded like the fodder for a chikkin fried steak, cook it the way you want. The outside will get cooked.  Most of the Costco meats are run through some tenderizing jaccard machine.  Or they used to be.  (i think that was on the label?).  I have not heard of mass food poisoning from their pushing of surface bacteria into meat that's cooked rare, frequently.

The current predominant best practice is don't rinse, but that's just because they are safety nazis and assume the meat will splash water and contaminate stuff around the sink or where ever. 

Ahi tuna should never be rinsed unless you have salt water and that's only if someone hocked a phlem ball or some diesel fuel on it.  Denatures the meat.  Oysters - nope.  Scallops - nope.  Clams - nope. 

Rinsing most other meats doesn't hurt the meat.  If it makes you feel better about it - by all means. You eat with your brain, not your stomach.   

nolaegghead

BTW - Google was not used in the above response, so therefore it is hereby qualified as my opinion and everyone should follow at your own risk as I do not assume any responsibility for not performing research writing said statement.

Toxarch

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I just open it over the sink, pat it dry, and then season. I don't bleach the sink after. 

Phatchris

Patter here....

Legume

Great info on rinsing seafood @nolaegghead, I had no idea and am sure I've been guilty of this.  Thx.

tikigriller

I barely wash my hands after handling chicken and I have never gotten sick. I think most people are just paranoid. 

Legume

I can't remember ever rinsing beef, but pork & chicken, yes.  Not on the locally packed styrofoam and plastic wrap, just when something is sealed up in a bag or cryo pack of some kind. For some reason I always rinse the liquid in chicken and pork packages, but the beef never strikes me as needing to be rinsed off.  In my head, I suppose.

Hans61

I figure what it comes down to is, is there any bacteria on the surface of the meat that can survive the cooking process but a rinse could remove.

dstearn

I rinse ribs to remove any odors from the croyovac then pat dry with paper towels. Same with brisket if there is an odor from packaging.

Hans61

dstearn said:

I rinse ribs to remove any odors from the croyovac then pat dry with paper towels. Same with brisket if there is an odor from packaging.

Absolutely agree - rinse if there's an odor, if rinsing doesn't take care of it - return it