do you guys wash and clean ground meat as well?

[Princess5]

do you guys wash and clean ground meat as well?  i use grass fed organic lamb sometimes, and its the only ground meat we use.  I try to wash it but it feels impossible with lots of meat washing away etc... but I didnt a few times so much easier, but then was wondering if I SHOULD HAVE washed before cooking.  do you guys wash ground meat (specially organic, grass fed) before using?

[wapiti]

FWIW, I have never heard of washing ground beef.

[LucyStoner]

I do not wash ground meat. I actually only wash whole chickens and turkeys. Strictly speaking that is not necessary but it's a habit.

[Laura Corin]

Never.  I don't wash any meat.  Chicken in the UK has a warning on it not to wash it: you are likely to cause contamination of the kitchen due to splash when washing - the meat itself will be cooked anyway.

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't wash any meat. I do cook it all very well though.

[AK_Mom4]

Definitely not. Have never washed ground meat. Or any store bought meat that comes in a package other than fresh fish. I always wash home caught fish too.

 

But ground lamb? No I would not wash it.

Edited January 29, 2017 by AK_Mom4

[Barb_]

No, don't wash ground meat. There is no reason to do so and I imagine it ruins the texture.

[Loowit]

No, I don't wash any meat that comes from the store.

[itsheresomewhere]

I don't wash any meat.  

[maize]

Never.

[Lady Florida.]

I don't wash any meat, and I've never heard of washing ground meat. I can't even imagine how you would do that.

[eternalsummer]

I don't wash meat.  I can't really imagine washing meat.  I do as little handling of it as possible until it hits the pan in which it will cook, and then I cook everything well done.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't wash meat.  What on earth for?

 

 

[Pawz4me]

I don't wash any meat. Seems rather pointless.

[fraidycat]

I don't wash any meat. Who washes meat?

[Guest]

No, I never wash ground meat and don't usually wash any meat but whole chicken. There might be a member here who wears latex gloves when she handles her meat, though. ;)

[marbel]

Never.  I don't wash any meat.  Chicken in the UK has a warning on it not to wash it: you are likely to cause contamination of the kitchen due to splash when washing - the meat itself will be cooked anyway.

 

 

I've never seen warnings on packaging here in the US, but I've read enough articles about contamination from washing poultry that I never do it.  

 

I can't even imagine trying to wash ground meat.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've never seen warnings on packaging here in the US, but I've read enough articles about contamination from washing poultry that I never do it.  

 

I can't even imagine trying to wash ground meat.  

 

Yeah I've read some stuff recently where they think to start emphasizing that people should not do this because the risk of getting the yucky stuff all over the place is worse than any benefit of washing the chicken. 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I don't wash any meat. Who washes meat?

 

 

There is an antiquated school of thought that says that most of the bacteria is in the liquid surrounding the meat and on the surface of the meat, and if you rinse all that away, you're cleansing the meat. I grew up with that, and I had a very hard time breaking the habit of washing off chicken! Of course the same person who taught me that also thaws meat overnight on the counter or on top of the fridge (sneaky dog!), so she's really not up on the newest food safety recommendations!

 

So no, I don't wash any meat anymore. OP, consider yourself freed from this annoying chore!

[Amy in NH]

No, only poultry. I can't imagine how you could thoroughly wash ground meat.

[AnnE-girl]

I used to rinse chicken, but not since the recommendation changed. I try to minimize the potentially contaminated space in my kitchen.

[SparklyUnicorn]

There is an antiquated school of thought that says that most of the bacteria is in the liquid surrounding the meat and on the surface of the meat, and if you rinse all that away, you're cleansing the meat. I grew up with that, and I had a very hard time breaking the habit of washing off chicken! Of course the same person who taught me that also thaws meat overnight on the counter or on top of the fridge (sneaky dog!), so she's really not up on the newest food safety recommendations!

 

So no, I don't wash any meat anymore. OP, consider yourself freed from this annoying chore!

 

I do occasionally come across recipes that state to rinse/wash meat.  I don't see the point. 

 

Kinda like it's rather pointless to wash veg.  I wash veg to get soil off because no I don't want to eat soil, but rinsing it is not killing germs so I'm not really under any delusion that I'm killing germs by doing it.

