The time has come for us to debunk a few old wives tales that have been passed down for generations. For example, I was taught that if you put your purse on the floor, you won't have any money. If you go outside with no clothes on, you'll catch pneumonia in your ass (a direct quote from my mother, by the way). And I also learned that if you don't run your chicken under some water before you cook it, you just might die.
Our mothers and grandmothers have warned us about the dangerous bacteria that live in poultry our entire lives. We were warned to wash our chicken or face the consequences, and we blindly obliged. Recently, Dr. Oz stopped by The Breakfast Club and suggested that viewers eliminate this practice from the meal prepping process immediately. He explained:
"When you wash your chicken, you spray the salmonella all over the kitchen. Everywhere, it just splatters everywhere. Then you put the chicken into the oven and the heat from the oven would have killed that salmonella anyway."
The news had the internet both shook and rightfully skeptical. While some suggest using a plastic throw-away bowl, others said using lime and vinegar instead of water was a much healthier alternative. According to the doc, all that info is wrong as hell. He said that although rinsing your chicken may seem like the right way to have a sanitary cooking experience, it absolutely is not. Not only can harmful bacteria spread from your poultry to the sink, but it can also infect other surfaces in your kitchen.
Celebrity chef and host of New Soul Kitchen, Jernard Wells added his two cents to the conversation and said that the best way to avoid spreading this bacteria from your chicken to your countertop is to put your poultry straight into the oven and cook it.
"The truth is washing is not really removing the bacteria, you kill the pathogens. It's also important to thoroughly wash your hands after handling raw poultry and never use the same cutting board to prep other ingredients if the raw chicken has touched it."
Dr. Oz, Jernard, and the Center for Disease Control agreed that there is literally no benefit to washing your chicken, but many Black Twitter users say that they will probably do it anyway.
@dugmanx @CDCgov I know the CDC is in Atlanta but the southern black delegates will continue to wash their chicken.— Abolish the Electoral College (@Abolish the Electoral College) 1556507139
All habits die hard and some traditions will last forever, but washing chicken is officially a "nah" for me dawg. Ladies, let's have a happy, healthy summer that's free of salmonella and full of freshly seasoned, unwashed chicken. Dr. Oz warned:
"Save some lives here. Make that our anthem for the summer. No more washing chicken. Put it in the oven, let the oven do the work for you."
Watch the full interview below!
Dr. Oz Talks CBD Benefits, Hallucinogens & Why You Shouldn't Wash Your Chickenwww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images.