[Barb_]

I do occasionally come across recipes that state to rinse/wash meat. I don't see the point.

 

Kinda like it's rather pointless to wash veg. I wash veg to get soil off because no I don't want to eat soil, but rinsing it is not killing germs so I'm not really under any delusion that I'm killing germs by doing it.

I use soap and water or veggie wash along with a scrub brush to remove as much of the pesticide residue as possible.

[regentrude]

I don't wash any meat. I cook it.

[maize]

I do occasionally come across recipes that state to rinse/wash meat. I don't see the point.

 

Kinda like it's rather pointless to wash veg. I wash veg to get soil off because no I don't want to eat soil, but rinsing it is not killing germs so I'm not really under any delusion that I'm killing germs by doing it.

It is chemicals I hope to get off by washing veggies!

 

There are farmers in my family, I have some awareness of all the gunk that gets sprayed on typical farm produce and would prefer to consume as little of it as possible :)

Edited January 29, 2017 by maize

[Ausmumof3]

I very rarely wash meat. The only times I do it is occasionally if there's a lot of liquid in a chicken package and it has a slight odour to it or if it's home butchered meat and there's a bit of hair or something gross stuck to it. My mil washes mince to get the fat out but not till after she Browns it. She puts it on a colander with small holes, drains off the fat then pours boiling water over to dissolve any remaining fat. She definitely grew up in the fat free era.

[regentrude]

Kinda like it's rather pointless to wash veg.  I wash veg to get soil off because no I don't want to eat soil, but rinsing it is not killing germs so I'm not really under any delusion that I'm killing germs by doing it.

 

Actually, rinsing produce does remove surface bacteria. You wash you hands because it removes bacteria from the surface, right? 

 

But, more importantly, rinsing removes pesticide residues of a number of pesticides (not all; some are inside the tissue)

[eternalsummer]

I rinse off dirt; I only eat organic veg.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I use soap and water or veggie wash along with a scrub brush to remove as much of the pesticide residue as possible.

 

Does that really work?  And what is in the veggie wash?

[maize]

I rinse off dirt; I only eat organic veg.

Do keep in mind that organic does not mean pesticide free; many types of chemical pesticides are used on organic farms, there are regulations about what types they can use (rule of thumb is no synthetics) but unless you grow the food yourself and don't put anything on it you shouldn't feel complacent about a lack of potentially harmful compounds on your produce.

 

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

 

Produce grown without any pesticides--like most of the stuff from my garden--frequently has bug-eaten bits and/or the bugs themselves; we call that extra protein :)

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well good.  At least I'm not wasting my time. 

 

I still wonder how effective it actually is though.

 

And some stuff you can't do more than rinse.  You can't scrub it.

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Nope, no washing ground meat of any kind here.  Never have, never will.

[maize]

When we lived in areas where produce was frequently contaminated with parasites such as amoebas or giardhia (in some cases deriving from untreated human waste fertilization practices) we washed produce in a bleach water solution unless it was going to be thoroughly cooked.

[maize]

Well good. At least I'm not wasting my time.

 

I still wonder how effective it actually is though.

 

And some stuff you can't do more than rinse. You can't scrub it.

Yeah, scrubbing strawberries doesn't really work...

[CadenceSophia]

I rinse off dirt; I only eat organic veg.

They can actually spray some pretty intense chemicals on organic veggies. Just because it has a organic label does not mean it is free from pesticides.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah, scrubbing strawberries doesn't really work...

 

or lettuce

 

any berries for that matter

[SparklyUnicorn]

They can actually spray some pretty intense chemicals on organic veggies. Just because it has a organic label does not mean it is free from pesticides.

 

Which I dunno to me is the biggest scam of all.  They charge so much more money, but basically you might not be getting anything all that much better?

 

Huh...

[Lady Florida.]

There is an antiquated school of thought that says that most of the bacteria is in the liquid surrounding the meat and on the surface of the meat, and if you rinse all that away, you're cleansing the meat. I grew up with that, and I had a very hard time breaking the habit of washing off chicken! Of course the same person who taught me that also thaws meat overnight on the counter or on top of the fridge (sneaky dog!), so she's really not up on the newest food safety recommendations!

 

So no, I don't wash any meat anymore. OP, consider yourself freed from this annoying chore!

 

I also grew up with that school of thought. My mother always washed poultry, though she didn't wash beef or pork. Quite a few years ago (I think maybe late 90s or early 2000s) I first read that it's not a good idea, and stopped doing it. 

 

I very rarely wash meat. The only times I do it is occasionally if there's a lot of liquid in a chicken package and it has a slight odour to it 

 

I will occasionally pat chicken with a paper towel when the above happens, but I'm careful not to rub it. I just gently pat it to dry it off.

[luuknam]

The only meat I've ever washed is chicken, and that only like a couple of times or so, when it was a day after the use by date or something... :leaving:

[Barb_]

I very rarely wash meat. The only times I do it is occasionally if there's a lot of liquid in a chicken package and it has a slight odour to it or if it's home butchered meat and there's a bit of hair or something gross stuck to it. My mil washes mince to get the fat out but not till after she Browns it. She puts it on a colander with small holes, drains off the fat then pours boiling water over to dissolve any remaining fat. She definitely grew up in the fat free era.

Gross, lol.

[Barb_]

Does that really work? And what is in the veggie wash?

Mostly citric acid which dissolves the oily residue that doesn't come off with just water. I think it works well. The produce is squeaky clean when I'm finished.

[Barb_]

or lettuce

 

any berries for that matter

That's why the veggie wash. I put them in a colander and spray them a little water, then spray well with the veggie wash and gently tumble them with my hands. Then rinse well. It really does a nice job. My favorite is the fit brand.

[Farrar]

I was trained to wash the meat as a kid learning to cook. It's only in the last few years that I've trained myself out of it with chicken. I never did the ground meat though.

 

I try to remember to wash the veggies because that's where the real danger is - especially if you're eating them raw or only lightly cooking them. But I admit that sometimes I'm not great about it.

[CadenceSophia]

Which I dunno to me is the biggest scam of all. They charge so much more money, but basically you might not be getting anything all that much better?

 

Huh...

Yeah I am so torn on it. There are definitely some pesticides that are universally bad - bad for consumers, workers, and the environment. I think organic labeling really helps eliminate these and discourage their common use. Then there are a lot of other situations where I'd rather have my food treated once with the synthetic pesticide than drowned in the organic one.

[KarenC]

What?  How would you even do this?  in a strainer?

[ktgrok]

Never.  I don't wash any meat.  Chicken in the UK has a warning on it not to wash it: you are likely to cause contamination of the kitchen due to splash when washing - the meat itself will be cooked anyway.

 

This. But even before I knew this and did wash meat, I never ever ever washed ground meat or heard of anyone doing so. 

[StephanieZ]

No, I don't wash ground meat!! I don't think that's feasible.

 

Also, that's why it's important to cook ground meat throughly -- no pink!! Whereas steaks, etc, can be rare, burgers should always be well done. The bacteria, gross stuff/contaminants from the processing plant, etc are generally on the surface of the meat, which is why you want to cook the surface of all the meat . .. and since ground meat is infinite surfaces, you gotta' cook it all the way through. At least, that's my understanding. 

 

(I prefer my meat burnt, so that's fine with me, lol.)

 

I do wash all other not-ground meat, though.

 

(And, yes, I know experts now say the risk of contaminating other surfaces is greater than the benefit of washing the meat . . . but I'm a meat-safety lunatic and segregate all meat-handling tools, use a dedicated empty and clean (before and after) sink (not contaminating a sink-full of dishes, etc.) and sanitize everything like mad after meat handling, etc, so I'm not worried about that personally. )

 

And, I buy my (grass fed) meat from a local source, so it's just ONE cow in that package of ground beef, not hundreds/thousands all mashed up together. :) I believe the risk of various contaminants is lower this way. 

 

Meat is icky. But it is also tasty, lol. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by StephanieZ

[SKL]

No.

[Tanaqui]

I don't wash meat. I do wash vegetables and fruit... when I remember!

[zoobie]

Never. Why would this be a thing?